Forever Free

Forever Free

Broken. The pain has grown so deep that it completely consumes her life. There is no running away from the chilling darkness that has abducted the heart of a once youthful soul. The joys and laughter of yesterday are now overcome with cries in the night and haunting visions of the past. Life as she knows it looks pain-filled and endless.

Desperate. In search of any cure at all from this lifetime of suffering, she runs into the street to see the man known as the Healer-of-the-broken. The sea of people makes it impossible to see this face of Hope. In a frantic attempt to even glimpse at this face, she drops to her knees and begins crawling through the crowd. Covered in mud, with blood dripping down her face from the abuse of the crowd, she begins to see the feet of the man drawing closer and closer. With her last desperate attempt at a free life, she flings herself into the street with every last bit of strength, barely grazing a piece of the man’s clothing.

Life. Rushing through her veins, sensations starting at the toes, sprinting through her chest and out through her mouth. A fresh breath. One single breath filled with joy, and a hope that has seemed to be buried deep within the concaves of her heart. Another breath. What is this? Mountains of bricks fly off her shoulders in the time it took to reach out and touch the clothes of this powerful man. A pure, fresh breath filled with life everlasting. A breath moving forward. A breath of life. True Life.

Ashamed. She hides her face as the man abruptly stops and seeks out the soul who touched him. What was she thinking, reaching out to grasp this man, the one worthy of so much praise? Surely her life will be taken from her now, now that she has just taken her first breath. In that instant, a shadow fell over her body, and then a hand softly lifted her chin into the light. Overcome with trembling fear, she lifts her eyes to face whatever fate she has brought upon herself. But, instead of the familiar look of pity and disgust, her eyes were fixed upon a face filled with love reaching straight into the depths of her heart.

Hope. The man wet his fingers with water from his jug and began carefully wiping away the mud and tears that stained the poor woman’s face, never once taking his eyes from hers. When he was finished, he placed his hand on her shoulder, looked deep into her eyes and said, “My sweet, sweet daughter, do not be afraid for no one has ever loved you the way I do. Because you have believed and trusted in me when this world left you hopeless, your suffering will be no more. Your faith has healed you and you are now able to live for the first time.” With that he smiled at her, stood, and continued on his journey. But, he did not leave without placing his mark upon her soul. This one true Healer is now her source of life. Free from the bondages of her past, free from the judgment of the world, and free from the mark of death that once captured her soul, her life is full and complete. Forever Free.

"And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years...instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak...immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering...Jesus asked, "Who touched my clothes?"...But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." -Mark 5:25-34-

I'm sure that everyone can see themselves in the place of being at rock bottom and being so desperate for freedom from your suffering that you would do anything to be clean and holy again. It's crazy to think back to the times when we ran from God, but it is also amazing to see how powerful God is, and just by 'grazing' the robe of Jesus, we can be completely renewed. God's love goes so much deeper than what any of us can even attempt to comprehend, but it is His grace and mercy that give us a reason to live a life filled with hope each day.