WEDNESDAY

SCRIPTURE: Mark 5:21-34

Do you like to be noticed? We seem to have a love-hate relationship with that idea. Sometimes the last thing we want is attention, so we slip in and out quietly or try to blend into the crowd. Who wants to draw attention to themselves? At other times, we long to be seen, affirmed, and valued. Who does not appreciate genuine affirmation, or dislike being demeaned?

Often the giants we see in the land ahead have much to do with our fear of being noticed in the wrong way. Responding to God’s invitation to move forward, confident in who we are before God and assured of God’s presence with us, can feel as daunting as entering Canaan and facing what lives there.

Today’s passage tells of a woman who had carried oppressive giants for years. Her condition had robbed her of healthy affirmation and caused her to be noticed in ways that diminished her. Yet one day she risks pressing through the crowd simply to touch the edge of Jesus’ garment. Suddenly, she is noticed in a way she never has been before, and everything changes.

As you take a few moments to sit with this story, consider the following:

• She had lived with a debilitating and demeaning condition for twelve years. That is a long time to carry something so heavy. Are there burdens that you, or someone you know, have been carrying for years? In what ways might this woman’s experience echo your own or theirs?

• How do you respond to Jesus stopping and refusing to let her slip away without being seen and affirmed?

• When you hear Jesus call her “daughter,” what do you imagine that meant to her? What does it stir in you as you witness this moment?

• Even though Jesus was on the way to help a dying girl, what does this pause tell us about how God values our struggles? How might it reshape the way you evaluate the significance of your own concerns?

As you reflect on this passage, what do you sense God inviting you to notice, trust, or embrace more fully?