In the Shadow of His Wings!

I want to take this opportunity to direct your attention back to a passage of scripture that I realize all of us are very familiar with, but I pray that the Lord would speak to each of us in a very fresh way as I unpack it for us once again.  I am deeply moved by the text of Matthew 9:20-22, where we find Jesus healing the woman who had an issue of blood.

I want to point out several things that are applicable to us as leaders and make note of very strategic principles that will serve to bring us to a place of healing, health and wholeness in terms of who we are – spirit, soul and body. I have a deep respect for this little lady, who against all odds, pushed her way through the crowds of life, was willing to break the law (being unclean, she was not permitted to be in public) and made her way to the very One who was not only the “source” of healing, but was the very essence of healing!  Out of her desperation, she stepped beyond the boundaries of her embarrassment.  How many times, do we as leaders miss an opportunity just because we are too embarrassed to ask for help? How many times could we actually use a suggestion and some advice that could take us to a new level, but we never reach out because we want people to think that we are okay?  This little lady set the standard, reached beyond her personal limitations, even broke the law, but at the end of the day she went home healed, healthy and happy!!

 I want you to notice with me the phrase “she touched the hem of His garment”.  Most of you probably know this, but it serves as a great reminder for us today in terms of how we reach out and make a demand on the promises of God over our lives and ministries.  In touching the hem of His garment, she was laying hold of His authority!

The garment that Jesus was wearing was the tallit, a garment that all Jewish males were required to wear according to Numbers 15:37-41.  At the four edges of that garment were tassels, called “tzitziyot” in Hebrew.  That’s what she was laying ahold of, and they represented much, much more than just the apparel that Jesus had on at the time. Throughout the scriptures, the tallit shows up in various places illustrating authority and covering.  It was the mantle of Elijah that fell upon Elisha, and by that, his anointing was transferred.  It was a tzitziyot that David cut off of Saul’s tallit in I Sam. 21:4-6 causing humiliation to Saul, and later, causing David to repent because he touched the king’s authority.  It was the edge of the robe (tallit) that Ruth asked Boaz to cover her with in Ruth 3:8-9, asking him to bring her under his authority and covering. When we are in need or sometimes even in desperation, we must find our way to the edge of the garment!

Three specific things are represented by the tzitziyot of the tallit, that I want to bring to your attention:

 1.) The Word of God.  ”He sent His Word and healed them”. Our life, our hope, our future, our very existence is found in the principles of the Word of God.  It’s so easy just to get somebody else’s opinion, but I encourage you to find your way to the life of the Word for the very health and wholeness that you need in every arena of your life and ministry.

 2.)  The Authority of Yeshua. Jesus Himself declared that all authority had been given to Him both in heaven and in earth!  The enemy with all of his tricks and tactics cannot and will not stand against the authority of Jesus in your life.  This is a great time to remind you that the level of authority that you walk in is relative to the level of intimacy with the Lord that you live in.

 3.)  Healing is in His wings!  Malachi 4:2 tells us that healing is in His wings.  The Hebrew word for wings is “kanaf” which means edges or fringes.  Could it be possible that this little lady had a really good Sunday school teacher who taught her that the Messiah would come with “healing in the fringes”?  Absolutely! She had complete expectancy that if she could just make contact with the Word of Healing, the Authority of Healing and the Hem of Healing, she would be healed!

 Today, health, healing and wholeness is yours if you can push beyond the embarrassment of whatever conditions you may have, step beyond the realm of natural law and take hold of the authority of the Word that will bring you into the realm of abundant life!