Mark 5:20-29: in context

In the press of a crowd around Jesus comes a woman who had suffered a flow of blood for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, spent all she had, and instead of getting better had grown worse. Every remedy had failed; her resources were exhausted; her condition was hopeless. Having heard of Jesus, she comes up behind him in the crowd, thinking, if I just touch his clothes, I will be made well. She reaches out and touches his garment, and immediately she is healed, feeling in her body that the affliction is gone.

The woman's faith is remarkable precisely because of where she had come from. For twelve years she had suffered; she had tried every remedy, spent everything she had on physicians, and only grown worse. She had reached the end of every other resource, exhausted every hope, and found no help anywhere. And it was there, at the end of everything else, that she came to Jesus, in a desperate but humble faith, believing that even to touch the edge of his garment would be enough. She had nothing left but this reaching out to Christ, and it was enough; she was healed of what nothing else could touch. There is a lesson here about the faith that reaches out to Christ at the end of every other resource. Often it is only when we have exhausted every other remedy, tried everything else, and found no help, that we finally turn to Christ in the desperate faith this woman had. We spend ourselves on other cures first, other hopes, other resources, and only when these fail do we come to him. And the good news is that Christ receives exactly such faith, the faith of those who come to him having tried everything else and found no help, reaching out to him as their last and only hope. The woman came at the end of twelve years and every failed remedy, and she was healed. This encourages the desperate to reach out to Christ. If we have suffered long, tried everything, spent ourselves on other hopes and found no help, we are not therefore beyond Christ's reach; we are exactly the kind of person he receives. The woman's humble, desperate faith, reaching out to touch his garment, is the faith that finds him able to heal what nothing else could. Let us draw near with boldness, Hebrews says, to the throne of grace, that we may find grace to help in time of need. This calls us to bring our desperate, exhausted, end-of-every-resource faith to Christ, believing that he receives those who reach out to him when everything else has failed. The woman touched his garment after twelve years of failed remedies and was made well; and Christ still receives the faith that reaches out to him at the end of every other hope, able to help where nothing else could.

When I have suffered long and tried every other remedy, spending myself on other hopes and resources only to find no help, do I imagine I am beyond help, or can the woman who reached out to touch Jesus' garment after twelve years of failed cures, and was healed, encourage me to bring my desperate, exhausted faith to Christ, reaching out to him as my last and only hope, and trusting that he receives those who come to him when everything else has failed?