Faith and the Miraculous

Great Faith

I’ve lately been drawn to the account of the woman with the issue of blood. There’s something about the level of faith that she had that intrigues me time and time again. 

Not only did this woman believe that if she touched Jesus, she would be healed, she thought to herself that if she could only touch His clothes, she would be made well! 

That speaks to me of great faith. 

Faith and the miraculous seem to be closely linked in the bible.  

Jesus was recorded to be amazed at faith on only two occasions in the bible – once at the faith of the Centurion (Luke 7:9) and once at the lack of faith of the Nazarenes (Mark 6:6).  

With the Centurion, he was convinced that if Jesus just gave the word from where he was standing, his highly valued servant would be made well. He didn’t feel worthy to have Jesus step foot into his home and so asked Him to give the command from where he was. This kind of faith moved Jesus to amazement and the servant was later found in good health. 

Contrast that with the lack of faith that Jesus found amongst his own people in Nazareth. These people knew Jesus, knew his upbringing and his family and, because of that, limited Him in their estimations. Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith and consequently was unable to perform any miracles there, only laying hands on a few of the sick and healing them.  

Faith and the miraculous are linked. 

When we doubt and deliberate who Jesus is and if He is able to save, heal and perform the miraculous, we strip the Gospel down.  

In Mark 9:14-29 where Jesus is asked if He can do anything for the boy who was possessed by a spirit, making him unable to speak and experiencing seizures, Jesus’s response is this: 

“If you can? Everything is possible for the one who believes.” (Mark 9:23 CSB) 

Faith and the miraculous are linked. 

Miraculous Healing

The woman with the issue of blood had this kind of miracle-provoking faith. She believed that if she could just touch the hem of Jesus’ cloak, she would be healed, and so it was. As soon as the woman touched the hem of his clothes, instantly her flow of blood stopped.  

Jesus doesn’t rebuke us for seeking a miracle for our impossible situations, He spoke tenderly to the woman with the issue of blood, calling her daughter and reassuring her that it was her faith that had saved her.  

In the meantime, as Jesus was tending to the woman who had an issue of blood, a 12-year-old dying girl had died. The people encouraged Jairus (the daughter’s father) not to bother Jesus anymore. 

But Jesus’s response was this: 

“Don’t be afraid. Only believe.” (Mark 5:36 CSB) 

Put Doubt Out

A key component to faith is its opposite – doubt. 

The first thing that Jesus does when He arrives at Jairus’s house to tend to his daughter is He put the doubters outside.  

‘He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” They laughed at Him, but He put them all outside.’ (Mark 5:39-40 CSB) 

Removing doubting voices from our lives is key if we want to see our faith grow and develop into the kind of faith that moves the heart of God to the miraculous. Doubt is like poison in pure water, contaminating our faith and diluting it into something far more toxic. 

Jairus’s faith was met with the miraculous in the end. He believed, put doubt out and Jesus was able to move in his life in the way he desired. 

We can all learn a lesson from the woman with the issue of blood as well as Jairus and his dying daughter – only believe and it will be done for you. 

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