The Flow of Power

She was still in pain. It wasn't just a normal foot injury or a scratch on the arm, but more like a constant pang that was ripping apart her insides. She had been bleeding for over twelve years and no one could figure out how to stop it. For a woman, bleeding like this was embarrassing enough, not to mention the fact that it was continuous. Most people could deal with a sickness, if it was just a short-term ailment; but, this was insurmountable.

"I'm not allowed to go out in public," she thought, knowing that she had been banned to solitude. She was considered "unclean" by the religious standards of her time, so touching anyone was an unthinkable act. No family. No children. No visitors. Just unclean.

"But, if I cover my face," she considered, "I can possibly worm my way through the crowd and go unnoticed." Wrapping her shawl over her head to cover her face, she silently slipped into the street and closed her door behind her. The crowd was in an uproar, because He was among them and He was always fascinating the people in town. She had also heard, through the gossip spoken loudly outside of her window, that He was leaving to go and help some religious leader in another town. "Now is my chance. He's leaving and I may never get another opportunity to get close."

She had heard the Law read aloud when she was younger and remembered the way that people spoke about the tassels. She had already considered who He was and believed that He was greater than those that wore the tasseled garments. So, it must be the same with His garment. "If I just touch His clothes," she thought, "I will be healed."

The crowd was thick, but she was more determined than ever. With a hope that she had never before expressed, she shoved her arms between the people at the back. These people were not going to keep her back. The doctors had failed her, the family she knew and loved was not allowed to see her, and she had been cast aside as unwanted material. With renewed vision, she set herself against the crowd that was pushing in around her.

She gasped when she saw Him. He didn't look very stately, but there was a power about Him that shocked her even at that distance. "It's Him," she thought. "It really is Him. I would recognize the Anointed One anywhere." And with a fire that mirrored His radiating power, she reached down and just caught the bottom part of His garment.

The power surged through her, as if it was a tidal wave capsizing a boat. She felt so small, so insignificant, and yet whole. She would have traded any of her meager possessions to feel that sense of completeness. Never before had she experienced peace like that washing over her in that moment.

And just as immediately as she had felt that tantalizing effect, she was filled with dread as He turned around and spoke, "Who touched my clothes?"

"Run," she thought. If He sees me, He will know that I was the one who stole His power. She was dazed and seemingly unaware that He was looking at her.

Quickly, one of his men asked, "You see the people crowding against you, and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?'"

"How dare he say that to the Anointed One! If that man knew who He really was, he would not talk that way." But, it didn't matter, because He was staring into her eyes. She dropped her eyes as she fell to the ground at His feet. Knowing that she could not lie to this man, she blurt out, "I'm sorry Lord! I'm so, sorry! I shouldn't have done it, but I just longed to be made whole." At His request, she told Him her story, and why she had sought Him out.

His response was simple, but profound. "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." The power resurged throughout her entire body. She felt it again. She felt Him, felt His presence. With a look that calmed the storm within her heart, He reassured her that she was His and that He had made her whole again.

There was a commotion at the back of the crowd, which stole His gaze from her. "Your daughter is dead," someone said. "Why bother the teacher anymore?"

Hearing what they had said, He responded, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

God's Power Conduit

When you finally realize that God is at the center of everything that is great, you start to realize that you are not the person you thought you were. God's power - the most incredible force in the entire universe - is something that we can only see when we empty ourselves of our human capabilities and rely fully on His strength.

Follow in 1 Corinthians 12 with me - "Now about the spiritual gifts (the special endowments of supernatural energy), brethren, I do not want you to be misinformed...Now there are distinctive varieties and distributions of endowments (gifts, extraordinary powers distinguishing certain Christians, due to the power of divin grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit) and they vary, but the [Holy] Spirit remains the same. And there are distinctive varieties of service and ministration, but it is the same Lord [Who is served]." (Amplified Bible, 1 Corinthians 12:1, 4-5)

If we consider that we are gifted in different areas - all under the supernatural guidance/power of the Holy Spirit - then we should start thinking and acting in the Spirit if we are to use these gifts. Upon viewing the events over the past two weeks of my life, I have distinctly come to realize that Christ's power working through me, has nothing to do with me EXCEPT that I open my will to His.

When I speak on behalf of the Lord, there are times when I am completely under the influence of the Holy Spirit and other times in which I am only partly taken. To understand the full nature of this, I suggest we consider piping or conduit. When a valve is released (or opened), the amount of energy flow is determined by the dilation of the valve. If the valve were opened to full strength, then the total force of the energy would be released and you would attain maximum output.

For lack of a better demonstration, I believe that this is partly how the Holy Spirit's power works. When we open ourselves up to His energy, we allow Him to flow through us and work His miraculous wonders. Am I talking about healing? Well, healing comes in season. It may not be a physical manifestation of healing, but it could be spiritual or emotional.

Am I talking about wisdom? Well, wisdom and discernment come to those who ask. It may not be the wisdom of time, but it could very well be the wisdom to make a certain choice at a certain time.

Am I talking about prophecy? Have you ever just spoken the words that someone needed to hear and had no clue where they came from? It may not be on par with Ezekiel or Jeremiah, or even Isaiah, but it was the Word of the Lord and it was given to a people in need.

I think that most of us are too scared to even consider the power of the Holy Spirit...

(1) It requires less of us and more of God. As much as we like to "sing" about that concept and "preach" about its meaning, it really is a hard thing for us to fully grasp.

(2) It requires that we dedicate our life's work to God's calling. You don't have to be a pastor or teacher or missionary to be used by the Holy Spirit; but there is a sense that only these people are "good enough" to do the job.

(3) It requires that we just rest in God's presence...and quite often that can be a hard thing to do. Resting in God's presence means that we have forgiven ourselves of past mistakes...Resting in God's presence means that we have accepted God's forgiveness...Resting in God's presence means that despite all that we face, we remain princes and princesses in God's holy family.

You are royalty, and as such you deserve - and are commanded - to uphold the family name. What are you doing toward that end?