The Woman With the Issue of Blood: A Practical Bible Lesson of Hope

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Lesson 2 of a Four Part Lesson on the Qualities of the Woman with the Issue of Blood.

Lesson 2
"The Hope Within Her"
Qualities of the Woman with the Issue of Blood: 
A Female Overcomer

- Luke 8:43 -

Luke 8:43 "And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any"

I have a confession to make.

I can relate to this story.

Because I've lived it myself.

When I was in my late 20's, I had a similar experience for 3 months.

Apart from continually feeling weak and dizzy from the loss of blood; I remember having to hold on to railings just to keep my balance. Yet the mental worry was much worse. I felt desperate, afraid, and hopeless. Those 3 months were torture.

This Woman with the issue of blood was stuck in that situation for 12 years.

She Lost Almost Everything

She was dying an Inward death:

Leviticus 17: 11 " Life of the flesh is in the blood ..."

If we are to look into the Hebrew word for life, we'll find breath; vitality; mind, will; person; and soul.

So as she was losing blood, 

  • she was losing her strength, 
  • she was losing her vitality, 
  • she was losing her excitement for life and vigor
  • she lost her mind, and her will 

She was losing the very person who she once was

She was dying an Outward death:

1) She became poor

Every ounce of her living was spent on fixing this issue. In the end she had nothing. She was now poor.

Lesson Notes:

Let's go to Leviticus 16: 25 to shed some light on the condition a little more: 

" And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of her time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleaness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean"

From this scripture it is determined a few things:

a) The issue of blood was possibly menstruation that continued without stopping. The mere fact that it grew worst [ Matthew 5:26] can suggest that the treatments given from her physicians may have aggravated the condition, and now she was hemorrhaging. 

b) That the sickness that the Woman had was not specific to her alone, but appeared to be familiar enough throughout those days for regulations to be made and it be addressed in Laws/Leviticus. Perhaps it was a deficiency of some sort - we probably won't know.

b) She lost her physical comfort and possibly the people she held dear:

The fact that she was considered unclean throughout the whole 12 years [ Leviticus 16:25 - 29], means this Woman was not only plagued with a condition that drained her of personal comfort, but it left her with no one by her side.

  • She was not allowed in the temple - she lost her church family/her religion
  • No one would want to be around her - she lost her loved ones and her friends

The One Thing That She Did Not Lose

The experience that she endured is oddly parallel to the story of Job; who lost his health, his family and his possessions.

Like Job this Woman was brought to her lowest point.

But, as it was for Job, there was more to this Woman than meets the eye. 

For in the lowest period of her life

Even though she lost everything

She did not lose HOPE.

Hope is defined as: "a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen." Although Faith is not Hope, they are closely linked.

This Woman could have chosen to stop fighting and accept her present situation. She could have chosen to remain where she was, and we would have been none the wiser - for we would have never been told of her story.

Perhaps there were other women in that city with the self-same condition that chose to do nothing.

But this Woman held on to HOPE. She held on to the expectation that one day - she may not know where, how or even when - but she would receive her Healing.

She probably said like Job "though He slay me, yet will I trust Him"

And repeated the scripture of the Psalmist, in Psalms 42: 11 "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God."

Are You A Woman of Hope?

Hope is a required quality for us as women of God.

The Amplified Bible says " “Blessed [with spiritual security] is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord. And whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord."

It builds a fortress of Spiritual security. We do not become immobile by our present circumstances. Even when the situation appear bleak, through the eyes of HOPE, we can look beyond it in expectancy. 

Even if the issues that you face are life-draining: never lose HOPE.

Can you share one thing that you remain hopeful for? I appreciate your support in sharing your comments.

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