Keep SMILING!

Well… I have to admit that winter introduced itself to us here in Oklahoma, with a burst of swirling snow and well-below freezing temperatures!  I’ve never quite seen or heard anything like the way the wind is blowing through the neighborhood today!  It even spooked the dog when we went outback early this morning as it sounded like a freight train going by!

But we are all warm and cozy inside now and have plenty of supplies to last us well into next week… not that this storm is supposed to last that long!  I even gave in and bought a snow shovel the other day, but I don’t think that I’ll need it this time, as this seems to be more of a wind and extreme cold event rather than that of a big snow storm!

I also felt warm and cozy on the inside as I continued my Bible study concerning the story of the lady with the issue of blood that pushed her way through the crowd surrounding Jesus… just so she could but touch the hem of His garment in order to receive His healing touch.  Once she accomplished her task the Bible records,

“And Jesus stopped and asked, ‘Who touched me?’   When no one came forward, Peter said, ‘Master, the crowd is immense; everyone is pushing against you.’  But Jesus clarified, ‘Someone touched me: I felt power go out from me.’  Then the woman, realizing she could not escape unnoticed, came forward trembling and fell down at his feet. In front of the crowd, she explained why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.   Jesus SMILED and said, ‘Daughter, your faith in me has healed you. Live in peace.’” (Luke 8:46-48 The Remedy)

The more I studied this verse and read from my various Bible commentaries and dictionaries, the more I understood what a special interaction took place between this woman and Jesus.

The King James Version states Luke 8:46 as “And Jesus said, ‘Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.’” Both of the words ‘touched’ and ‘perceived’ directly infer an intimate connection between Jesus and the woman who was moved by faith in order to brave the fear of retribution for being unclean in a crowd of people, and do what ever she needed to do in order to receive her healing.

Jesus in turn, felt the touch of faith and the power to heal flow out of His body, the moment she touched Him.  I laugh when I read Peter’s reply because he totally misunderstood the miracle that had happened.  His immediate reaction was to go by what he saw of the crowd thronging against them, instead of taking a moment to pick up on the spiritual nature of the event.  I would have thought that he had been around Jesus long enough to be aware of the potential spiritual events that seemed to follow Jesus wherever He went.

But Jesus didn’t miss it!  He felt the power of the love that surged through and out of Him into the sick body of the women and felt an immediate, deep and loving bond with her.  That is why He SMILED at her when she came forward and it is why He called her daughter!

The Mounce Concise Greek-English dictionary defines this use of the word ‘daughter’ as “an expression of affection and kindness.”  John Gill described her ‘touch’ as one that was “Not in a common and accidental way, but with design, and in the strength of faith”  The word “perceive” as Jesus used it, tells us that her touch of faith and His release of healing virtue, was a very personal and intimate exchange between them.

I don’t know about you… but this story makes me SMILE!  The thought of Jesus smiling at us who come to Him in faith and then calling us son or daughter as “an expression of affection and kindness” stirs me up!  How about YOU?  I want Him to SMILE upon me so that I can take that LOVE and SMILE it right back into the lives of others around me that face adverse situations or needs… RIGHT?

In this special season of JOY and GIVING, I want to carry His SMILE with me everywhere I go and leave the scent of LOVE, JOY and PEACE wafting through the air as I pass by! 

Sounds like a good plan doesn’t it?  How about if you join me… right now, wherever you are, whatever your current situation may be… and share the SMILE of JESUS into a world that needs HIM more now… than ever before!

Have a great rest of your week and STAY WARM as you complete those last-minute Christmas “To-Do’s” and remember to SMILE and keep EXPECTING God’s Best both for you and through you unto others!