Scripture: Mark 5:25-34
There comes a moment in life when change stops being optional.
You reach a place where you’ve carried the burden as long as you can carry it. You’ve endured the disappointment, tolerated the pain, survived the struggle, and pushed through the frustration. Then one day something rises up inside of you and says:
“I’ve had enough.”
Dr. Edward Wimberley once observed that transformation often begins when change is no longer voluntary but mandatory. I believe that’s true. Every believer eventually reaches a point where something has to change.
Not because they want change.
Because they can’t continue living the way they’ve been living.
Maybe you’ve been there.
Maybe you’re there right now.
Perhaps you’ve grown tired of carrying wounds nobody else can see. Maybe you’re exhausted from worrying. Maybe you’re weary from fighting the same battle over and over again. Maybe you’ve smiled on the outside while bleeding on the inside.
If so, I have good news for you:
God specializes in helping people who have had enough.
By the time we arrive at Mark chapter 5, Jesus has already demonstrated His power over storms, demons, and impossible situations.
He crossed a raging sea just to reach one man trapped among the tombs—a man everyone else had written off as hopeless.
While others saw a crazy man, Jesus saw a life worth saving.
And after one encounter with Jesus, that same man was sitting clothed and in his right mind.
That’s the kind of Savior we serve.
If Jesus has to come through a storm just to get to you, He’ll do it.
If He has to walk into your darkest place to reach you, He’ll do it.
If He has to interrupt everyone else’s plans to change your life, He’ll do it.
Because that’s who He is.
As Jesus was on His way to heal Jairus’ daughter, a woman appeared in the crowd.
She wasn’t invited. She wasn’t expected. She wasn’t supposed to be there.
For twelve years she had suffered with a condition that drained her physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. She had spent everything she had searching for answers.
Nothing worked. Things only got worse. But something happened inside her.
She reached the point where she said: “I’ve had enough.”
Enough suffering.
Enough disappointment.
Enough waiting.
Enough surviving.
Enough living beneath what God intended.
And that decision changed everything.
She pressed through the crowd and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment.
Immediately, the Bible says, her bleeding stopped.
Not next week. Not next month. Not after another treatment plan.
Immediately.
Why?
Because faith met Jesus.
And when faith meets Jesus, impossible things become possible.
This woman had reached the end of herself.
The significance of the twelve years isn’t just the length of her suffering. It’s that she had reached the limits of what she could endure.
Something had to change.
The enemy would love nothing more than to convince you to stay stuck. Jesus warned us that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
The enemy wants to rob you of your joy, your purpose, your peace, and your future.
But here’s the good news:
God refuses to let the enemy have the final word.
Some of us should have been destroyed by what we went through.
Some of us should have lost our minds.
Some of us should have given up years ago.
Yet here we are.
Still standing.
Still praising.
Still believing.
That’s not luck.
That’s grace.
One of the most powerful truths in this story is that the woman’s issue was hidden.
People couldn’t see her pain.
They could see her clothes.
They could see her smile.
They could see her walking.
But they couldn’t see her bleeding.
And that’s true for many people today.
Some of the deepest wounds aren’t visible.
People carry grief nobody knows about.
Rejection nobody talks about.
Disappointment nobody understands.
Betrayal nobody can see.
They look fine on the outside while bleeding on the inside.
Sometimes the reason people become angry, bitter, jealous, or distant isn’t because they’re bad people.
It’s because they’re hurting people.
And hurting people often hurt people.
But thank God Jesus doesn’t just heal what everyone can see.
He heals what nobody else can touch.
He heals wounds no scan can detect.
He restores hearts no doctor can repair.
He specializes in healing hidden pain.
Some people believe salvation only prepares us for heaven.
But Scripture teaches something much bigger.
God delivers.
He sets people free.
He transforms lives.
He takes what was broken and makes it whole.
He takes what was bound and makes it free.
He takes people trapped by their past and gives them a future.
That’s why every believer ought to have a “used to be” testimony.
I used to be one way.
Then I met Jesus.
Now I’m different.
Not because I’m perfect.
Not because I never struggle.
But because God’s grace changed me.
And if He did it for me, He can do it for you.
The woman in this story teaches us something powerful about faith.
Before she touched Jesus, she talked to herself.
The Bible says she said within herself, “If I may but touch His clothes, I shall be whole.”
Her future changed when her faith started talking.
Be careful what comes out of your mouth.
Your words help shape your direction.
Speak what God says about you.
You are blessed and not cursed.
You are loved and not forgotten.
You are called and not abandoned.
You are victorious and not defeated.
You are God’s child.
You have a future.
You have purpose.
You have hope.
What is behind you may be your history, but it does not have to be your destiny.
Many people touched Jesus that day.
Only one person was healed.
The difference was faith.
The tassels on Jesus’ prayer shawl represented the Word of God. In a very real sense, this woman grabbed hold of God’s Word and refused to let go.
That’s still the answer today.
Grab hold of God’s promises.
Grab hold of His truth.
Grab hold of His faithfulness.
When fear says you’re defeated, grab hold of God’s Word.
When discouragement says quit, grab hold of God’s Word.
When life says it’s over, grab hold of God’s Word.
God’s promises still heal.
God’s promises still restore.
God’s promises still deliver.
The woman didn’t wait for an invitation.
She didn’t wait for perfect conditions.
She didn’t wait for someone else’s approval.
She pressed through and took hold of what she needed from God.
Maybe that’s where you are today.
Maybe you’ve done enough worrying.
Enough crying.
Enough doubting.
Enough settling.
Maybe today is the day you say:
“I’ve had enough.”
Enough living beneath God’s promises.
Enough carrying what Jesus died to remove.
Enough allowing fear to dictate your future.
Today can be your day of breakthrough.
Today can be your day of healing.
Today can be your day of deliverance.
Because the same Jesus who stopped for a desperate woman in Mark chapter 5 is still stopping for people today.
And when you reach out to Him in faith, He still has the power to change everything.
So don’t leave empty-handed.
Reach up.
Grab hold of God’s promises.
And take what you need from Him today.
About the Author
Bishop Charles (Charlie) Earl Ellis Jr. is a friend of Mt. Zion and a guest preacher whose message points people toward the healing, delivering, and transforming power of Jesus Christ. As Pastor Lauderdale’s dear friend and brother in ministry, their friendship goes back decades, and surely, Pastor Ellis has some stories! We were blessed to hear Bishop Ellis’ live message by the same title, I’ve Had Enough, when Ellis visited Mt. Zion recently. Thank you, Pastor Ellis, for spending time with us and for sharing a powerful word that we can all relate to.
