Exhale
“But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” – 2 Corinthians 3:16-18, ESV
Hello Dear Friend,
“This is it, today is the day.” She thought as she eagerly stepped out to join the crowd in the street. “Today is the day for my healing.”
The road was so crowded with everyone pressing in closer and closer to the man. They had all waited in long anticipation for his arrival and now he had finally come. Before she could catch herself or fully knew what was happening the young woman was falling to the ground after tripping over someone's sandal in the crowd.
“Ouch!” she winced as someone else’s foot crushed her fingers. Realizing the struggle it would be to get back up on her feet and knowing that she would probably fall again before reaching the man she took a deep breath. Instead of forcing herself up she dug her hands and toes into the mud and began to crawl inching her way forward. “If I could only touch him…” she thought.
“Ooouu-cchhh!” she grunted as another foot came on top of her other hand.
She sighed heavily, “I don’t even have to touch him.” She continued to crawl past the bystanders. “If I could just touch that ratty fringe of his garment that’s covered in mud dragging behind him – that will be enough.”
“Reach!” she stretched out her arm through the countless legs. Her face was on the ground with her left cheek in the mud, someone stepped on her hair momentarily pulling her scalp, but her fingertips were only centimeters away from his tattered garment now as she urged herself forward a little more, “C’mon, reach! You’re almost there, you almost have it!”
With tears streaming down her muddy face and the dirt and grime caked under her fingernails she felt the fabric of his hem barely brush against her fingertips. A heavy exhale left her lungs and escaped her lips followed by an inhale of a power she’d never known but instantly felt. She was overcome by unspeakable joy.
Her breathing was so heavy in that moment that she was almost hyperventilating. She stopped cold in her tracks, she had done it. Somehow, against all odds, she had hung on to her faith! She’d managed to get to him and now she could feel the weight of her disease lift as the supernatural healing power moved throughout her veins like a wild current. Instantly she knew the day she had longed for had finally come. She was clean. She was whole.
I often think about the woman with the issue of blood from the Gospel of Luke. Twelve years she lived with an incurable disease and everyday she continued believing for healing. Talk about your trials, talk about testing your faith, talk about struggling to hold on to your joy – this woman definitely knew what that’s all about. Yet she pressed on. As she pressed up against and through the legs of her ridiculers and most likely even tripped some strangers accidently her pursuit to make it to Jesus never wavered. For what, what kept her going? She was exercising a mustard seed like faith in the man that they called the Messiah.
In the middle of the crowded street she crawled on hands and knees in the dirt, the mud and the grime to get to Jesus. What was Jesus' respond? He turned around when He felt healing power leave Him.
With a voice that could make demons tremble He said, “Who touched me?”
Can you imagine the fear that probably gripped her in that moment? Hearing His voice, looking to see His eyes scanning the crowd and knowing that He already knew it was her even if His eyes hadn’t found her yet. She was the accused that had touched Him. Imagine the courage and strength that it must have taken for her to rise up out of the dirt as she unveiled herself from the crowd that had hid her. Imagine the terror as she stared into His eyes and admitted that she was the one who had touched Him.
How did Jesus respond to that? He gave her a title. He called her Daughter. “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” (Luke 8:48, ESV) He called her out and gave her a name (Daughter), He confirmed what she could only hope to be true – that her steadfast faith had indeed healed her (your faith has made you well) and He blessed her (go in peace). Talk about a testimony!
Let Go & Find Rest
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30, ESV
In the moment that woman touched His garment I can almost bet that she must have heard the words, “Let go!” echoing in her spirit. Imagine her exhale as she did just that.
Now put yourself in her shoes. I’d venture to say that all of us have been carrying some kind of crap around, our own “disease”, that has been building up for years. We’re each dealing with or have dealt with a “disease” of our own – it could be an addiction, generational curses, abuse, etc. We’ve all sought out the help of others only to have the search come up empty and our hopes fade. It’s time to exhale my friend. It’s time for you to find your freedom.
I know, most of the time it’s easier said than done. My story might not look exactly like yours but I’ve been there. I’ve exhaled, I’ve let go and I’ve found my freedom. Yes, I went through a lot of pain to get there and I carried that “disease” for a lot of years, too many years. But those years are the write up to a big part of my testimony. Just like the woman with the issue of blood, I had my “Today is the day” moment. I received my exhale to freedom.
Did you know that the original Hebrew root of “Be Still” doesn’t mean to “Be Quiet”; it means “Let Go.”
“LET GO... AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.”
There are moments in life when God is whispering my name and telling me to “Let go.” I’ll admit, sometimes I’m stubborn and it takes a little longer for me to make the right decisions which in turn, causes me to take a few detours before I’m led to where I find my release and reach my exhale to my freedom from whatever bondage I'm facing. I know you might currently be walking through some things that you need to purge and you may be held in bondages that you are trying to destroy before they destroy you. Release your grip. Give it up to Him. Sure at first there it’s terrifying to trust someone else with what you’ve fought so long and so hard to overcome. It might not be easy and it might not be instant but your exhale is coming. Your freedom is coming.
Here’s a prayer for you wherever you are and whatever you’re facing today, right now declare this over your life...
Prayer For Release:
Lord Jesus, I come to You for the spiritual, physical, and mental release from everything currently holding me captive. I know that these burdens I’ve been carrying around are like weighted chains binding me up and I also know that You never intended for me to carry them. So right now Father, I’m laying them at Your feet and offering them to You. I willingly give to You all of my worries, all of my doubts, all of my anxiety and all of my fears. You have told me that I don’t have to be anxious about anything and that I can come to You with anything that troubles me and so right now that's what I'm doing. Lord, I’m coming to You. I come to You with prayers of thankfulness. I praise You and I thank You, for the good works You are doing and how You are arranging everything for my good.
Father, I pray that You would bring to me the assurance that You are in control. I pray that You would calm my nerves and my restless spirit. I pray that You would silence my anxious heart. I pray that You would still my troubled thoughts. I let go of the grip on the things I’ve been hanging on to and as I open my hands to let them go I exhale and let them fall to Your feet. I release to Your will all that I’m trying to manipulate. I release to Your authority all that I’ve been trying to control. I release to Your timing all that I’ve been striving to make happen on my own.
Thank You, that You hear me. Thank You, that You love Your child. Thank You, that You are leading me. Thank You, that Your promises are new every morning and that in You, I can stand firm in confidence. Thank You, that You sustain me, preserve me, and guard all that I have entrusted to Your keeping. Protect my heart and my mind from the enemy and give me Your peace that passes all understanding.
Father, may Your will be done in my life, in Your time and in Your way. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
With love,
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