“You got ISSUES!”

We hear so many people these days talk about their “issues”.

Let’s look at the Bible and look at 3 people who had issues themselves.

One man was crippled, and all he wanted to do was to get into the healing waters and he couldn’t. Every time the waters were stirred up he would get trampled by the people who could move faster than him, people who were more capable than him, probably better prepared than he was.

Another issue was a man who couldn’t walk and when Jesus came to his city the crowd was so large that he just knew that there was no way he could get to Jesus. There was too much “stuff” in the way.

And one of the most famous issues we hear about is the woman who had been menstruating for 12 years. She had been lied to by the very people she thought could help her. She had been taken advantage of and left with nothing.

 

If we want to really look at this, the fact is, we all have similar issues. Perhaps we try and try to “fix ourselves” much like the man at the pool of Bethesda.  We say “if I can just get to that spot everything will be better”.   Or maybe like the paralyzed man we just see so many things in our way and think that there’s no way I can make it there.   Or like the woman with the issue of blood we just have been beaten up by the world, we feel hopeless, we feel taken advantage of, we feel useless because of our “issue”.

 

But there is hope!

See the man at the pool of Bethesda in John 5:1 waited by the pool for 38 years trying to receive his healing. He tried every day, but he just couldn’t get there. He was so close to his miracle, but it seemed so far away. But he never quit. He tried every single day until one day while trying to get to his healing, the Healer came to him.

 

What about the man we read about in Mark 2:3-11. He was paralyzed, he heard about Jesus, but he couldn’t get to him under his own power. He was stuck, like many of us there was just too much stuff, too many problems, too many failures, too many “better people”; or so he thought. Fortunately for him he was surrounded by believers. Believers that picked him up, in his brokenness, in his self pity, in his depression, and they carried him to Jesus. And these guys didn’t even attempt to fight the crowd, they went over everything and everyone in their way and went straight through the roof and literally placed this man at the feet of Jesus. You see this man was lowered to his healing, like many of us who need to lower ourselves, or surround ourselves with believers who will get us to the feet of Jesus.

 

Then we read about the woman in Mark 5:25-34. She had a medical issue and had been lied to, taken advantage of, sought her healing in so many different ways, only to get worse. Maybe she thought that she was improving, only to get worse. Like many of us have. But when she heard about Jesus, she knew that He was her true healing. She pressed through the crowd, fought her way past the very same people who had probably hurt her, lied to her, told how how awful she was. She didn’t let what people said, or even what people did keep her from getting to Jesus. She got close enough to touch His garment and receive her healing.

 

You see the point I’m trying to make is this, sometimes you just gotta keep trying, even if trying results in failing. You keep trying, don’t give up, and God will show up. Other times you have to surround yourself with people who have more faith than you, let their faith carry you to your healing, or in this case lower you down right in front of the healer Himself. And other times you just have to fight, you have to push yourself past all of the haters, the naysayers, past all of the people who hurt you, who lied to you, and just get to Jesus.

 

It’s the issue of the blood.

The blood of Jesus.  The blood that was poured out for all of us.  You see, the blood of Jesus wasn’t spilled, it was poured out. Spilling would indicate that it was an accident, this was no accident. Jesus poured out his blood for our salvation. He poured out His blood for the issues that we read about, and even for the issues that we deal with today. Take heart in knowing that no matter what you are dealing with, no matter what your “issue” is, the Savior has poured out His blood for you.

Written and Shared by: Martin Evans