Lost in the Crowd, Luke 8:45

"And Jesus said, Who touched Me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with Him said, Master, the multitude throng Thee and press Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me?"

     It is a comforting thought to know that you are never lost in the crowd with Jesus. There is never any one person among the great multitudes that He doesn't notice, that He doesn't see, that He doesn't stop and give His attention to. There are thousands upon thousands who call out to Him daily, begging His mercy, asking His forgiveness, and needing His loving touch upon their lives. And He does not miss one; there is none that He doesn't give His full attention to.
     Of course, this is only possible seeing as He is God. He is omnipresent; that is, He is everywhere at once. Though our minds cannot possibly comprehend this, it is important that we believe it in our hearts. If we believe that God is everywhere at any given time, we will know comfort beyond imagination, for we realize we are never alone. He has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you".
     On top of being everywhere at one time, He is also all-knowing and all-powerful. Not only is He everywhere, He can do anything and everything. He knows everything; the Bible teaches He knows the end from the beginning, and that before we were even born He knew us. So He is not only with us every moment of every day, but He is more than able to handle any problem that may come our way. But knowing this, we still may fall into despair, wondering if He will do anything about what He sees and what He knows.

     Sure, Jesus knew the woman with the issue of blood was in the crowd. He knew every single person was there, and knew every thought that went through their minds as He passed them by. He knew their pasts, their present circumstances, and their futures. He knew their names, their favorite foods, and even the very number of hairs on their heads. But did He stop and speak to all of them? No. He spoke to the one who reached out to Him.
     In James 4:8 it says, "draw near to God and He will draw near to you". We have the promise of God that if we seek Him, He will not cast us away nor ignore us, but that He will be found by us, and that He will draw near to us. Not simply will He allow us to come toward Him, but when He sees that we are seeking Him, He will come toward us.
     Jesus knew all things about the crowd He was passing through. He knows all things about us, too. And to those who call out to Him, He will turn and give His attention to. Even though we may think He has better things to do (He was on His way to heal a dying girl in this story), He will still stop and hear our cries. Our voices do not fall on deaf ears, but loving, merciful and gracious ones. He is never too busy to pour out His love on those who seek Him.
     One might have thought that the woman with the issue of blood for the past twelve years could have waited, the dying girl had a time limit. She was going to die, and soon. One may have speculated that Jesus ought to have healed the girl first and then come back for the bleeding woman. But Jesus has different priorities than we do. He is not on a schedule, at least not according to what we would think of as a schedule, where He has to do this first and that next in order of importance due to time restraints and such. He does not abide according to time. He has His own timing, completely apart and separate from ours, and not even death can hinder what He wants to do. Nothing is too hard for Him, and nothing can throw a wrench into His plans. All things will work out according to His will and His desire.

     It is comforting to know that the One who knows all, sees all, and can do all is willing to heed those who call on Him. He is always present with us, always willing to hear us, and always wanting to bless us. How amazing is such an unconditional, undying love as this-- and yet, how often do we take it for granted or neglect it? Let us not neglect this love that Christ has poured out upon us, let us not forsake seeking Him and calling upon Him night and day. May we ever be in awe and amazement at the sheer magnitude of such grace and mercy that we can't but stand before Him and worship, falling on our faces crying "holy, holy, holy is the lamb!"