Desperate for Relief

A few months ago my husband and I were delighted to learn that our family would be growing. Joy and excitement grew as we began to share the news with family and heard our sweet baby’s heartbeat for the first time. Two weeks of pure bliss went by and then extreme pregnancy sickness abruptly ushered its way into my every waking moment depleting me physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually.

Sweet friend, have you ever found yourself in a season of struggle where all you desperately wanted was RELIEF? Maybe it was relief from physical pain, a broken relationship, an addiction, sickness, financial burden, or from the grief of an unexpected tragedy. Maybe you found yourself or currently find yourself waking up barely able to put one foot in front of the other, feeling every bit of your current circumstance, and desperately crying out to God to provide you with relief. If this has been or is currently you, I promise you are not alone.

Over the past few months, I have crumbled more times than I care to count to the floor of my shower, in my car, in my bedroom, and in the arms of my husband pouring hot tears and crying out to God for mercy and relief. Just to be clear, relief does not mean I wanted relief from being pregnant. This life forming inside of me is a wonderful blessing and has been desired and prayed for by my husband and me. The relief I am referencing is relief from the 24/7 nausea, the extreme vomiting and dry-heaving, and feeling as though I have a never-ending stomach bug. Relief from the overwhelming exhaustion, the guilt of not being able to be as present for my husband and toddler, and from the negative thoughts that have crept in attempting to assault my peace.

For the past several weeks the Lord has been bringing me back to a particular woman’s story in the gospel of Mark. We find her story in chapter 5 verse 25 and ending in verse 34. We do not know her name but we do know she was suffering from a condition that caused her to bleed for TWELVE very long years. This woman had spent every penny to her name trying to find relief for her condition from various doctors but instead of getting better, she became worse. To make the situation even more burdensome based on Levitical law (Leviticus 15: 19-27) women were considered unclean during their time of blood flow and everything they laid and sat on was also considered unclean; due to this she was likely ostracized by her community and isolated due to her status of uncleanliness.

My heart and mind cannot even begin to imagine what this woman endured physically, mentally, and emotionally through those twelve years but I do know she recognized the ONE true relief for her desperate soul. Verse 28 gives us a glimpse of her faith, “If only I may touch His clothes, I will be healed.” Not only did this woman recognize that Jesus could heal her, but she also had faith that touching just the hem of His garment could bring her relief; this was a touch of desperate faith. Scripture tells us after touching Jesus the woman was IMMEDIATELY healed of her condition and she felt it; so did Jesus. He recognized this outpouring of power/healing that had taken place and He sought to identify who it was that touched him. Recognizing this she falls before Him, shares her story, and acknowledges the healing that has taken place. I love the last verse where we see Jesus call her “Daughter” and speaks words of assurance to her soul regarding her faith. Not only did Jesus want this woman to receive physical relief, but He also wanted her to experience the fullness of His spiritual relief as well.

Sweet friend, I don’t know where you are spiritually, physically, mentally, or emotionally in life right now. What I do know is that you have a Heavenly Father who loves, cares for, and sees you; He desires nothing more than for you to call out to Him for all of your relief needs. He wants to meet you exactly where you are in your desperation and lavish His love upon you. Over the past few months God has been using pregnancy sickness to humble me, re-position my heart, and magnify my need for His grace and sustaining power. Relief may not always look exactly like what we are praying for but with Jesus we can always trust that there is hope, peace, and comfort in His presence.