He Sees You

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Luke 13:10-13 (NIV)

Luke describes a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit for 18 long years. She was bent over and could not straighten herself up. She was imprisoned in this condition, and people regarded her as occupying existence on the fringes of culture. She was an outcast, a pathetic woman to be shunned or ignored.

She surprisingly found enough strength and tenacity, however, to attend the synagogue on a Sabbath day when Jesus was teaching. No doubt she and many others present enjoyed listening to Him teach, spellbound as He opened the eternal Word of God and taught them the riches of salvation, the free gift of grace, and the enormous love that God has for all creation.

In that crowd, this woman was bent over, struggling to keep her head up enough to even look at Jesus. Maybe from time to time, when she could catch a glimpse of Him, she noticed that Jesus was also looking at her. When the lesson was over, Jesus looked at her one more time and, in a clear voice, asked her to come over to Him. Struggling to make her way to Jesus, she finally presented herself to Him.

And this is what the Master said to her: “Woman, you are free from this ailment.” The original language implies this: “You are free now and you will remain free from this condition. You are free permanently.”

Immediately she could stand straight, free of the pain that had been in her life for 18 years. The Bible says she began praising God as a result.

In reading this story, I couldn't help but think that long before the woman was asked to present herself, she must have been lifted and blessed and inspired and encouraged by simply being noticed. Her first liberation was that, in a place where she had grown accustomed to being ignored, finally somebody noticed her.

Jesus could not be present in that place and ignore her. Jesus was going to do what others had failed to do or chose not to do. He was going to notice her, acknowledging both her condition and her value as a person.

Today you may feel that no one knows—or no one cares—what you are going through. But Jesus sees your condition, He values you, and He wants to do a mighty work in your life.