The Crippled Woman with the Spirit of Infirmity

There was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years. Her body was crooked and so bowed that she could not lift up her head. Perhaps she had suffered from a serious accident or from some other crippling disease like scoliosis.  Whatever her infirmities, Jesus said Satan had bound her for almost two decades.

Imagine what it would be like not to walk straight for eighteen years, to never see where you are going and to move about in constant pain. Think of how broken one would be in spirit. This woman probably had lost all hope, because her body had been bent for so long. 

 Then on the Sabbath, she came before Jesus in her crippled condition. So serious was her ailment that she could not raise herself up and look into His face. But Jesus saw her and called her to Him. He then laid His hands upon her and said, “Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity” (Luke 13:12). Immediately she was healed, stood up straight and glorified God. She did not take her healing for granted, but offered a prayer of adoration to the Giver of all good. 

There are so many of us that are going through life like this woman. We may have physical or emotional pains that impair our lives. For some, the burden of sin may be crushing and paralyzing. When we are weakened and downtrodden it is hard to look up and move forward. But like this woman, Jesus sees us. He knows our hearts and the trials that we go through and He calls us to Him. 

Some of us harden our hearts and turn away with bitterness from sorrow. Others look upon Him with indifference. While some want to believe but will not make the effort to meet Him. Jesus asks us the question, “Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).

I am afraid of many things. That the economy is bad, that my children will not succeed, that my skin cancer may return. The list goes on and on. Sometimes it is quite overwhelming and I want to give up. But this amazing woman gives me hope and direction. 

When I face adversity, instead of looking down and inward, I strive to look up and move towards the Savior. Like this crooked woman, I have been bent and molded by my life experiences. However, I believe that they are for a greater purpose and I choose to trust in Jesus Christ. Let each of us have faith that we will lose our spirit of infirmity when we come to Him, for that is why He comes to us.