The Only True Answer

Have you ever prayed so much for a particular situation but felt like nothing changed?

Well, you aren’t alone. Tests and trials are part of our journey of faith.

This feeling didn’t start with you; it goes back to biblical times. In the passage below, Mark writes about a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years, and no physician could help her. The Bible doesn’t give much context about her, but her story is worth learning from. However, research shows that her condition is characterised with prolonged menstrual cycle and in those days when a woman was having her monthly cycle she was considered unclean.

“A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse.” She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe.  For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. Jesus realised at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”  His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realisation of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” Mark 5:24-34

The Woman

As you can see from the text above, this woman’s faith was so strong that her story had to be shared and is still blessing lives today. Interestingly, the Bible doesn’t talk much about her as a believer in Christ; it only says she heard about Jesus, meaning she didn’t know him yet. 

Isn’t it fascinating that someone who didn’t know Jesus but only heard about him, showed up at a place where she knew he would be, and believed that he had the answer to her situation? Mark writes about how she had spent all her money on physicians and treatments of all sorts, but none of it could save her. After twelve years of trying, she didn’t get discouraged or lose hope; instead she still sought answers and believed that she could be healed. 

Have you been waiting for years, searching for answers everywhere and have slowly lost hope? 

Have you concluded that your problems can't be solved and have even made them part of your identity to the extent that you don't believe Jesus can solve those problems? 

Have you questioned God’s love for you because you don’t understand why he would allow you to go through such challenges?

All these emotions are valid and I know it can be hard to see challenges as good things, but if you choose to focus on Jesus, you will see his work in your life.

What is Faith?

Hebrews 11:1 is one of the rare occasions in the bible where a clear and straightforward explanation is given for a term.

Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1

This passage tells us what faith is really about. It is not about wishful thinking or being delusional; it is about having complete trust or confidence in the hope that God has given us through the life of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus lived, we have hope that he is the answer and we can have full confidence in that hope

Our walk with God is a continuous journey of learning to trust him completely in good times and in challenging times. . Nowadays, it is very common to see us—Christians— associate having faith only when things are going well. We think of faith as something that makes sense when we have a tangible assurance of what’s to come.  As soon as things don’t go our way or don’t happen the way we expect them to, our faith in God becomes shaky. 

Trust me, it happens to all of us. This is not an indictment against your Christian life; instead, it’s a reminder that there is more to this journey of following Christ. 

The more I study the bible, the clearer it is that our faith journey is not void of challenges. In fact, the Bible shows that God allows us to go through certain trials to strengthen our faith in him. There is a purpose in everything he does, whether we understand it or not, and that purpose is revealed when we learn to trust him and put all our hope in him 

The woman with the issue of blood searched for 12 years before she found her healing at the feet of Jesus Christ. That’s an incredibly long time to wait for an answer. I can’t help but wonder if God allowed her to go through all the physicians, treatments, and testing to prove that he is the greatest healer, whose solutions and answers defy all logic. Maybe God wanted her to realise that he is the one who holds life and death in his hand; the God whose work is always perfect.

What if God lets us go through certain situations to reveal who he is to us? What if those challenges you are experiencing are only there to point you to God? What if those moments of despair are simply nudges equipping you and helping you build trust in him?

The challenges aren’t for you to question God’s love, character, or faithfulness in your life. I know how easy it is to question God when things aren’t going well. That’s a process many of us go through; It starts out as questioning God and slowly we begin to deny his faithfulness, mercy, grace, and love for us. We have to be mindful not to fall into that trap. God’s plan for us is to learn more about him in those moments when it feels like we can’t find him.  

Like the woman with the issue of blood, we have to draw closer to him when it seems like we are lost. Hearing about Jesus is a great first step, and that’s exactly where this woman was in our walk with God. She didn’t know Jesus but she believed. Chances are, you are further than where this woman was in your walk with God. You’ve heard about it and may have even learnt a lot about him through the years and through his blessings over your life. You already have evidence of what God can do. The woman with the issue of blood didn’t even have that much evidence, but she believed. Why not you? 

Trials and tribulations don’t make God less of who he is. He is still God regardless of what you go through, and he’s inviting you to a place where you can get to know him so that your faith can be strengthened. He wants you to have faith in that knowledge of who he is in your life. No matter what comes your way or what you face along your journey, he wants you to focus on him and have hope in the fact that he always has the answer.

He is the only true answer.