Good morning, my dear one,
It is my earnest prayer that you awoke this morning with a sparkle in your eyes. If this is your season of joyful living, remember to praise God from whom all blessing flow. In my season of sorrow, I identify with the woman bent double. In Luke, although she has been suffering severe back pain for eighteen long years, she is found by Jesus in the Temple. Clearly, she has clung to hope, to the belief in the One God of her salvation. Commentators reflect that she may have suffered from osteoporosis while others speculate that her bentness was from burdens too heavy for her to carry alone. Regardless of your theory, Jesus has compassion for her suffering. I love that scripture tells us that “Jesus reaches out for her hand” (Luke 13:13). Our God sees and understands our suffering. And instead of watching from afar, Jesus comes close to us. Reaches for our hand. When Psalm 3:3 says, “He is the lifter of our head,” that must mean he is close enough to touch our chin, to gaze into our sorrowful eyes, to reach out his hand and lift us out of the swirling waters of depression. Our God is good. Our circumstances may be bleak, our eyes dimmed with sadness, but He is the Light. Don’t you dare lose hope. Your joy will return in the morning. God promises are faithful.
Linda