Determination Over Disappointment

Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. – Mark 5:25-27 
 
Today’s key text is most likely a familiar story to you. The woman Mark writes about had been suffering from a bleeding issue for over a decade, and was desperate for healing. What I like about this woman is that she did not allow her issue to snuff out her determination. She pressed her way through the crowd anyhow, despite the fact that she had yet to receive the healing she longed for, and touched Jesus nonetheless. She seized her opportunity, she seized her moment, she seized the day. Many of us need to follow her example when it comes to staying determined in going after what we want.  
 
So many people throughout history have said remarkable things about how the decisions you make today, like choosing determination over disappointment, can impact your future from here on out. For instance, Mother Theresa said, “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.” Mahatma Gandhi said, “The future depends on what you do today.”  
 
Even the apostle Paul weighed in and put it this way in Philippians 3: 13-14, “Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”  
 
The Bible says that this woman seized her opportunity, and when she did that she was healed in an instant. How amazing. This woman could have given up, she could have thrown in the towel on herself, on God, and her future, but she didn’t. She marshalled the strength she had left to pursue the desired outcome she wanted. Rather than allowing her past disappointments hinder her, she took advantage of the opportunity she had. We would be wise to follow her example.