And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

—Mark 5:34

This past week was fall break in my school district. This is only the second year that we’ve had a full week for fall break, and I’m fully convinced that it’s the best thing they’ve come up with since they decided to have summer break. For us, it comes right at the end of the first nine weeks. And the timing is perfect for some time away from all the stress that had slowly been building over the course of the quarter.

And what did I choose to do with the beautiful opportunity to recuperate and rest? I decided to work. This past Saturday was my first market of the fall season. That meant that once I returned from my writing retreat, I jumped into preparing for the markets to come. I had macrame pieces to finish, materials to order, and a little work to complete on my newest journal, which aims to help men and women get more out of their time studying the Bible.

My first day home from the retreat was lovely. I worked throughout the day at a relaxed pace and ended up meeting many of my goals for the week. I felt accomplished and encouraged because I’d gotten so much done. But not so the next day.

When Productivity Replaces Peace

The next day was full of errands, and every attempt I made to be productive seemed to fail. By the end of the day, I had run myself so hard that Jai had to help me to bed around seven because I was so exhausted.

I felt so defeated. Several things weren’t ready by the time we packed the car for the market. Including the largest and most colorful wall hanging I was hoping would be a big seller. And worse was the guilt that came from feeling like I was failing at my calling.

I do the markets to help pay the publishing costs of my books, so while God hadn’t called me to weave cords into a pretty pattern or make some pretty jewelry, I was aware that my ability to pay for future projects and marketing might be hindered because I hadn’t finished everything.

If you’re wondering how things turned out, we went to the market despite not having everything ready and did really well. Turns out my worry-wart self and I didn’t have anything to worry about. But worry I did because I wasn’t living under my identity in Christ.

The Woman With the Wrong Identity

The woman we see in Mark 5:25-34 was also living under the wrong identity. Because of her medical condition, which caused her to suffer from continual bleeding, she was branded with the identity of being unclean.

The pain of this affliction and its consequences led her to literally spend everything she had, enduring all kinds of treatments from who-knows-how-many doctors in an attempt to find healing. But nothing worked until she came to Jesus.

One of the things I love about Jesus is that when He heals, He isn’t just focused on the body. When He meets this woman, He heals her medical condition, but He also restores her identity. She was no longer called Unclean—a title which could be given to things as well as people. For the first time in years, she was again called part of the family of God.

An Invitation to Rest in Your True Identity

What stands out to me is what she’s told to do after she was healed and her identity was restored. Jesus didn’t tell her to go perform some job or task. He didn’t send her on a mission. He told her to “Go in peace and be healed of [her] affliction.”

And if that isn’t beautiful enough, we know even more beauty is revealed in the original language! I particularly enjoy the phrase, “Go in peace.” The word for go isn’t just a command to leave and wander aimlessly. It refers to purposeful movement and can be translated as lead. Then you have the word for peace, which can be translated as quietness or rest. So when we put it together, what Jesus tells this woman is to lead herself to rest now that she’s been healed.

Her new identity as a daughter of God didn’t require more accomplishments or success. It just required intentionally resting in the wholeness and healing that came with that relationship. And maybe required isn’t the right word. Yes, it was a command given by Jesus, but I also think it was just as much an invitation. An invitation that speaks to me in my mini-identity crisis as much as I think it did to her.

If you’re in a place where you’ve been putting too much of your identity into your job or what God is calling you to do, come with me to the feet of Jesus. Let’s reach out to Him for healing, and when He tells us who we are and bids us “Go in peace,” let’s rest in that relationship and obey by finding our identity in Christ.