Ask God to Help Straighten You Out

Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Luke 13:11, ” And a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years, and was bent over and could not straighten up at all. “

Background

Every now and then you’ll see someone who is so bent over that you can hardly see their face. Their backs are humped and their muscles are locked so that connecting with them eye to eye is virtually impossible. Ordinarily the person would be somewhat advanced in years, and maybe even living in a retirement home, unable to take care of themselves like they once were. I’m not sure of the age of the woman that Jesus encounters here, but we know that she had been suffering for eighteen years, and she was so bent over that she didn’t even see Jesus in the synagogue. And the obvious comparison for us is how the weight of the world or the difficulties of the day bend us over, wear us down, and make us crippled and unable to get our eyes on Jesus. Our world becomes the six or eight feet around us that our crippled spirit only allows us to see. Even while in church, we still might not be able to see Jesus.

Application

But what if we looked at the situation as if the ailment was the exact opposite? What if, instead of our backs being so bent from a crippled spirit that we can’t look up, our backs were locked stiff and straight, unwilling and unable to bend and bow to the Jesus we do see? In fact, in our lives, I think we have the amazing capacity to suffer from both of these problems at the same time. We get worn down and lose our way, yet when we see the Jesus who brings refreshment and forgiveness, we don’t drop everything and run to Him. We don’t do anything.

And in some cases, we stand defiantly, blaming Him for how we are. But hear what Jesus did for the woman. When He saw her, He called her to Himself and spoke healing to her. Maybe at first, all she could see of Him was His sandals. But after He touched her, she got to see His face, and those eyes. And He saw a smile that may have never left her face. He really does still work like that. Perhaps not as quickly, or through different means. But He still calls out to the crippled and the stiff. So let Him heal and renew your spirit and bring back that smile you once had.

Charge

As we seek Him today, ask God for help in straightening you out, or making you bow low. Place your faith in Jesus, and expect Him to use His power where you are hurting or troubled.