How to Get Unstuck from Your Issues

I love the story in Mark 5:25-34 where a woman who suffered for 12 long years came to Jesus for a new beginning. Like so many people today, she had first tried everything else before seeking the Lord for a remedy to her situation.

Although the woman had done the best she knew at the time, her efforts brought no relief. In fact, we’re told that she “had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather grew worse” (Mark 5:26).

She must have been feeling quite stuck.

The King James translation describes this woman’s trouble as “an issue of blood,” meaning that she had a persistent bleeding problem or hemorrhage. But before you write off her story as being irrelevant to you, consider this: While you may not have “an issue of blood,” each one of us faces some kind of “issue” that requires God’s help.

So, what is your “issue” today? Is it some kind of medical condition, like the woman in this story? Are you battling depression or some form of addiction? Do you face concerns about your finances or the choices being made by your children? Everyone has their issues, so you are not alone.

Find Hope

Perhaps your situation today feels much the same as for this distressed woman. You’ve tried just about everything, but nothing ever seems to change. What more can you do? Like this woman, your frustrating circumstances may have lingered for weeks, months, or even years. The devil tells you every day, “See, nothing will ever change! You might as well give up!”

The turning point in this woman’s life began when she heard reports about Jesus.

After hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak (Mark 5:27, NASB).

Although hearing about Jesus was the first step in the blessing this woman would receive, it was only the beginning. Lots of people hear about Jesus, but they still don’t get their breakthrough. Why not? Often they have failed to take the next step that this woman displayed.

You see, after hearing about Jesus, she took action to touch His garments. There are many hearers in our churches today who have never become doers (James 1:22-25). But this woman received her healing because her hearing was followed by her doing.

What about you? You’ve no doubt heard about Jesus, and perhaps you even attend church regularly. Yet if you’re feeling stuck in some area of your life, I encourage you to take the next step: Push through the crowd to touch the Lord by faith.

When you set out to do this, there will surely be obstacles. People may be in the way. Pain may be in the way. The devil himself may seem to block your path. However, it’s crucial to turn your desperation into obedient action, not letting anything stop you from getting to Jesus to receive your breakthrough.

This woman’s point of contact with Jesus was to touch His garment, but for us He may have some other action in mind. Are your ready to obey Him, whatever He tells you to do?

Speak in Faith

When you’re awaiting your breakthrough, it can be very difficult to keep your hopes up and continue speaking words of faith. Yet that’s exactly what this woman did:

She said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well” (Mark 5:28).

Many believers are willing to give a testimony after their breakthrough comes, but during the time of testing they’re full of moaning and groaning. So I love the fact that this woman proclaimed the victory before she received it! She not only believed in her heart, but she also spoke words of faith from her lips.

The woman’s example shows how powerful our words can be. As Solomon challenges us in Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” In the case of this woman, her life was literally spared by the faith she exercised and proclaimed.

If you need a new beginning today, it’s important to pay attention to the words you are speaking.

Many people who need a breakthrough are continually speaking words of hopelessness and defeat:

• “Things will never change, I guess.”
• “These trials seem to be my cross to bear.”
• “Maybe God doesn’t love me. Perhaps this is His judgment for my sins.”

It’s time to quit talking like that! Instead, you need to start speaking what God says about you in His Word:

• “God is for me, and He will overcome anything that comes against me.”
• “Jesus came to give me life, and life more abundantly.”
• “Nothing can separate me from God’s love.”
• “Because of God’s love for me, I am able to overcome any attacks of the enemy.”

My friend, don’t wait for the victory before you start proclaiming it! Your testimony of faith is one of the greatest keys to becoming an overcomer (Revelation 12:10-11). In order to get unstuck from your negative circumstances, you must get away from the naysayers and the purveyors of gloom and doom. Start surrounding yourself with people who point you to Jesus and stand with you to believe that a breakthrough is on the way.

After years of frustration and defeat, this woman discovered that Jesus could quickly fix her “issue”—and I’m convinced that the same is true for you today.

A fresh start is available to you in Jesus. He wants to speak words of freedom, healing, and deliverance to you, just as He did to the distraught woman:

“Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction” (Mark 5:34).

This can be the day your turnaround begins. Believe the Lord’s promises, and reach out to Him in faith!

God bless you,

David Cerullo