Reach for Restoration (Thursday)

Mark 5:24-34

24 And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.
25 A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, 26 and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but instead had become worse— 27 after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. 28 For she had been saying to herself, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” 29 And immediately, the flow of her blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power from Him had gone out, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” 31 And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” 32 And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be cured of your disease.”

For twelve long years, the woman with a hemorrhage suffered physically, socially, and emotionally. Everything she had was spent on physicians, yet her condition worsened. According to Jewish law, her illness rendered her ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 15:25-27), cutting her off from community, worship, and normal life. She was an outcast, isolated in her suffering.

But when the woman heard about Jesus, hope was rekindled. If she could just touch the hem of His garment, she would be healed. Amidst the pressing crowd, she reached out in faith. Instantly, she was healed. Yet, the miracle did not end with her physical healing. Jesus stopped, turned, and sought her out. He did not let her slip away unnoticed but called her “Daughter,” affirming her restored identity and place in the family of God.

Jesus does not merely heal our physical bodies — He restores our souls. The woman had been ostracized, yet Christ publicly declared her clean. She had been silenced by suffering, yet Jesus listened to her. She had been filled with fear, yet Jesus sent her away in peace.

The miracle of restoration extends to us today. We all carry burdens of past wounds, rejection, or shame. Like the woman, we may feel unworthy, exhausted from striving, or fearful of reaching out. Yet Jesus invites us to come to Him. His power is sufficient to heal, and His love is enough to restore. He does not merely fix what is broken — He makes all things new.

In what areas of your life do you need Christ’s restoring touch?

Are there ways in which you can extend Christ’s restoration to others?


Lord Jesus, thank You for Your power to heal and restore. Help me to trust You with the broken areas of my life, knowing that You see me, love me, and call me Your own. Strengthen my faith to reach out to You, and let Your peace fill my heart. Amen.