And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. (Luke 8:43-44 KJV)
I can't tell you how many times I've read this scripture, as this woman has a problem with her blood. One night while preparing for our June TEA Party, the Holy Spirit guided me to look up the biblical translation for issue. An issue in this scripture is not defined as a problem but means FLOW. Other versions say there was a woman with a flow of blood.
Read Luke 8:43-44 NKJV:
43 A woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
She didn't have a blood disorder but a flow disorder. If we continue to interpret the issue as a problem, we will keep reading it as though there was something wrong with her blood. Her problem wasn't her blood. Her problem was that her blood wouldn't stop flowing. God did not take away her blood because she needed her blood to live. When God healed her, He dealt with her flow. The very thing that gives you life can be the same thing that takes you down if you don't check your flow.
Hemorrhaging is defined as the release of blood from a broken vessel. Every time I read this, I get chills. Here's why. Lately, I have been feeling overwhelmed by the number of projects that have come my way. Usually, when this happens, I also think maybe I should walk away from it. God has shown me that there's nothing wrong with how I feel or the projects coming my way, but I need to be mindful of my flow. If I try to do everything that comes today, I will be too broken to enjoy them tomorrow. God was correcting my flow. So many of us have thrown away ideas and opportunities because we were overwhelmed. We must pause and take time to set up boundaries and create a system that would allow us to flow appropriately.
Many women are having challenges with their flow. We either have a lack of flow, we are overwhelmed with our overflow, or we can't find our flow. If we don't deal with our flow, we will keep misunderstanding our real problem. For example, your kids aren't a problem, but maybe you're overwhelmed because you overextended them in extracurricular activities. Your friends aren't a problem, but you overcommit out of fear of rejection. Your business isn't a problem, but maybe you're doing too much right now. It would help if you dealt with your flow.
As August quickly approaches many of us will be preparing for back to school, holidays, and finishing the year strong. My prayer is that God checks our flow. I pray that He gives us a flow that fits our life so that we may be healed of our real problems and have peace.
Registration is officially open for our next in-person TEA Party: Girl, Show Up Healed! You don't want to miss it!