Treasured Ministries

Offering women a biblical solution for inner healing

Mark 5

God’s Power for Your Problem

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Our Nourish Scripture this week is one of those weird passages that makes me squirm. Mark chapter five sits you square in front of evil.  

“When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.” Mark 5:2-5 

I would rather forget about the pain the prince of darkness causes inside of this world.

I would rather not watch the news.

I would rather not hear another story of a woman’s broken heart at the hands of abuse. 

But evil is a reality inside our broken world. To look away …does not make evil go away. Rather our Lord calls us to face evil with the force of his power and overcome evil with good. 

Far beyond what we can see there is a battle going on. And while the weight of evil in our broken world can make us feel powerless, we are not.

You are never powerless when you belong to Jesus. You do not fight alone.  

When we stand under Jesus’s strength through faith, we align with his power.  

“But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world”. 1 John 4:4 

“The Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8

Receiving God’s Power

When faced with a battle, we can be tempted to put on the armor of the world, to fight with the world’s battle plans. We try to take the reins of life, fighting our way to take power the world provides to fix things. We can see our source of power from seeking possessions, positions or people. 

These are just some of the worldly ways we sought to find power from external sources when we felt powerless.  

But now we belong to Jesus, the Shepherd, and overseer of our souls. He invites us to receive his power by standing in his mighty strength (1 Peter 2:18–25).  

Sharing the gospel is our precious privilege but one that the enemy of our souls would love to shut down. If he can get us so wound up and worn out fighting our battles the world’s way, we may become so discouraged, distracted, and directionless that we stop sharing the gospel altogether.  

Embracing Your Godly Girl Power

Godly girl power is God’s all-surpassing power. This is different from worldly power.

  • Worldly power is outward control dependent on other people and things and focuses on self.
  • Godly girl power is the inner strength of a woman led confidently by God to walk in love and live for his glory no matter what circumstances she faces. 

Love is the most powerful force and that is what Godly Girl Power is all about. 

Looking inside Mark 5 can cause confusion just like when we confront evil in our own personal lives and the lives of those we love. However, inside this passage we find confidence and keys to align with God’s power and fight his way.  

Christianity that requires courage—instead of Christianity that demands comfort—requires that we stand in the strength that only God can provide. ONWARD! 

Nourish Scripture: Mark 5 

Learn how to THRIVE on God’s Word and embrace his power by downloading Nourishing Your Heart!

Blog written by Aliene Thompson. Aliene Thompson is the founder of Treasured Ministries and the Author of the Nourish Bible Study Series. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.

Optimistic Resilience

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Patient perseverance. Optimistic Resilience. Reckless love for new life.

Examples of Women with Optimistic Resilience

Two women from different worlds but with the same determined drive find a way to partake of Perfect Love…

  • To experience abundant life, two women on the outside would break current glass ceilings with optimistic resilience on their Lord and usher in a new season.
  • At the end of their resources, their determined faith would connect them with the Living Fountain from which their healing and an abundant harvest for others would flow.

Two women on the outside with bold faith gained acceptance inside the circle of eternal life, wrapped in the arms of Perfect Love…

  • A Gentile woman’s faith persisted for the life of her dying daughter, and ultimately provided a catalyst for walls between Jew and Gentile to fall (Mark 7:24-29).
  • Suffering for twelve years with constant bleeding, a Hebrew woman found healing by simply touching the hem of Jesus’s garment (Mark 5:24–34). Pressing through the crowd despite her fear (fear made stronger by the cultural divide of her gender and old covenant law), she also painted a picture of the new covenant and hope for women to come.
  • Two women with different circumstances but the same steadfast, immovable faith in Jesus.

Patient perseverance. Optimistic resilience. Reckless love for new life.

We Are Created to Nurture

Women have a beautiful ability to hold onto our faith before we see the harvest because we are created to nurture. We forge forward with bold, brave persistence that believes new life is possible when our circumstances suggest otherwise. And this patient perseverance to walk by faith is a necessary element to see the seeds of God’s Word grow and create a harvest to nurture others.

“And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.” Luke 8:15 NLT

Clinging to God’s Word with determined faith brings healing to our hearts and an abundant harvest to nourish others. God created women to nurture life. Part of nurturing is believing in new life before we see new life—to stick with a seed by watering it with faith until we reap the harvest.

I believe this is why God calls women to help him break up the soil when a new season is on the horizon.

What examples these New Testament women set for us!

  • The Hebrew woman who broke through the crowd—and through old covenant for the new covenant.
  • The Gentile woman who broke through the walls that separated Jew and Gentile for Jesus to bring the gospel to all.
  • The woman by the well who was the first to share Jesus with the Samaritans to sow seeds of the gospel in their hearts.
  • Mary Magdalene, chosen to be the very first to tell others of the resurrection—the first evangelistic outreach.

While God calls women to nurture life, cultivating this calling is a challenge as the enemy of our soul seeks to destroy new life. Our children struggle. Our marriages see difficulties. Our hearts are broken. We face health challenges. Disappointments seek to dilute our faith, and our brave hearts break under the weight of an imperfect world.

Where can we find the courage to cultivate optimistic resilience for reckless love?

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” Hebrews 12:1 NLT

Looking back at the many women before us who arose and carried hope into hopeless situations will bring bold faith to believe what we cannot yet see. The Hebrew woman who pressed through the crowd. The Gentile woman who persisted in her request.

They are two examples of great women who have gone before us to make a difference by believing in Perfect Love.

You Must Nourish Your Heart

Hey, brave heart. What seems hopeless in your life? Where would you like to see a harvest? Where has God planted you, trusting you with a seed to nurture? You must first nourish your heart by watering it with his Word.

Patient perseverance. Optimistic reliance. Reckless love for new life.

During our Following Jesus Finding Life Series, take the next step after you read your devotion by reflecting on the weekly Nourish Scripture. Be inspired by passages describing women who moved with bold faith and found life with Jesus.

  • We’ve provided the link to the Nourish Scripture, so inspiration is one click away.
  • Like our Facebook page and be encouraged with weekly messages.
  • Consider continuing your study by downloading Nourishing Your Heart, which walks you through each step of the Nourish Bible Study Method.

Nourish Scripture: Mark 5:24–34 & Mark 7:24-29

Blog written by Aliene Thompson. Aliene Thompson is the founder of Treasured Ministries and the Author of the Nourish Bible Study Series. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.