Daily Light - February 21, 2011

Daily Light from the Lighthouse

"Arise and stand here."

Luke 6:8

A man with a withered hand stands before Jesus as commanded. He was brought here as a pawn in a game to find some fault with Jesus. These scribes and Pharisees had told him to get out of the synagogue before because of his disability. Suddenly they all want him to come in and they make sure he gets one of the prime seats so that he will be noticed. He was not asking for attention but now he was the center of it. This man Jesus with a face full of compassion looked on him and told him to stand in front of him. There is obvious tension in the building, and he has no idea what is about to happen next but he knows it is going to be big. He has heard of Jesus and the miracles that He has performed, so now he stands with anticipation before Him.

Each of us are much like this man with a withered hand. We know very well what our disabilities are whether they be physical, spiritual, emotional, or mental. We are reminded every day of their presence, and we feel hurt and shame because of them. There is seemingly no answer to eradicate the problem, and we have tried every thing. So, in humility we come into the presence of Jesus with our obvious weakness, and we listen for His voice. As we stand in His presence we feel a great anticipation, because we know in this place miracles happen. We have heard of all that He has done for others, and in our hearts we know that all we have heard is true. Could He possibly do the miraculous in our lives? The anticipation in our hearts feels like joy and fear at the same time. The crowd of people that we were always so fearful of because we knew what they were thinking about us doesn't matter at this moment. It is as if Jesus is the only person in the room, and He is without a doubt the only person that matters.

How incredible it is to live in anticipation of what the Messiah can do! All things that He does are perfect and right, and we will most assuredly know a joy that comes from whatever decision He makes. There is no trial of any nature that cannot be overcome by the power of God, but we must first arise and stand in His presence. We must realize that it is only in His presence that we find fullness of joy. This man in the synagogue found Jesus to be all that He needed, and we will find the same when we obediently walk into His presence.

As a side note, isn't it interesting that we always call this man the "man with a withered hand"? I think that he would argue that he should be called the man whose hand was made whole.

May you live in anticipation in the presence of Jesus today!