“And a woman who had suffered a chronic flow of blood for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You. But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had left Me. ”Now when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and admitted in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”(Luke 8: 43-48 NASB)
This past weekend, we had visitors from the Chicago area, my fourth oldest son. That sounds better than my second youngest son, right? His family accompanied him, including his wife and their six- month- old son. It was a most enjoyable visit. But as one of my tee-shirts warns, and you know it by now, “Watch what you say or do because I’ll write about you.” So let me start out with something my son did. He had brought a book with him, an optional reading for his professional growth. You would see it laying around in various rooms. The title of the book is, “What The Dog Saw,” written by Malcom Gladwell (Copyright 2009). One of the quotes from the book is. “It is better to solve the homeless problem than to manage it.” That particular saying is practical advice for how we address the homeless society in our country and around the world for that matter, but is also points, in my view, to a general lesson that make one ponder how we handle any problem in life. Do we solve it, or do we manage it? Difficulty in relationships? Do we solve it, or do we manage it. Recovery issues of all kinds, substance abuse, physical abuse, spiritual weaknesses, habitual sins of various kinds, and even the recovery of our faith, do we solve, or do we manage it? At the proverbial point in life where we are about to accept an obstinate opinion, “I am who I am,” indicating a stubbornness when it comes to changing for the better, do we solve it, or do we manage it? I won’t get in your personal “sandbox” this morning. I will let the Holy Spirit’s inspiration and your integrity identify your perpetual problem and how you deal with them. Then you can ask the same question, “Do we solve it, or do we manage it?” Right away somebody said, ”What do you mean by “we?” Well by “we,” I mean you and Jesus.
We all are familiar with the opening verses. We have sung the gospel song that is based on this miraculous happening. The primary question is, “Did we merely hear the message, or did we massage the meaning into our lives?” A relevant question for today is, “Did you pick up on how this woman had tried everything to manage her problem, but finally reached out to Jesus to solve her problem?”
We all have problems, whether we admit it or not, but that’s not the target of our discourse this morning. Our target, which confronts us all, it is revealed in the title of today’s meditation. Are we going to choose solving our problem with the help of Jesus, or are we going to just try to get by managing it? The third option, not doing anything at all is completely unacceptable. Let down the guards that deflect the truth penetrating your being and apply this meditation to you as opposed to somebody else. Have a great Labor Day! Be blessed!
“Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8 Amplified Bible)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King