But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, for I was aware that power had gone out of me.”
Luke 8:46
Yesterday in the Connections service, Algernon used example after example to show the power of God being lived out in the lives of Christians. One of Al’s main points was that we often walk around defeated in our faith rather than allowing God’s power to truly be played out in our lives. The verse listed above is from a passage of scripture that shows God’s amazing power being used in the life of someone who believes.
I would like to think that I understand the concept of power, but maybe it is a different kind of power. I come from a family full of electricians who can run power to anything at anytime. Now believe me when I say that I am not an expert electrician, but I do have a healthy fear of electricity. When I was remodeling my home, one of the last things that I had to do in order to finish the job was change out all of the light switches and outlets in the house. This is a very easy job to me because I had done it before and I understand how electricity works. First, I would go to the circuit panel and turn off the breaker to the room or area that I was working on. That means that I cut off the power to each individual room so that no electricity was going to that room while I was working. I worked my way through a few rooms turning off the electricity as I went, but in the last room I made a mistake. At some point in time, before I bought my house, someone mislabeled the circuit panel for one of the rooms in the house. As I began to work on removing the first switch in the room, I realized that something was wrong when my screwdriver grazed one of the wires, made a blue spark, a loud pop, and knocked me back about three or four feet! The next thing I knew my hands were shaking and my teeth hurt because the electrical current had made its way through my body. I don’t recommend that experience to anyone because that is not the type of power that you want to experience.
The verse at the top of this page talks about a different type of power that Jesus was aware of. This verse comes from a passage that focuses on Jesus healing those who are sick. In this particular case, there was a woman who had come to see Jesus who had suffered from what the Bible calls a “hemorrhage.” A large crowd had gathered to see Jesus and the woman knew that she would not be able to get His attention. Rather than giving up on being healed by Jesus, the woman realizes that if she can just get close enough to touch Jesus then she would be healed. One of the greatest examples of faith is that the woman did not even need to touch Jesus himself, she knew that if she could touch the hem of His cloak she would still receive all of the healing power that Jesus had to offer. Jesus’ response to this situation in found in verse 48 when He said; “Daughter, your faith has made you well.”
So what does this mean for you and I today? We have to understand two things about this passage of scripture. First, we have to understand that there could have been hundreds of people that touched Jesus that day. The Apostle Peter used this excuse when Jesus was trying to figure out who touched Him by saying “people are crowding and pressing in on you.” Peter’s point was that there would be no way to know who had touched Jesus. Secondly, we have to remember that faith that the woman used when approaching Jesus. Other gospel accounts state that the woman knew that she only had to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment and she would be healed. The woman approached Jesus with sincere faith, knowing that something would happen because of her encounter with Jesus. The lesson for you and I is that we have to approach our heavenly Father with the same amount of faith that the woman had. We have to understand that God’s power is so enormous that even the smallest amount is able to provide a miracle. The Bible literally teaches in Genesis chapter one that God created heaven, earth, day, night, water, land, and animals with only the sound of His voice. That is how powerful God is! When was the last time that we approached God with complete faith in His almighty power? As you go throughout your day today, understand that God has enough power in the hem of His garment to create the largest miracle that this world has ever seen. Praise God today for His power. Ask God to use His power in your life today. Approach God in prayer with the same faith that this woman showed… Faith that even the smallest glimpse of His power will do life changing work.
Tags: Brad O'Kelley, Connections, Devotional, Roswell Street Baptist Church
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