Called Daughter Before Healed

She was an outcast—shamed and unaccepted by society. I don’t know her name, but those who did knew to avoid her. She was penniless, alone, and had almost given up hope. She had tried everything, endured the shame, and nothing had changed.

It wasn’t the illness or the financial destitution that was soul-crushing. It was the isolation. She was alone. There was no one she could relate to. Survival and shame kept her silent.

We can’t relate to the woman in Mark 5 with the issue of blood.

Or can we?

How often have you felt isolated in your struggle with overwhelm, anxiety, and irritability? How often have you compared yourself to other women who seem so strong and competent—the woman who wears something other than yoga pants, has well-behaved children, is rarely late, and volunteers wherever she is needed? She has energy, a ready smile, and seems organized.

“What’s wrong with me?” you might wonder.

Any hint of vulnerability dies on your lips as you compare. You withdraw in shame.

I believe isolation in our physical and emotional struggles is one of Satan’s greatest tactics used against Christian women. He doesn’t want us to know that healing is available—or that we are not alone. We laugh off PMS with our friends but silently feel shame and dread as we consider our behavior during those days each month. We excuse our anxiety as worrying too much and quietly feel ashamed that we can’t trust God more. We listen as a friend brags about getting by on very little sleep because she has too much to do, and we feel shame because we can’t overcome our fatigue to become more productive.

Satan loves to feed us lies and delights in our shame.

But Jesus called the bleeding woman “daughter.” He broke through the shame and invited her back into community. She felt known and loved by Jesus. He called her daughter before He pronounced her healed.

If you feel isolated in your health concerns—convinced that your mood, fatigue, and overwhelm are the result of a character flaw or a failure to live up to God’s calling—I encourage you to reach out for healing. Maybe it has been twelve long years for you, too, and you are beyond discouraged. Maybe you can put on a good show in public, but your family receives the brunt of your fatigue and irritability.

You are not alone in your struggles. Don’t let Satan convince you otherwise. Healing will not be complete this side of heaven, but there are often more solutions and root causes to our health concerns than what we have been offered. Your symptoms are not a condemning voice of failure in motherhood, marriage, or vocation. They are your body speaking—trying to get your attention because it needs support and nurturing.

The woman pushed through the crowds that day despite her shame. She still believed healing was possible.

Are you willing to push beyond your shame and isolation to continue seeking healing as well?