Open Your Mouth And Keep Saying It!
By: John Tyler
She had seen all the best doctors. She had spent all her money. And she was still sick.
But Jesus was in town, and she had a believing heart working in conjunction with a sanctified mouth.
That’s always bad news for the devil.
And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, and who had endured much suffering under [the hands of] many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was no better but instead grew worse. She had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment, For she kept saying, If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health. And immediately her flow of blood was dried up at the source, and suddenly she felt in her body that she was healed of her distressing ailment (Mark 5: 25-29). We’ve all read this story before, and we’ve marveled at her tenacity, her faith and the compassion of Jesus.
I want to focus on something very interesting that led up to her healing in this portion of scripture. I want to take a close look at what she said.
Twelve years is a long time to put up with anything undesirable, especially when you’ve poured everything you have into fixing the problem. You know this woman wanted to throw in the towel. In fact, she probably had given up years ago.
However, once she had Jesus in her sights, she didn’t worry about what her circumstances dictated. She could care less what the others in the crowd thought. Something was welling up within her. Somewhere, deep inside, a mustard-seed-sized faith was exploding, and where that type of faith leads, your words will follow.
There was no doubt in her mind…if she didn’t grab hold of his garment, she would suffer with this ailment until she died. But as she fought through the crowds to touch Christ, she knew exactly how to align her mouth with her faith. She hadn’t even touched him yet, but she was already claiming her victory.
“For she kept saying, ‘If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health.’” Notice that she kept saying it. She said it once. She said it twice. She said it over and over because her faith was taking her to a place 12 years of suffering and frustration couldn’t take her. Jesus was going to make her whole, and her mouth was in line with the confidence God had placed in her heart.
That’s the kind of life we should live! Our words should reflect our trust in a God who delights in keeping his word. Since “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12: 34b), our words should be a direct reflection of our trust in God’s unshakable ability – and desire – to make good on the promises he made to his children.
Paul said it this way to the Corinthians: “It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.’ With the same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak” (2 Cor. 4: 13).
Can you worry about your sickness and praise God for your healing at the same time? It’s time to choose one or the other.
Can you thank God for your child’s salvation at the same time you’re worrying about the friends they’ve chosen? Nope, can’t pull that one off either!
Can you stress out about your financial situation while praising God for supplying all your needs? Those two feelings can’t co-exist, can they?
Similarly, this woman was on the verge of the greatest miracle of her life, and her words reflected that. While she was probably battling that stubborn voice of doubt inside that told her to go back home and get in bed, she had a faith that told her to press on through the crowd and declare God’s goodness no matter what doubt and fear said.
So today, no matter what you’re facing, you have a choice.
Will you chose to believe the lies assigned to keep you in a rut of mediocrity, lack or sickness? Will you give in to the thoughts that keep your God from moving in the area of your deepest need? Or, will you declare out loud, just like this woman did, that one touch of the Master will change your situation in a heartbeat.
Grab hold of his unchanging truth today. Ignore doubt and fear.
Open your mouth, and keep saying it!
John Tyler, a Houston-based writer and public relations professional, publishes an online column on Christian living. Be Transformed! Visit http://www.JohnTylerMinistries.com
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This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of PrayWay. It is provided for informational purposes only. As always, weigh everything with the Word of God, which is the only inerrant source of information.
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