ne ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” – C.S. Lewis

 

18 While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. 20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” 22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. 23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.26 News of this spread through all that region. Matthew 9:18-25

We have drugs for people with diseases like leprosy. But these drugs do not treat the main problem, the disease of being unwanted…. The sick and poor suffer even more from rejection than material want. Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.” – Mother Teresa

“Listen to God with a broken heart. He is not only the doctor who mends it, but also the father who wipes away the tears.” ― Criss Jami

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” Psalm 34:18

1. Be Aware Of Those Who Have A Broken Heart.

2. Expect God To Act. Jesus Has Authority Over Death & Disease.

3. See Interruptions As Divine Appointments To Dispense God’s Grace.

4. Refuse To Listen To Words of Disbelief.

 

“Other people are going to find healing in your wounds. Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts.” – Rick Warren

 

Be Available To Reach Out In Compassion.

16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:16, 17

Some Closing Questions To Consider:

1. Have you ever felt isolated or found yourself in a desperate situation? Did it cause you to seek God, cause you to give up or cause you to be a scoffer? Why did you react that way?

 

2. In today’s Scripture reading, we read: Jesus turned and “SAW” her. 

What does it mean to you that Jesus “saw her”? How do you see Jesus “seeing” you?

 

3. Do you see interruptions in your day as an annoyance or as an invitation to have a Divine Appointment? How does making yourself available grow your faith?

 

4. In which ways have words of disbelief (internal or external) affected your faith journey? What are some ways you can overturn these “voices”?