The Gospel of Mark 1:40-42

“A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said,

“If you wish, you can make me clean.”

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,

touched him, and said to him,

“I do will it. Be made clean.”

The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.”

Stop! And take a moment to remember the last time you were hurting or sick. Recall a time when you were lost or feeling hopeless, unable to make a comeback from the past. What about a moment when you were searching for help, and no one was able to be there to make sure you made it out okay, or alive? Believe it or not, my 20-year-old self has been in each of the above situations, but still today, I am here, making my comeback from the past.

When I read the above scriptures, I thought about what it must have felt like to be an outcast with an illness I have no control over. Maybe feeling hurt, maybe feeling helpless, and maybe feeling hopeless.  It is a part of human nature to feel these things when life seems unbearable. But given time, your creator is will see you through and bring healing just as Jesus did for the leper.

I also thought about past situations in my life, when I was too afraid to reach out to God and ask for help. Sometimes I felt that the struggle I was enduring was a struggle I deserved because of some mistake I happened to make which drew me away from God. However, in this story of the leper, regardless of his past mistakes, he reached out to Jesus with hopes that he would be healed, rescued from the thing that had him bound. Jesus heard him and healed him, lovingly, not considering his past.

I once read a quote, “be brave enough to heal yourself, even when it hurts.” Sometimes that healing requires going to the ones who are most capable. It is okay to feel lost and hurt from time to time. But this does not change how deserving we are of love, peace, and good health. It is our responsibility to ask for the things we need. We were not created to do life on our own.

As I close, one scripture I always turn to when I am down and out is Jeremiah 29:11. It says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Regardless of our struggle and our daily mistakes, our lives serve a purpose and have meaning to God. So, the next time you are at your wits end, hurting, lost or feeling hopeless, remember to ask for what you need and to recognize that there is a greater calling over your life. Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” In doing these things, and you will be made whole.