Luke 8:45a And Jesus said, Who touched me?

If you are familiar with the story of the woman with the issue of blood you know what happened just prior to this comment by Jesus. This woman received a healing without Jesus’ knowledge prior to the touching. I find this to be remarkable in scripture because Christ was so in tune with what the Father was about to do, but here Jesus was left out as to what was happening.

The way I relate to this passage is in the comfort that comes from knowing that God can use us to touch people in ways we may never know until we receive our final rest. People who love Christ want to be obedient to His will. We often struggle understanding what that specific will is at any one moment in time. God the Father is the end user, He has installed the Holy Spirit within us to serve His will. Just as a computer app run in the background which do not always appear on the screen, so does the Spirit.

I would encourage all believers to seek God’s will. I would also encourage you that your vision of His will does not interfere with the user application (Holy Spirit) from doing what God the Father wills. We all want to see God at work because it is a faith builder. Yet faith is a gift from God given in measure according to His will and not according to our desire. We cannot produce faith, it is a gift.

Allow me to point back to this verse about Jesus, full of faith and grace beyond anything we experience and know that His involvement was not required to enact God’s will. The amount of faith you have does not weaken the Holy Spirit’s ability to enact God’s will in you or thru you. You are just as able as any to be used of God.

His user app is running in the background at all times.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse]. AMPC

I use the Classic Amplified bible version here for the more complete expression of thought in this verse.

During Sunday school I was pointing out the good gifts and left off the last part of the verse. A brother in the Lord quickly pointed to the last half of the verse. We had not yet discussed the good and the pastor ran with that. My brother’s point never was discussed, so I went to him after class and had that discussion.

We all have people we look up to and admire in this life. Their gifts and abilities can be very helpful and impressive. We might even desire to be like them, but we should not. While they are shining examples of discipleship, they are not perfect. If closely observed we will eventually see a turning, a shadow cast as their humanity comes between us and the candle they hold.

If you have a high expectation of me, I will disappoint you. I cannot and should not be asked to live up to anyone else’s expectations. I hope my flaws are not of the hurtful kind. If I cause pain, I know my Lord will chasten me. If I wound you, I expect you to tell me and let us work at healing the wound.

If my flaw is neither hurtful nor a stumbling block to your faith, can you be gracious to love me anyway?

Christ was perfect and died so that I would not have to die because I am not.