The Crippled Woman

by Joey Davis

The base of her back is uncharacteristically fixed at a right angle. Like a rusted hinge, her back muscles are knotted to help bear the weight of her severely curved spine. Her nerves are. pird1ed from the horribly misaligned vertebrae.

For almost two decades she has been chained to this deformed state, held tightly in the grip of what the Bible leads us to believe is an emissary of Satan. This spirit has done a devilish dance on her back, leaving behind its heel marks in what was once a tall and statuesque young woman.

Under the stress of her deformity, she winces in pain as she trudges along toward the synagogue. She can't see the beautiful sky and the wonderful clouds overhead. She is bound in a posture that fixes her gaze on dirt and yesterday's rubbish in the streets.

As she takes her seat in the synagogue, Jesus' attention is diverted from the scriptures to fall on the yellowing dog eared pages of this woman's life. With divine knowledge, skims the story of the last eighteen years, reading every sentence and pondering every question mark that punctuates her pain. Yet, her suffering and pain are merely minor characters in the story of her life. The featured character is her faith.

She is a true daughter of Abraham. She has come to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as she does every Sabbath. In spite of the pain In spite of the pitied looks from adults and quieted giggling of children in the streets, she comes to sit before her God and praise Him in a commotion that would tempt others to curse.

Jesus closes his scroll and bids her to come to the front of the synagogue. It is an embarrassing moment for this woman because the journey to Jesus displays evermore clearly the awkwardness of her deformity.

She stops before him, twisting her torso in a strained attempt to see his face, And their eyes meet. "Woman you are freed from your sickness" Then she stands before her Master. . .

. . . Because of sin, we are crippled. Instead of curving our backs, Satan twists our hearts to where we cannot see beauty. Our journey to the Master makes our deformities seem even more embarrassing.

If Jesus read the pages of our life, would faith be the major character? If not, why not? If you are bowed by selfishness and I twisted by sin, seek Jesus and He will untangle your life and cause you to stand without the weight of Satan to hinder you.

( Luke 13:10-13)