Despair to deliverance!

1. Introduction

“There was a castle called Doubting Castle, the owner whereof was Giant DESPAIR” - John Bunyan 1628-1688, British Author

Despair is a state in which everything seems wrong and will turn out badly. It is the feeling that there is no hope and that you can do nothing to improve a difficult or troubling situation. Let’s take an example a woman (Mark 5:25 -34) whose condition was desperate and was looking for a way out of it.

2. Desperate condition (verse 25, 26)

· She suffered from bleeding problem – ‘menorrhagia’

· Duration - 12 years

· Treated by many doctors

· She spent all the money she had

· Her condition grew worse

Though there are numerous causes of menorrhagia, fibroids in the uterus are the most common cause of bleeding in women. As a result of loss of blood, she might have developed ‘anemia’- which itself can cause tiredness, breathlessness, palpitations (rapid heart beats), dizziness, and headache. Pain is another common symptom. In the modern world, there are so many treatments available, the last option being ‘hysterectomy’ – removal of uterus. But in those days, surgical skills were not advanced. So she had to suffer with this disease for such a long time (12years!). She was in a desperate state – she wanted her condition to be healed.

3. Action plan (verse 27)

· She heard about Jesus and his healing power

· She believed in his miracle working power

· She moved up the crowd

· Passed through the circle of disciples

· Touched his garments – encounter with Jesus

On her journey to Jesus, the first resistance she faced was the crowd. This group consists of a mixture of believers, unbelievers and even onlookers. After passing through them, she then faced his disciples, who could have tried to keep a distance between Jesus and the crowd. So she struggled in silence to pass thru them. She successfully passed them to come near Jesus. Then she touched his garments and felt an ‘instant’ healing, thereby she touched the ‘glory of God’!

4. Application

· Determination - If she had not gone to Jesus, this disease would probably have been her life-long menace. So, when there’s a pressing need in our life, we MUST take it to Jesus. We MUST be determined to get an answer from him.

· Courage – It took a lot of courage for this woman to go through the crowd to touch his garments.

· Planning – Days or even weeks before her encounter with Jesus, she had planned for such encounter well in advance.

· Silence – She kept everything secret till she accomplished her mission.

5. Conclusion

In essence, the encounter and fellowship with Jesus is the most exciting experience in everyone’s life. Given a hard situation, we MUST have the determination and courage to reach out to Jesus to find an answer for the problem.

“NOTHING earthly will make me give up my work in DESPAIR”

David Livingstone 1813-1873, British Missionary.

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed. We are perplexed, but NOT IN DESPAIR” - 2 Corinthians 4:8