There is something special about someone you love coming to find you. As in the movies, when the girl or the guy is all set to leave, the other person jumps on a plane, speeds along a busy freeway, or climbs over a mass of people at a busy train station to declare their love loudly…
But I know an even better tale of love which is recounted in Luke 13:10-17 in the bible and tells of how Jesus healed a woman who had been bent over double for 18 years.
Jesus was teaching in a meeting, and there was a woman who was suffering with some sort of spinal fusion, which caused her body to be bent over. She had spent 18 years staring at the floor, unable to stand, sit, or even straighten up her crooked back.
Many people had been healed as they came to Jesus and asked Him for healing, but this woman did not ask. Maybe she couldn’t move fast enough to reach Jesus to ask, or perhaps she couldn’t even look up to be able to see where He was.
But Jesus saw her, and better than any other love story or a heroic dash to airports or train stations, Jesus not only saw this poor bent-over woman and called out to her. He called and went to her with deep love and compassion for her tragic circumstances and said, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity. And laying His hands on her; she immediately was made straight.” (Luke 13:13)
There may be times when we think God does not even notice us, especially when we feel like we are bent over like the woman Jesus healed. But He does, and just as He called out to the woman who had spent the previous 18 years staring at the floor, He calls out to each and every one of us. He sees and notices us amongst all the mistakes, the distractions and anything else that may prevent us from seeing or coming to Him.
He calls out to us and offers to heal, restore, rescue and remind us of who we truly are, even when we may not be able to see Him clearly because we are struggling to look up from the floor.
Today listen out for His voice, for just as Jesus laid his hands upon the bent-over woman and she was immediately healed, He will be calling you and wanting to meet your every need today. That woman no longer had to spend her life staring at the floor but was able to fully look up at the one who had made an effort and sacrifice to come looking for her, and He’ll do the same for you too.
“This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.” (1 John 4:9-11 The Message)
“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
Prayer: Lord, I don’t want to spend any more time staring at the floor or being fused in one spot where I feel like I can’t go anywhere. I want to really live the life you came to give me. I receive that life you offer today. In Jesus name Amen.
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