Mark 5:30-34
And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?  And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?  And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.  But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.  And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

She was just an anonymous woman, someone with a physical but perhaps unnoticed problem that afflicted her for 12 years.  She had steadily declined despite spending all she had for a cure.  And yet she persisted and sought after Jesus, perhaps her last hope.  She didn’t make a spectacle of herself.  She didn’t make a request in front of the crowd, as Jairus had done.  But she came behind Jesus.  She spoke only in her own heart and mind.  But this silent and nameless faith caught Jesus’ attention.

Jesus looked round about for the person who had touched Him.  He looked purposely for the one whose faith had drawn virtue out of Him.  He wanted to see her.  He knew that something had happened and affected her life in a profound way, and she knew also what was done in her.  She knew the immediate change that had just occurred as her plague disappeared in an instant.

So Jesus invites her to tell her story, to give a testimony of what had happened.  There wasn’t reason to fear, but to rejoice.  There was no reason to hide in shame and silence, but to proclaim her affliction, what she’d suffered, what she’d gone through, but then to tell how Jesus made all the difference.  And by His grace, Jesus gives her the promise and assurance that her healing is complete.

Jesus values individuals.  He sees the ones who others may pass by without a second glance.  He knows the depths of our experiences even if no one else is aware of what we’re going through.  His grace still applies to the quiet and the nameless, and the faith of those still prompts a response from Him.  And the truth of our experiences has value when we can use it to glorify the Lord and encourage others of the difference that Jesus can make.  We don’t have to be afraid, and we don’t have to be ashamed.  We don’t have to hide, and we don’t have to keep silent.  May we be willing to share our story of what Jesus has done for us, because we never know who may be helped when we do so.