The Goodness of God: In Matthew, Mark & Luke

I always knew my calling was to be a wife and a mother. That dream’s first half became reality when my husband and I married. Many tears were shed, and prayers were spoken about our request to become parents. However, I didn’t know I would have to wait ten years into our marriage before I could fulfill the role of mother.

 God’s Goodness in the Narrative

In the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, there is a story about a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years. Can you imagine? The Bible doesn’t say, but did she also have other symptoms along with the bleeding? Mood swings, cramping, bloating? There were also emotional and social issues that she would have faced as well. One of the laws said that when a woman was bleeding, she was unclean and not allowed to be part of the community. She was to be on the “outside” of society. (Leviticus 15, Numbers 5) For this woman, that meant she was ostracized and disconnected. She couldn’t even step foot into the temple to worship. She likely did not have many people willing to interact with or support her regularly. I can only imagine how lonely she would have been, let alone her desperation for healing and restoration. When she heard about Jesus coming through her town, she was so desperate that she was willing to do anything. She joined the multitude following Jesus and got so near to Him that she could touch the hem of His garment and become whole again. (Read the complete story for yourself in Mark 5:25-36, Matthew 9:20-22, and Luke 8:43-48.)

  Seeing God’s Goodness in Our Own Lives

After ten years of waiting, I received a phone call from a friend I hadn’t spoken with in several months. She knew our story, my inability to conceive, and soon into the conversation, she asked if we had ever considered adoption. I was stunned and confused. My husband and I were not against adoption, but we weren’t seeking it out. She went on to explain that she knew of a baby that would be born in several months whose mother had chosen adoption. She asked if we would be interested in becoming parents through this gift. After many more prayers and seeking counsel, we met with the birth mother on a sunny Sunday morning. It almost instantly confirmed that this was the path God wanted us to walk. Five months later, we held our son just minutes after his arrival and took him home the next day.

I wonder how many hours we spend in our lives just waiting for something to happen. We wait for our coffee to finish brewing. We wait for the doctor to come into the room. We wait for God to answer our prayers. In our current culture of instant gratification, we tend to forget that waiting can actually be a good thing for us. Even when we don’t understand it. Waiting for God’s plan to come together stretches us beyond what we can do on our own. It makes us set our priorities and allows us to grow our own character. (Romans 5:3-5) It teaches us to rest in Jesus. (Matthew 11:28-30) Waiting on God’s timing is always worth it. He always has His best planned out for our lives if we’re willing to wait on Him and trust in His goodness. (Romans 8:26-28, Philippians 1:6) We often doubt Him when things don’t make sense at the present moment. Still, when we get to the other side, we can see how He lined everything up perfectly to fulfill His plans for us.

How can we see the goodness of God in the story of an unnamed woman? Jesus already knew who reached out and touched Him. Still, He called her out anyway, so the people knew something miraculous had happened. She went in faith and desperation to seek healing. It’s very likely that no one else in the crowd even realized she was there. Jesus knew she was there and had compassion for her. She may be unnamed in the Biblical accounts of her story, but God knew her name, saw her, and used her story for His glory. In our own time of waiting, we can also look for the goodness of God. He is always faithful. He is never changing, so we can count on Him to be Who He has always been. Seek Him out through prayer and Bible study. Praise Him over and over for ways He’s come through for you in the past. Trust that He hears your prayers and will answer in His perfect timing. He will use your story, too.