Fearful Places

As Christians, we can face external fears perhaps better than others because we are armed with Scriptures and know the right words to say when putting on a brave face.

Somehow we can navigate through a job loss or home foreclosing. Our fears are lessened by the many resources available and options to help alleviate the pain and distress.

After all, God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and sound mind. Yes, the Word of God is true and we have been given a sound mind, but we have not been honest with Him.

When we go to prayer, the Lord patiently whispers to our hearts a place we fear to go or even speak about. Somehow we have walled up this place in our heart with layers of excuses and reasons to avoid it. The years roll on and we have learned to live with it or cope even silence the cry should it surface unexpectedly.

We are like the woman who crawled her way through the tight knotted crowd, bleeding internally, hoping to touch Jesus. Her strength was fading quickly as she inched her self to Jesus. Her eyes fixed on His feet as others tried in vain to move around her but too often stepped on her back, legs and arms. Her fingers stretched to brush against the tassels of His robe. It says power left Him, and in Mark 5:32, Jesus kept looking around to see who touched Him. Jesus, the Son of God, all powerful and all knowing was searching for someone who dared to touched Him, in a way unlike those in the crowd who pressed hard against Him.

It was a bleeding woman, considered unclean, in a fearful place reaching out in faith to be healed.

Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. (verse 33 NIV).

How many of us are bleeding inside, hemorrhaging from wounds so deep, we can't even speak? We long to be healed, to be loved but what if God turned around to look at us. To really look at what was really going on inside. This is our fearful place. A place we can't believe God would even want to heal and make right, because of our failures and sin.

If you have to crawl to Jesus tonight - reach out your hands to Him - invite Him inside the fearful place. Remember the nailed scarred hands and feet, wounds He bore to bring us healing.

He bled for those who are internally bleeding so they can be restored!