A woman was in the crowd who had been bleeding for twelve years, but no one was able to heal her. She came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of His coat, and instantly her bleeding stopped. (Luke 8:43-44)

Ponder It.

When have you benefited from stretching yourself, physically or spiritually?

When have you hurt from stretching, physically or spiritually?

When you think of reaching out to Jesus and reaching others for Jesus, what comes to mind, both positive and negative?

Receive It.

We need to reach and stretch. If we don’t, we’re not living in our full potential as God intends. He created us to live within our reach, but what’s within our reach is limited if we don’t extend and stretch. We need to stretch what we think we can do to fully live what God knows we can do. Our limits aren’t God’s limits. The woman with the bleeding condition was at a point of her life she thought she could give no more. She was drained physically. She was drained financially from seeking solutions. She was drained relationally because she couldn’t experience the closeness of relationships needed to be rejuvenated and satisfied. But there was something still in her. She had a spiritual longing and used what limited energy and resources she had to follow and reach out to Jesus through a crowd—a crowd that she would normally avoid because she was considered unclean and would make others unclean as well. But reaching toward Jesus was worth it.

We know the result of the woman’s reach, but she didn’t as she pursued Him. She had faith in Jesus, but Jesus didn’t heal everyone. It was worth the risk to her. Her hope overrode her inconvenience and fear. We can live with the same faith and hope. We can reach beyond our comfort level. We can stretch toward our toes…or beyond our toes. We can touch the people within our comfortable circle…or we can widen the circle and reach the full circumference of the people God has placed in our places. But I’m going to warn you: when you use your muscles, you’ll get sore at times. You’ll use and strain muscles you never knew existed. You’ll feel a twinge of pain from time to time. You have a choice to stay on the spiritual couch or stretch toward God’s will. It’s worth the effort even when you have to use every last bit of energy and effort.

Live It.

Do some stretches. Right now. Wherever you are. Don’t think it always has to be big stretches. Start with your toes, trying to move each and every one. Then use your ankle to reach your feet in every direction. Keep stretching with different parts of your body. Notice how you feel with each stretch, and imagine how stretching yourself spiritually applies.

Today’s post is part of a 30-day devotional of Adventures in Faith. A new post will be available each morning to launch your day with reflection questions, God’s Word, and a personal challenge.