To the woman who has tried everything… God sees you

Sometimes our best efforts are met with zero results. In that moment, we must make a choice: will we continue relying on ourselves, or put our hope in God who can do all things?

Image: Woman Bathing Her Feet in a Brook, Camille Pissarro, 1895

“Just make it happen” energy

Ever tried so hard to make something happen, but you just couldn’t? All your best efforts fall flat and instead are met with life dishing out even more challenges.

Even your attempts to not try so hard and “just trust God” feel like another chore. You find yourself subconsciously thinking, “Maybe if I trust Him perfectly, pray just right, and surrender enough, it will finally happen.”

Recently, I got to a place where I started thinking, “I won’t be okay unless I get this thing I’m praying for.” (Insert your struggle here.) And in that moment, I realized it had become an idol in my life. Jesus is all I need, now and forever. But it can be a journey to get to that place, and we all need a little help.

This article is sponsored by Tyndale. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Image: Young Peasant Having Her Coffee, Camille Pissarro, 1881

The woman who shifted her hopes to Christ alone

So many women in the Bible come to God at the end of themselves. Hagar, Esther, and Hannah, to name a few. But the one that comes to my mind most sharply is the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5:25-34:

A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”

His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

This woman had done it all, spent everything, and had nothing left. No one could have tried harder, yet all her efforts were in vain. But she never gave up hope. She said, “If I can just touch the hem of His garment, I will be well.”

With all the important people clamoring around Him, Jesus noticed this woman’s touch and felt the power go out of Him, stopping to speak to her soul. He recognized that she put 100% of her hope in Him.

One thing that’s evident throughout Scripture — God sees women. He listens when you pray. Yes, you.

Sit with that for a moment. Know that God does not ignore a single prayer or tear that falls from your eyes. “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” (Psalm 56:8)

Jesus is more than enough

Maybe this is the moment you realize that whatever the “thing” is in your life — it’s not up to you. Your story is in God’s hands. You don’t have to do everything right, pray the perfect prayers, or monitor every thought to make yourself worthy enough for Him to answer.

It’s enough to realize: I am His daughter. He sees me. I don’t have to be perfect for God to move in my life.

Maybe you’ve waited 12 years (or longer) for something, like the woman in the story. Maybe you’ve trusted at times, believing God for a yes, and then miserable at times, doubting His plan.

The moment things change in me is when I grasp the hem of His garment. When I finally realize He is enough, even if my prayer never gets answered the way I hope.

If the resolution never comes…

The diagnosis never changes…

The reconciliation doesn’t happen…

The money runs dry…

The dream never comes true…

Jesus is still my Lord. And He is more than enough.

Image: Weeping Woman, Vincent van Gogh, 1883

How can we shift the focus on our problem and hope in God, instead?

1. Surrender it to God.

Reflect on the thing in your life that never seems to change, no matter how much you try. Are you spending most of your waking hours focusing on it, or trying to fix it?

There’s nothing wrong with using our brains and willpower to work toward a goal. But when it starts to slip from a goal to an obsession… when you start to get so emotionally reliant on your desire that you feel you can’t be OK without it… that’s where things get tangled.

Is there a part of this situation you haven’t surrendered to God yet? If so, talk to Him about it and let Him know.

2. Be okay with imperfection (and realize God is too).

The old me would’ve said to pray more and study more to resolve this situation. Those are good things, and sometimes that’s really what we need to do.

But other times, our efforts to be the best Christian and pray and study more are actually an attempt to control the situation a bit, too. Maybe under the surface, we think if we can be good enough, God will grant us our desires.

He doesn’t work this way. God isn’t waiting around for you to prove your goodness before He decides to bless you.

So maybe right now, you need to make your prayers a little less perfect and a little more honest. Instead of doing the deep scheduled reading plan today, maybe you just need to meditate on a few verses that really speak to your heart.

3. Notice joy.

God wants you to delight in this life. Even in the midst of circumstances you wouldn’t choose.

Feel the warmth of the sun on your face. Relish in a deep conversation with a friend. Laugh at the funny antics of your child. Savor a bite of your favorite dinner.

God wants to bless you even here, in the midst of waiting for your answer.

A prayer for renewal & hope in God

Here’s a prayer from my journal that may resonate with you today:

Lord, thank you for this reminder. I got to a place where I was putting other things on the throne of my life, and I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. Help me stop putting all my hope in my desires and put my hope in You, instead. Help me focus on Jesus. On being loved. On knowing I’m Your daughter, and nothing can change that, and it is more than enough. Thank you for being my God.

I’m making a new resolve to cling to the hem of His garment today. To sit at His feet before the world’s worries start piling on.

An amazing tool to help you on your journey

The new Every Woman’s Bible (Journaling Edition) from Tyndale is blessing me on this journey and helping me see myself as part of God’s story.

This Bible is a unique place to meet Jesus face to face as women. It contains deep Scripture insights and devotionals written by 100 different women who understand and reflect on your unique challenges, needs, and joys as a woman. In fact, all the extra devotional, study, and reflection sections are created ONLY by women scholars and writers. It really feels like a gift and a new way to see the Bible as a love letter to His daughters.

I really love how it has wide margins for journaling, as I’m a big fan of prayer journaling and reflecting on what God is doing in my life. It’s available in the highly readable New Living Translation, which I’ve been loving!

It’s also filament-enabled, which means you can scan the QR codes throughout to unlock more resources, study notes, maps, videos, and more. It’s a really beautiful bible too, thoughtfully designed with photographs, Scripture quotes, and devotional pages. I know I’ll treasure it for years to come! Learn more about the Every Woman’s Bible.

Today, if you’re reached the end of all you can do, I pray you’ll cling to the hem of His garment.