“And [Jesus] was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God” (Luke 13:10-13).
Jesus called the woman who was bowed over to come to Him. He didn’t walk back to her in the crowd and deliver her miracle to her.
Why didn’t He? Why did Jesus make that poor woman come hobbling to Him? It would have been easier for Him to walk to her than for her to walk to Him. After all, she’d been bowed over for eighteen years, and He was healthy.
But Jesus was giving the woman an opportunity to act in faith. How do we know her faith was in operation? Because faith always acts on the Word, and the woman had been hearing the Word.
Look back at verse 10: “And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.” Jesus was always putting something into people to believe. And when they believed and acted on it, they got results.
If the woman had told Jesus, “No, I can’t come to You,” it would have been evident that she wasn’t expecting anything. She wouldn’t have made the difficult effort to come forward if she hadn’t expected to walk back healthy.
But this woman was in faith. And when Jesus called her to come forward, she acted on her faith and received her miracle!
Jesus calls me to Himself through the Word. He gives
me opportunity to believe Him and to receive from Him
all I need. Through Jesus, I am delivered from every
yoke of bondage. I am free!
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
For over 40 years, Pastors Mark and Janet Brazee have traveled throughout the world sharing the Word of God and the Spirit of God. Together they've shared the powerful truths of faith and healing in more than 50 nations.
Today Mark and Janet pastor World Outreach Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where they base their ongoing outreach to the world. The Brazees still travel as the Lord leads, and they are raising up a congregation who share their passion to reach Tulsa and the world.