Your faith has saved you!

Matthew 9:18-26

While Jesus was speaking, up came one of the officials, who bowed low in front of him and said, ‘My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and her life will be saved.’ Jesus rose and, with his disciples, followed him. Then from behind him came a woman, who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years, and she touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, ‘If I can only touch his cloak I shall be well again.’ Jesus turned round and saw her; and he said to her, ‘Courage, my daughter, your faith has restored you to health.’ And from that moment the woman was well again.

  

When Jesus reached the official’s house and saw the flute-players, with the crowd making a commotion he said, ‘Get out of here; the little girl is not dead, she is asleep.’ And they laughed at him. But when the people had been turned out he went inside and took the little girl by the hand; and she stood up. And the news spread all round the countryside.

Food for thought!

I invite you to meditate on the words, "Your faith has restored you to health." We have heard these words many times, and have often read them (Your faith has saved you!). These words still deserve our attention. But first, let's note that, in the gospel, both the man and the woman came to Jesus at the end. He came to Jesus at the end of his daughter's life. The woman came to Jesus at the end of 12 years of suffering. Yes, sometimes it takes a tragedy before we come to the Lord.

All this means that when we find ourselves at “The End,” it is actually the beginning; the tragedy that is trying to finish us can be the very thing that is meant to jump start us. When we feel as though our life is falling apart, we’ll find that through our faith in God, it’s really just beginning to fall into place. You see, it’s the very thing that brings us to our knees that will give us the opportunity to finally see God. It’s through our suffering that God is drawing us nearer. 

Our problems can either take us away from the Lord, or to the Lord. If we look at them with the eyes of faith, those same problems will take us to the Lord. And that is what Jesus normally refers to as, "Your faith has saved you!" 

The death of his daughter brought the official to Jesus; the haemorrhage brought the woman to Jesus. Your tragedy should bring you to Jesus. Know this: God is with you when you call out to Him and when you do not. Don’t abandon your faith in God when hardships and sufferings come into your life— that’s exactly what Satan wants you to do. Your adversary wants you to turn your back on God and walk away from your faith. If you abandon God in your times of trial, you’re giving Satan the victory he seeks.

Storms of life are used by God to strengthen our faith in Him. He’s asking us to step out in faith like the man and woman of today's gospel did: the man came to Jesus and bowed low in front of him and said, ‘My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and her life will be saved.’ The woman too came and touched the fringe of Jesus' cloak, for she said to herself, ‘If I can only touch his cloak I shall be well again.’