Who Touched My Garment?

In the New Testament book of Mark, in chapter 5 and verse 27, & 30, an incident occured that brings plenty of questions of faith to the surface and I'd like to explain my opinion. The verse reads: "After hearing about Jesus, [she] came up in the crowd behind Him, and touched His cloak. And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My garment?"

This year, in fact on July 5, 2009 (my 58th birthday) I celebrated my 4th year of my diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (a blood cancer incurable but treatable). Since then it has been quite a ride. Our entire family has participated in 4 "Light the Night" walks to raise funds for research for Lymphoma and Leukemia and every year it was necessary to hear what would always "stick" in the hearts of all the loved ones in the crowd. The comment was "With the research of Lymphoma and & Leukemia we have discovered that every 5 minutes someone is diagnosed with this disease, and every 10 minutes someone "loses" their battle. Not necessarily the best phrase of encouragement they could find but I suppose the statistics are necessary. For instance, I have calculated that since I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma there have been 12 five minute periods each hour meaning that 12 people are diagnosed every hour of every day adding up to 288 each 24 hour day that has passed in this 4 year period. Now look at the one year statistic: if 288 are diagnosed each day then 105,120 get this news each year. So since the day I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma 420,480 children and adults have been diagnosed with this cancer. That figure is staggering. (please check my math) So now we come to the hard part. Statistics say that every 10 minutes someone with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma or Leukemia loses their battle to this disease. That is 6 people per hour, 144 per day, 52,560 per year and 210,240 since I was diagnosed on July 15, 2005. And this is just one type of cancer. (I think my math may be a little off but you get the picture; brain a little "fuzzy" with the new diagnosis a couple of weeks ago.

So why would I bring such staggering statistics to the forefront of a supposedly "devotional" story? Well those figures represent hurting hearts both those diagnosed and those who lose a loved one each day.

The passage of scripture I quoted at the beginning of this devotional was very emotional. The action taken by this woman literally "drained" energy from Jesus to the point that He found it necessary to ask "who touched Him". She was a woman who has experienced a "hemorrhaging" problem for some twelve years with nobody to help her. She was literally bleeding to death.

Over the years she had heard about this Jesus and began to develop a faith in Him. A faith which finally became strong enough for her (as a woman) to break her way through the crowd and reach out and "Just" touch a piece of His garment. This action combined with the faith she had developed over the years literally drained strength from Jesus and gave her the healing she was so badly seeking.

You must read the entire passage (Mark 5:25-34) to get the full value of the action but when Jesus realized what had happened He gently leaned down and said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."

Okay back to a statement I made . I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma over 4 years ago and 2 weeks ago MDS (myelodysplastic syndrome) has developed in my bone marrow. It is a collection of disorders in which the bone marrow does not produce enough blood cells and will eventually mutate into AML which is a form of Leukemia. I notice I am getting long and still have not addressed my purpose.

When I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma on July 15, 2005, I reached out and touched the garment of Jesus. He was aware of the action and has been providing me with health sufficient to survive for this long. How did I do that? Jesus was nowhere in sight. Well I simply surrendered the disease and its complications to Christ for Him to deal with. At that very point, they became "His problem" and not mine to worry about. He has seen me through this far and given me a tremendous freedom from fear and confusion.

Unless I get hit by a Greyhound bus, someday Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma or Leukemia will take my physical life, however it is not something that Christ has me "ponder" each day because He wants other things of me. And as for you, the same applies.

So, if you haven't yet done so, reach out and touch the garment of Jesus, receive your healing (for however long He determines) and get back out there with a joyful heart and share what Christ has done for you. I have seen many numbers of people over the past 4 years change their opinion of Jesus Christ and seen several on their knees asking Him to control their lives and give them HIS peace.

It's your turn. The statistics for this one disease alone are staggering and Jesus wants people like us to stand beside them and allow them to witness the fact that "everything is ALRIGHT". God is still on His throne.

Dave