One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God! Luke 13:10-13 NLT
Have you ever felt trapped by your physical or emotional state? Do you feel hopeless to resolve the issue? Jesus is our healer, and what He touches no one can reverse.
I relate to this story of the woman crippled by an evil spirit. There have been times in my life, I have been crippled, bent to the whelms of my emotional and physical flaws. Trapped by insecurity, fear, loneliness, low self-worth. Trapped by feeling that I am not pretty enough, not tall enough, not slim enough. Gripped by an evil spirit that wanted me to feel less than worthy, less than adequate in regards to my Savior. Jesus constantly flips the table on such things, just as He does in this story.
In the short 3-4 verses that reference her situation, we learn a couple of things about her:
1. First, she was crippled by an evil spirit. We are not told more than that. We don’t know if the evil spirit was attached to her due to something sinful she did, or because she was simply under attack. In either case, we know she suffered.
2. We also know the length of her suffering -18 years! The Scriptures state, “she had been bent double for 18 years and was unable to stand up straight.” Can you imagine always looking down, never being able to see beyond the issue? Can you imagine as each day, then week, then month, then year went by –each passing moment must have been more depressing than the first?
Then Jesus, being the compassionate Savior He is, notices her. He sees something inside her that is worth redeeming, and immediately He goes into action! Notice He “called her over.” She didn’t come to Jesus until He called. Is Jesus calling you?
Then He proclaims, “you are healed of your sickness.” Imagine how those words must have rung in her ears? Her heart must of leaped in that moment. Do you think her faith began to rise?
So here’s a question for you –if Jesus can speak anything into existence, why did He not stop there? She was healed right? He said it was so. Why then did He reach out and touch her? I believe Jesus is all about relationship, not just an acquaintance, but a personal, concrete relationship! And so, He touched her. It doesn’t get more personal than that.
“Instantly she could stand straight.” I would love to know what she saw first from her new vantage point. Was it the crowd? Was it Jesus’ face? Or maybe, it was the synagogue leaders?
Whoever or whatever she saw first, doesn’t compare to her reaction: “How she praised God!” Can you see her thank Jesus over and over? Can you see her almost dance around? Can you imagine how many people she stopped to tell her good fortunate on the way home?
Whatever you face today, remember your healer! No matter the circumstance, no matter how much time has passed, don’t give up on believing in His power. One day, He may call you over, release you from what “binds” you, and then how you will praise God!
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” Isaiah 6:3
Blessings!
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.