Shannon Bream - The Women of the Bible Speak: The Wisdom of 16 Women and Their Lessons for Today

Finding the Bright Side: The Art of Chasing What Matters

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FIRST EDITION

Illustrations by Erica Guillane-Nachez and ruskpp/stock.adobe.com

Cover design by Caroline Johnson

Cover images: iStock / Getty Images Plus (flowers); Anatartan / Getty Images (ornament)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021935852

Digital Edition MARCH 2021 ISBN: 978-0-06-304661-0

Version 01312022

Print ISBN: 978-0-06-304659-7

To my grandmothers, Nell and Margaret,

whose stories rival those found in these pages:

Your deep faith has inspired me to believe God is present in

every valley and on every mountaintop. I love you most.

She is clothed with strength and dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.

Proverbs 31:25

This time will be different. It has to be.

I often wonder what ran through the mind of the woman whose story is so powerful that its woven through three of the Gospelsyet we dont even know her name. We do have plenty of details, though, about just how dire her situation was. She suffered with bleeding for twelve long years. During that time, she must have had moments of complete despondence.

In the time when she lived, this womans affliction would have caused her not only physical pain, but also emotional isolation. According to custom, she would not have been able to worship in a temple, and many would have considered her unclean. This likely would have meant she couldnt touch the people she loved most: her own family and friends. She may have been banned from visiting markets or seeking any real community connections.

Mark tells us she had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse (Mark 5:26). After so many years, so many dead ends, there must have been times when she thought this was how her story would end: with her hopeless and helpless.

And yet, Mark goes on to tell us that she had heard the reports about Jesus (Mark 5:27). That was all it took for this disheartened woman to move forward.

Word of Jesuss miracles had spread far and wide, and crowds often followed Him, pushing in on every side, eager to hear His words and see if He could make a difference in their lives. The stories gave root to the tiniest seed of hope in the womans heart, a little green shoot that gave her the courage to take a big risk. Matthew maps out her strategy: [S]he said to herself, If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed (Matthew 9:21).

So, that was the entirety of her plan: to get as close to Jesus as possible, touch His cloak, and receive a miracle. Bold! Remember, she likely wasnt even supposed to leave her home, certainly not to be in a crowd where she would come in contact with other peoplenot to mention Jesus Himself. In her despair, she must have felt there were no other options left.

When she finally got to where Jesus was, He was on His way to attend to the request of a powerful man who had begged Him to save his dying daughter. As was often the case, this attracted spectators. Mark describes it as a great crowd that thronged about him (Mark 5:24). The ailing woman worked her way close enough to reach out to the miracle worker shed heard so much about.

Luke shares the powerful moment in the simplest language, writing, She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped (Luke 8:44).

Mark says, Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering (Mark 5:29). That was it! But the story still wasnt over.

Jesus knew what had happened. He looked to the crowd and asked His disciples who had touched Him. You can almost hear the laughter in Peters voice as he replies, Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you (Luke 8:45). Heres the thing: the woman knew that a man so powerful that mere contact with His garment would heal her would certainly figure out whom He had healed.

In both Mark and Luke, were told that she went to Jesus in fear and trembling, falling down before Him and telling Him the whole truth. Was she afraid she was about to be exposed as an unclean rule-breaker who shouldnt even have been there? Jesus didnt berate or humiliate her in front of the enormous crowd hanging on His every word. Only He could have known in that moment just how much she had suffered or how she had courageously and humbly bundled all her hopes into the simple act of touching the hem of His garment. In all the Gospel accounts, He calls her Daughter and tells her, Your faith has made you well. Think for a moment how those words must have felt to someone likely living as an outcast. Uttered, as they were, before the multitudes hanging on Jesuss every word, they would have constituted public acceptance.

Though His power was clearly the source of her healing, Jesus identified her faith as having activated her cure. After more than a decade of suffering, bad news, and financial ruin, she was finally free, healed in an instantall because she dared reach out to Him for help when every earthly avenue had ended in nothing but loss and despair.

For many of us, 2020 was a year filled with pain: physical, financial, emotional, and mental. We often felt isolated, kept away from our loved ones, and disconnected from our houses of worship and the sense of community they provide. There were adversities we could not have imagined wed face in our lifetimes. Hardships piled up, one on top of the other. And yet... there was hope. There was refuge. There was inspiration and healing.

Throughout the Bible, women are at the center of some of the most critical events. They were bold and brave, finding courage in the moments when everything hung in the balance. They were voices of truth and reason. They were steady and creative, following Gods direction when it didnt make sense by the worlds standards.

In this book, youll hear their stories, watch the women come alive as we dig into their lives significance. Individually, their accounts are powerful. Yet, here, we will consider the women in pairs, finding the commonalities in their callings and challenges. Some of the women knew one another. Others were connected simply by a thread of common purpose, one that becomes more illuminated as we study the women side by side. I pray youll find comfort and hope as we take this journey together.

(Genesis 11:2712:20; 16:16; 17:1519; 18:115; 20:118; 21:113; 23:19)

The facts of Sarahs life sound like an adventure story, full of twists and turns: She was settled into her life when her husband suddenly announced theyd be upending everything they knew to move way out of their comfort zone. She managed a wealthy household with a very complicated blended familyand thats not all. She bore no child of her own, and even when God made her a specific promise, she laughed it off as impossible. How surprised she must have been when the wildly unthinkable finally came true for herbut oh, how far off track shed already gotten by taking matters into her own hands.