I drew this picture of a hand in college in a drawing class. I never liked how it turned out. I thought the hand looked odd and disproportional. But now, this drawing makes me think of this passage in scripture.
In Luke 6, Jesus entered the synagogue and saw a man with a withered hand. His hand was gnarled and useless. When Jesus saw him, and knew the thoughts of the religious leaders who planned to trap Him healing on the sabbath, Jesus lead the man into the middle of the room. I can’t imagine this man was comfortable with this. He was probably used to standing in the corner, or coming in late so no one would see. His hand possibly made people uncomfortable and shift their eyes away. As Jesus led him into the middle of the room, his mind must have been spinning with questions. “Why me?”, Why now?” “Why HERE?” Not only did Jesus lead him into the middle of the room, He said the words the man feared the most.
“Stretch out your hand.”
When I read these words of Jesus, I hear Him speaking:
“Move in faith. Even though you are hurting, even though you have fear, even though others can see, I’m here and want to heal you. Stop worrying about what others think or say. Don’t compare yourself to them. I made your life. I made you. And now I’m asking you to trust me. Reach out to me. I see you and know you and will never leave you.”
I feel encouraged today that Jesus is not repulsed by my insecurities. He isn’t impatient with me, frustrated with me, or annoyed. I can stretch out my hands, my hurts, my shame, my fears and know that He is there to hold them, to comfort and to heal.
The Bible does not say how this man reacted when he was healed, but I would like to think he lifted his hand high for everyone to see and shouted!
(yes! shouted in the synagogue!)
“Look! See what God has done! I’m healed! I’m free! I’m whole! I reached out and HE was there!”
Acts 17:27
“God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.”
A Loss For Words 