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)
I was sick. Sickness was coming from every direction. Body aches and pains. I would go to the doctor only to learn that all tests returned negative. They physicians could not find anything wrong with me.
It took a while for me to recognize what was really happening. I was in a spiritual battle that was pushing me to the brink of catastrophe. My mind had become a battlefield. I found myself gaining weight and body fat was creating an atmosphere that had me in a state of doom and gloom, but it was much deeper than that. This was spiritual. In order to deal with my health I had to first deal with the wounds that had taken place on the inside before I could deal with the outside.
The more I evaluated my own stuff, the more I realized how this fight was something I needed to get to the root of. The battle began the moment I realized I had been avoiding the wounds that placed me in a downward spiral. I had been internalizing my feelings. I had been carrying around pain, rejection, and wounds, and that is when I started to experience sickness. My lower back with in pain. My joints were sore. I began packing on the extra pounds around my waist. I was dealing with inflammation. It hit me. The weight of life was getting the best of me. The weight of stress was weighing me down. I was carrying around the weight of concerns, and wounds that were growing heavier by the day. Have you been there? Can you relate? Losing sleep at night and walking the floors processing what was happening and why.
I was running from the truth, but soon truth caught up with me. I had to come to the knowledge that I had been crippled by a spirit. A wounded spirit whether self-inflicted or ingrained by past life situations that I for some strange reason decided to hold on to.
I needed to get to the root of it. I needed to do the work and see where these actions had taken root for there will come my deliverance.
Through pleading and begging God reminded me of the woman in Luke 13.
“On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching.” This lady had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years, but that did not stop her from making her way to the synagogue. I believe God reminded me of this woman because she did not throw in the towel. She kept the faith and found her way in the house with Jesus and was healed. She had determination. She had faith. She had value. She had a life to live. Deeper than that she had a love for the Lord that allowed her to stay the course regardless of being bent over, unable to straighten up at all.
Tweetable: This bent woman made her way to hear the teachings of Jesus. Do you want experience real freedom? Let’s get to the root of it. @GailDudley
Her pressing her way to be in the room to receive Jesus’ teaching, positioned her to receive her healing. This shows me that we have to press our way through life situations to experience transformation. Reading this Scriptures has given me the power to press in to what God was revealing to me as I was dealing with challenges in my life. I may not be physically bent over, unable to straighten up, but because of my wounds, my inner spirit was bent over, which created a downcast look on the outside of me. Yes, I could wear masks all day long. For that I gained Academy Awards! But the true self was packing on the pounds from not dealing with the wounds that were mounting on the inside and creating a stronger root that had a grip on me.
I needed to pray. I needed to pray to lose the weight…the weight of life. I once was bound, but now I have been set free.
It’s your turn. You can experience that same freedom! Won’t you join me and many others around the world beginning, September 3, 2018?
You can learn more here and get registered: Getting To The Root of It.
Video clip here: https://youtu.be/jHidrO6zi0k
