Listening For Jesus
She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” – Mark 5:27-28
Today’s key text reveals something that I believe was the key to helping this woman to endure her terrible circumstances. She was able to persevere through her illness because she listened to the right things.
After spending all she had on doctors that used her for her money and still didn’t help her, verse 27 says, “she heard about Jesus.” Scripture goes on to say that when she heard about Jesus, she pressed her way through the crowd. Rather than listening to the negative, she chose to listen to the positive.
Far too often, we choose to listen to the wrong things and the wrong people. We zero in the negative words of others rather than going to God’s Word and spending time with Him to see what He has to say. The woman described in Mark chapter 5 had plenty of people saying all kinds of negative things about her. They called her unclean. They said her illness was a punishment for her sins. They made all kinds of terrible, and sometimes even untrue, comments about her. But she shows us through her actions that she was way more interested in listening to Jesus than listening to those around her.
What and who are you listening to as you endure your own circumstances? What you allow into your ears, your heart and your spirit matter more than you think. The Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Nothing breaks down one’s endurance faster than internalizing the negativity and toxicity of other people. Learn to endure by listening to what God says about you, not what people say to you. People may say you’re a failure, people may say you won’t make it, people may say give up, but don’t listen to them. I like this woman because she never internalized the defeat. She didn’t allow what happened and what other people said to keep her down. She paid more attention to the words of Jesus, and we should do the same as we navigate our own struggles.
Today’s key text reveals something that I believe was the key to helping this woman to endure her terrible circumstances. She was able to persevere through her illness because she listened to the right things.
After spending all she had on doctors that used her for her money and still didn’t help her, verse 27 says, “she heard about Jesus.” Scripture goes on to say that when she heard about Jesus, she pressed her way through the crowd. Rather than listening to the negative, she chose to listen to the positive.
Far too often, we choose to listen to the wrong things and the wrong people. We zero in the negative words of others rather than going to God’s Word and spending time with Him to see what He has to say. The woman described in Mark chapter 5 had plenty of people saying all kinds of negative things about her. They called her unclean. They said her illness was a punishment for her sins. They made all kinds of terrible, and sometimes even untrue, comments about her. But she shows us through her actions that she was way more interested in listening to Jesus than listening to those around her.
What and who are you listening to as you endure your own circumstances? What you allow into your ears, your heart and your spirit matter more than you think. The Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Nothing breaks down one’s endurance faster than internalizing the negativity and toxicity of other people. Learn to endure by listening to what God says about you, not what people say to you. People may say you’re a failure, people may say you won’t make it, people may say give up, but don’t listen to them. I like this woman because she never internalized the defeat. She didn’t allow what happened and what other people said to keep her down. She paid more attention to the words of Jesus, and we should do the same as we navigate our own struggles.
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