Verna Bowman

Encouraging Women One Story at a Time

Psalm 27:13
  • Home
  • Welcome
  • About
  • Endorsements
  • Speaking Themes
  • My Books
  • Contact
  • Media
  • I Believe

Bent and Bound

June 2, 2012 By Verna Bowman 8 Comments

No one could see her . . . in the back of the gathering, crooked and low.

Doctor Luke tells another story in his gospel of Jesus coming against the Law-keepers who accused Him of caring for misfits, especially on the Sabbath.

Love came against the Law one Sabbath day . . .

And behold there was a woman who for eighteen years had a sickness caused by a spirit, and she was bent double and could not straighten up at all.  Luke 13:11

How did she get Christ’s attention . . . sitting in the back, behind the segregation of men first, where she couldn’t be noticed?

By being broken, desperate, and present. 

When Jesus saw her, He called the nameless woman over and said to her, “Woman you are freed (untied) from your infirmity.”  He laid healing hands on her crooked spine, and immediately she stood erect, and glorified Him . . .

After nearly two decades of talking to the ground, she stood upright.  In the last year of Jesus life on earth, she stood straight for the first time to look into God’s face, eye to holy eye.

The indignant ruler of the synagogue told the others there are six days of the week to heal, but never on the Sabbath.  Jesus told the hypocrites any day is a day to call a broken one to Himself.

She may have thought of the times she was told to stand straight, and answered with an “I can’t” . . . like we do.

Tied to the “I can’ts”

Some of us are like the baby elephant tied to a stake from the time he can walk trained to be voluntarily bound.  He grows into a massive mammal that can uproot trees, but still believes he is bound to the stake he grew up with.

We can break free from the stake of our past, from the present vices that hold us from experiencing true freedom.

Why did God record one story after another of wounded lives being restored?  So we could know it’s real, and for us.

Not only when Jesus walked Galilean earth, but now, while He walks the universe looking for the one in the back.

The woman in the Bible couldn’t live a full life until Jesus straightened her out.

One Sabbath, long ago in a place called Bensalem ( meaning, son of peace) I was the unseen in the back pew of a church.  Bent low in my shame, until Jesus called me to Himself, and told me I could be free.

There is an enemy of our soul whose mission is to bind and destroy.  Do you have a burden that has you bent and low?

Jesus wants to straighten out our life, look into our face, and say “You are loosed” . . .

 . . . and she began glorifying God . . . Luke 13:13

Be blessed,
Verna

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Tagged With: Bensalem, crooked, elephant, glorify, infirmity, Luke 13, nameless woman, Sabbath healing

Comments

  1. Diana Leagh Matthews says

    June 2, 2012 at 10:45 am

    Thanks for sharing Verna. Such a timely message.

    Reply
  2. verna says

    June 2, 2012 at 12:44 pm

    . . . for me, too . . . thanks Lee!

    Reply
  3. Glenda Mills says

    June 2, 2012 at 4:45 pm

    What a beautiful telling of the story, my friend! Thanks be to God for those of us who were bent and broken, now walking upright and praising our Lord.
    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  4. verna says

    June 2, 2012 at 5:41 pm

    . . and you tell the story in just that one sentence, thank you, Glenda!

    Reply
  5. Vonda Skelton says

    June 3, 2012 at 1:27 am

    There are so many times God has to straighten me out. But praise Him, one day I’ll be forever straightened! Thanks for sharing this, Verna!

    Reply
  6. verna says

    June 3, 2012 at 7:04 am

    . . . and we can glorify Him for His good work! I always think of this story as the “lady in the back, with the back condition” . . . we can be bent over with burden, but the Lord sees us through the crowd! (and straightens us out!)
    Thank you, Vonda, for your comments . . .

    Reply
  7. livingmoreabundantly says

    June 12, 2012 at 3:59 pm

    Beautifully written! Thank you for sharing this in such a sensitive manner.
    Blessings!

    Reply
    • vernabowman says

      June 13, 2012 at 11:51 am

      . . and thank you for visiting with your kind comment! Blessings!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

His Word – My Hope

Whoever is wise let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning let him know them.  For the ways of the Lord are right and the righteous will walk in them.  But transgressors will stumble in them.  Hosea 14:9

 

About Verna

Verna Bowman
Crumbs Along the Broken Path
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Christian Communicators
Now Availablegathering-cover

Recent Post

Undying Love

February 2, 2019

Todays

January 11, 2019

Take a Silent Night

December 5, 2018

Walk in Gratitude

November 1, 2018

Rest for the Weary

October 6, 2018

Whatever . . .

August 23, 2018

Write Right Now

July 21, 2018

The Art of Rest

June 30, 2018

Shipwrecks and Snakebites

June 1, 2018

The Abiding Mom

May 7, 2018

More Posts

Mission statement: To encourage women to seek God and find wholeness through His healing Word.

Copyright © 2019 Verna Bowman

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.