Two of my favorite accounts in the New Testament are found
in Luke 8 and Matthew 14. I have always loved these accounts because the two
people in these accounts exercised their faith in Jesus Christ and they were
blessed because of it. As I have studied these accounts further, I found a new
reason to love them even more.
In Luke 8, we read about the woman who had an issue of blood
and how she was healed. This account is found in Luke 8:43-48.
43. And a woman having an
issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians,
neither could be healed of any,
44. Came behind him,
and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood
stanched.
45. And Jesus said, who
touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master,
the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
46. And Jesus said, Somebody
hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
47. And when the woman saw
that she was not hid, she came trembling and falling down before him, she
declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and
how she was healed immediately.
48. And he said unto her,
Daughter, be of good comfort: they faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
In Matthew 14:25-31, we read about Peter walking on water to
go out to meet the Savior.
25. And in the fourth
watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26. And when the disciples
saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and
they cried out for fear.
27. But straightway Jesus
spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28. And Peter answered him
and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29. And he said, Come. And
when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to
Jesus.
30. But when he saw the
wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord,
save me.
31. And immediately Jesus
stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little
faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
So why do I love these accounts even more? In the account
with the woman with an issue of blood, after she touches the hem of Jesus’s
robe, she is immediately healed. In the account of Peter walking on water to go
out to the Savior, he takes his eyes off the Savior and he starts to sink. He
cried out and says, “Lord save me.” and immediately Jesus stretches out his
hand to save him. I love these accounts and so many others in the New
Testament, because the Savior immediately reached out his hand to heal and to
save. He didn’t wait and think about whether these people deserved it, he
immediately helped them.
Over the last few months, I have come to understand how much
our Savior Jesus Christ loves each and every one of us. There have been so many
times when I have cried out in anguish to him because of the things I was experiencing
and didn’t know how I was going to make it through. Each time I would cry out
to Him and ask that the pain be taken away, and each time, He immediately took
it from me. My trials didn’t go away but the heartache I was feeling did go
away, and I was given strength to keep moving forward despite not knowing when
an end would be in sight.
Our Savior loves us so much. He is anxious to reach out and
help us. Sometimes I think we think we do not deserve His help and that we need
to face our challenges on our own. I have felt this way many times throughout
my life, especially recently, but I have learned that that isn’t true. We
aren’t meant to fight our battles on our own. We have a Savior who is eager and
ready to help us through any and all trails we face. He is always going to be
right there beside us. We just need to reach out to Him and let Him in.
I know that Jesus is the Christ. He is our older brother. He is our Savior and Redeemer. He
knows exactly how to help us and if we let Him in, He will help us with
everything we face. I am so grateful for my knowledge of this. I know that
without it, I would never have made it as far as I have in my life. He truly
wants what is best for each of us, and I know that if we will put our trust in
Him, we will see miracles happen in our lives.
