Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.
Several times in the Psalms, we see this phrase, “How long, O Lord?” I would imagine that several times in your life, you have uttered this phrase. In this you would have company in the woman with the disabling spirit. We can learn much from her. She suffered for 18 years, only to be healed by Jesus in the time it took to speak it into existence. She could have complained that he did not do it 18 years earlier. Instead, she glorified God. What did the synagogue leader do? He yelled at Jesus because he did not wait one more day so this miracle would not occur on the Sabbath.
Jesus did not hold back. He called them hypocrites for missing the important thing in life. It is not what we can and cannot do that we should dwell on, but what God can and does do in our lives in his timing. Our job is to wait on the Lord and glorify God when he works, no matter how long we suffer. Today, lift up the suffering in your life and lift up your voice in praise.
Dear Lord, thank you for your infinite goodness and perfect timing. Help us to wait and see what you will do next and glorify you always. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church