How to Cling to Hope with Long-Lasting Trials

Stories of Hope in Hard Times

How to Cling to Hope with Long-Lasting Trials

Have you ever felt discouraged…like you wanted to give up? That whatever trial you have been facing has been long and hard and seems to never end? That you’ve been trying—so very hard to find the solution to your problem…but you can’t seem to figure it out?

What can you do to keep going?

Today I am going to share with you a great story from the Bible that we can apply today—it is known as the story of the woman with the issue of blood in the New Testament, Mark 5:25-34

3 Lessons from the Woman with the Issue of Blood

Research for Solutions with Faith

• Research and ask God to guide you
• Talk to Experts
• Keep your ears open she had “heard of Jesus”

According to William Barclay’s commentary, the Talmud gave at least eleven possible cures for her ailment.

She was also desperate, which can be a very good thing. Desperation keeps complacency and self-pity away.

“When she heard people speak of the power of Christ, she believed and began to hope again for an ultimate cure. If she could just get to him. She had been in hiding so long that she felt she couldn’t just go up to him and talk to him. She was embarrassed and needed as private a cure as she could get. She devised a plan. If she could just touch his clothing for a second. She pushed her way through the crowd. A crowd that could turn on her if they realized that she was that woman, the one with the issue of blood. But she pushed through anyway. She was desperate. She got to touch his garment AND instantly the blood stopped, and she felt perfectly well. But she couldn’t remain anonymous as she wanted. Her feeling of triumph gave way to fear and trembling. What would he do to her? She fell down at his feet and humbly explained what she had done. And his response wasn’t anger. It was delight at her extreme faith."

2. Act on Ideas, Thoughts and Impressions

• God often answers line upon line…an idea here and there
• Take one step at a time—don’t be overwhelmed by 20 things all at once.
• Don’t give up when the first few things don’t work—keep trying. Keep hoping. (the woman tried different things for 12 years).

When you face obstacles, keep moving through them.

3. Trust the Savior Can Heal in His own Time and Way

• Be patient as you wait on His timeline
• Ask Him to tell you if there is anything you can or should be doing while you are waiting
• Remember to pray asking for baby steps of miracles—while always adding, “thy will be done.”
• Sometimes God heals different things than we are praying for
• Praying for physical healing and he blesses you with emotional resilience
• Praying for mental health help—resources (medication/support) to cope
• you may be seeing physical health and he heals you spiritually
• The healing will happen through Christ eventually—maybe even in the next life (which lasts forever btw)

My Personal Experience Dealing With Long-Lasting Illness

· When Nathan was first diagnosed with autism I prayed God would heal him. He didn’t.

· But, God did teach me little baby steps of healing for helping him with sound sensitivity and learning to sleep through the night.

· It was still hard, but we moved forward with faith, the help of experts

· We acted on the things we learned—bought medication, learned to make social stories, etc.

· We leaned on God to help us with all the rest.

· Don’t discount the baby steps of miracles along the way when you are praying for a big miracle.

Conclusion

The woman with the issue of blood researched solutions to her problem, acted on thoughts and impressions, and trusted that God would heal in His own time and way. From her story, we learned that it’s sometimes it takes time, patience, persistence and a lot of faith to carry on daily, weekly, monthly and yearly as we struggle through long-lasting challenges. We also learn that healing comes in different ways, and to trust that God will heal us and those we love eventually.

Religious leader Dennis B. Neuenschwander spoke about how the woman in this account acted in faith to come to the Savior:

“Among the crowd was a woman. … Outwardly, there was little to distinguish her from any other person in the crowd. No one tried to stop her from moving toward Jesus. Certainly, the Apostles neither noticed her nor made any attempt to stop her. But there was something that set her apart from all others in the crowd that day. Though buried among the thronging mass, she resolutely and quietly pressed forward with a single purpose in mind: to come to the Savior, having faith that He had the power to heal her, that He cared about her and would respond to her need. In this one thing she set herself apart from the crowd. The crowd came to see, but the woman came to be healed. …

“ … All of us are among the crowds of this world. Almost all of us are like the woman who, despite the crowd, comes to the Savior. We all have faith that just a touch will bring healing to our aching souls and relief to our innermost needs.

“ … In all of life’s circumstances let us quietly and resolutely press forward to the Savior, having faith that He cares about us and has the power to heal and save us” (“One among the Crowd,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2008, 101–3).

Invitation

So, going back to my initial question:

Have you ever felt discouraged…like you wanted to give up?

Remember the lessons from the story of the woman with the issue of blood and take action on one of the following items:

1. Research for Solutions with Faith
2. Act on Ideas, Thoughts and Impressions
3. Trust the Savior Can Heal in His own Time and Way

I know Jesus Christ loves us, sees us through the crowd and will help, heal and comfort us through any and all long-lasting trials in our lives.

#tamarakanderson #storiesofhopeinhardtimes #podcast #hope #God #hardtimes #trials #challenges #longlastingchallenges #longlastingillness #faith #Bible #Biblestory#Womanwiththeissueofblood #JesusChrist

Transcription

You can find the transcription of today's episode here: https://www.tamarakanderson.com/podcasts/how-to-cling-to-hope-with-long-lasting-trials