Messages
| Tenacity | 3.24.09 |
“Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.” ~ Mark 6:56 (NKJV)
Tenacity means to cling to a belief without doubting. It is a set kind of faith, a determination that doesn’t waver. It takes a lot of tenacity to believe for a healing touch when we are sick, when our physical bodies suggest hopelessness, when we have waited a long time.
Hebrews 13:8 enlightens us that “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Indeed, He heals today. His power hasn’t changed since He walked through marketplaces full of sick people on earth. Still, all we need is one touch from Him.
Tenacious faith is exhibited profoundly in the testimony of the woman with the issue of blood (Matt. 9:20). The Bible tells us that she was sick for 12 years. We don’t know at what rate blood drained out of her body, but we do know that blood is life. Surely, her faith was tested as she felt the very life drain out of her.
But, according to the Bible, she kept saying to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I shall be restored to health” (Matt. 9:21). Her declarations of divine truth built her faith and to be sure, Jesus heals in many ways, and, I believe, in His appointed time. Like salvation, healing is a faith journey extended from the very heart of God’s love, grace and mercy. But do we have the tenacity to see it through? How deep and how far are we willing to journey in our commitment to the kind of faith that brings life and restoration?
Surely, God has called us to tenacious faith. Do we humbly present or “lay” people from our assigned workplaces before Jesus? Do we desperately beseech Him for a healing touch? Do we have a heart for others to be healed, a heart for doing the work of Jesus?
Tenacity is about selflessness. It is about choosing to believe the truth of God’s divine precepts over natural circumstances. And it’s about taking courage to journey forth with Jesus no matter what.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6). Won’t you bring life to someone through a tenacious heart for Jesus?
Tim Carlisle