An issue of blood

For Those Carrying Burdens They Cannot Heal

For twelve long years, she suffered.

For twelve years she searched for answers.

For twelve years she spent everything she had trying to find relief.

For twelve years she carried a burden that no doctor, no remedy, and no amount of determination could cure.

The Bible tells us that the woman with the issue of blood had suffered much and had spent all she possessed, yet instead of improving, she grew worse.

Many people read her story and immediately see physical illness.

But I suspect there are many women who understand her struggle in a different way.

Perhaps your burden is not your own illness.

Perhaps your burden has a name.

A son.

A daughter.

A husband.

A wife.

A grandchild.

A friend.

Someone you love who is struggling.

Someone trapped by addiction.

Someone battling depression.

Someone making choices that break your heart.

Someone drifting farther from God with every passing day.

And no matter how much you love them, you cannot heal them.

That helpless feeling is a burden all its own.

You pray.

You worry.

You cry.

You encourage.

You hope.

Then sometimes you watch the same painful cycle repeat itself again and again.

The woman in Scripture knew what it felt like to carry something for years.

She knew what it felt like to exhaust every earthly solution.

She knew what it felt like to wonder if things would ever change.

Yet she never stopped moving toward Jesus.

That may be the most important lesson in her story.

She did not have the power to heal herself.

But she knew where healing could be found.

Many women who love someone struggling with addiction or other life-controlling problems carry a burden they were never meant to carry alone.

You may feel responsible.

You may feel guilty.

You may wonder if you could have done something differently.

You may replay old conversations and old decisions in your mind until exhaustion overtakes you.

But the truth is this:

You are not God.

You cannot save another person's soul.

You cannot force another person's recovery.

You cannot heal another person's wounds.

You cannot make another person's choices.

What you can do is what the woman did.

You can keep reaching.

The woman said within herself:

"If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole."

— Mark 5:28

Her faith was not in her own strength.

Her faith was in Christ.

The same is true for us.

There comes a point where we must place the people we love into God's hands.

Not because we have stopped caring.

Not because we have given up.

But because we recognize that the One carrying them is stronger than we are.

Prayer is not weakness.

Prayer is not surrendering the fight.

Prayer is moving the battle into the hands of the One who never loses.

Scripture tells us:

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

— James 5:16

That verse is not limited to pastors, preachers, or church leaders.

It includes praying mothers.

Praying wives.

Praying grandmothers.

Praying sisters.

Praying friends.

Every tear shed in prayer is seen by God.

Every whispered prayer in the middle of the night is heard by God.

Every plea offered for a struggling loved one reaches His ears.

The woman with the issue of blood could not heal herself.

You cannot heal them.

But both of you can reach for Christ.

And perhaps that is the lesson God has been trying to teach all along.

Not that your burden is too heavy.

But that it was never yours to carry alone.

Today, if you are weary from praying for someone you love, do not stop.

Keep reaching.

Keep believing.

Keep praying.

Keep trusting.

The God who saw a desperate woman pressing through the crowd still sees you today.

He sees your tears.

He sees your burden.

He sees the person you are praying for.

And though the answer may not arrive in the way or timing you expect, know this:

He has not forgotten either of you.

Prayer

Father,

You know the burdens we carry for those we love. You see every tear, every fear, and every prayer offered on their behalf. Help us to trust You with what we cannot control and to place our loved ones into Your hands. Strengthen our faith when we grow weary, renew our hope when we feel discouraged, and remind us that You are working even when we cannot see it.

Like the woman who reached for the hem of Your garment, help us keep reaching for You.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.