You can carry something for so long that it starts to feel normal.
Not good. Not right. Just… normal.
You adjust your life around it. You stop expecting anything different.
So when you hear about healing, part of you wants to believe. Another part quietly says, “Not this one.”
What happens when it’s been there for years?
Let’s see what the Scripture actually says.
“And he 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.
And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.
The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.”
Luke 13:10–17 (KJV)
“A spirit of infirmity… eighteen years”
This wasn’t recent.
Eighteen years is long enough to shape how you think.
She’s bent over. Can’t lift herself up.
And notice this. “Could in no wise lift up herself.”
That means she couldn’t fix it.
No self-effort. No adjustment. No workaround.
Do you see that?
This wasn’t about trying harder.
“When Jesus saw her… he called her”
She didn’t come to Him first.
He saw her.
He called her.
That matters.
Because sometimes you think you have to initiate everything.
But here, He steps in.
He notices what others have gotten used to.
Have you ever felt overlooked like that?
“Thou art loosed”
He speaks before anything changes physically.
“You are loosed.”
Not “you will be.” Not “let’s see what happens.”
It’s declared first.
Then He lays hands on her.
And immediately… she stands straight.
After eighteen years.
That’s not gradual. That’s not partial.
That’s complete.
“A daughter of Abraham… whom Satan hath bound”
Jesus explains what was really going on.
This wasn’t just physical.
“Satan hath bound.”
There was a spiritual cause behind what looked natural.
And He calls her a “daughter of Abraham.”
That speaks to identity.
Covenant. Belonging.
And then He asks a question.
“Ought not this woman… be loosed?”
In other words, isn’t it right?
Isn’t it fitting?
That’s not how most people think about it.
“On the sabbath day”
The objection comes quickly.
Not about whether she was healed.
About when it happened.
They valued their system more than her freedom.
Jesus calls that out directly.
Because their thinking limited what they believed was acceptable.
Do you see that?
The problem wasn’t the healing.
It was their framework.
What’s happening in this moment
Jesus is teaching in the synagogue.
A place where Scripture is known.
A place where truth is spoken.
And right there, in that setting, someone has been bound for eighteen years.
That tells you something.
Being around truth isn’t the same as experiencing freedom.
Then Jesus steps in and breaks that pattern in a moment.
Scripture that helps you see it clearer
In Acts 10:38,
“Jesus… went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.”
This aligns directly. Oppression. Healing.
In Isaiah 58:6,
“Is not this the fast that I have chosen… to let the oppressed go free?”
Freedom has always been part of God’s heart.
In John 8:36,
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Not partially. Not temporarily. Free indeed.
The part that hits deep
This is where it becomes personal.
Because time can change how you think.
The longer something stays, the more permanent it feels.
You stop asking.
You stop expecting.
You quietly accept.
“This is just how it is now.”
Is that what’s been happening?
Have you adjusted to something that was never meant to stay?
What this is calling you into
This isn’t about denying how long it’s been there.
Jesus acknowledged the eighteen years.
But He didn’t treat it as a limit.
He treated it as something that should be broken.
“Thou art loosed.”
That means freedom is spoken before it’s seen.
It also means identity matters.
“A daughter of Abraham.”
She belonged. And that mattered.
So this becomes a shift.
From accepting… to expecting.
From adapting… to responding.
What would it look like for you to stop treating it as permanent… and start seeing it as something that can be loosed?
Bringing it back to you
Eighteen years didn’t stop Him.
Being unable to fix it didn’t stop Him.
Even the environment pushing back didn’t stop Him.
He saw her. He called her. He spoke. And she was made straight.
So if something has been there a long time… does that really mean it has to stay?
Call to Action: The Question That Demands an AnswerIn Acts 2:37 Peter and the Apostles were asked the question – What Shall We do? And in Acts 2:38 Peter answered, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Do you understand this? After hearing the gospel and believing, they asked what should would do. The answer hasn’t changed friend, Peter clearly gave the answer. The question for you today is, Have you receieved the Holy Spirit Since you believed? If you’re ready to take that step, or you want to learn more about what it means to be born again of water and Spirit, visit: Come, and let the Spirit make you new. |
