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Forced to rest?
Have you ever been forced to rest?
Even as children, we sometimes fight taking a nap or going to bed. We don’t want to miss out, and we don’t realize how much good will come from rest.
A few weeks ago, I was down with the flu. And while there’s never a good time to get the flu, that week was one of the worst possible times for me to be sick. I was truly forced to rest while the important things in my life went on without me.
And while the flu and other illnesses weren’t part of God’s original design for us, rest was. It has always been important to God, right from the very beginning of creation.
And sometimes, God uses illnesses to teach us something important about rest.
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By now, she was fairly adept at recognizing people by their feet, as opposed to their faces. It was increasingly difficult to lift her gaze.
She has been unable to straighten her back for eighteen years now. Her eyes gaze earthward, her back stooped. And while her eyes have focused down, her heart has continued heavenward. In spite of the pain in her body, the things speculated and said about her, the unanswered prayers for healing – in spite of all these things, she does not believe that her God has abandoned her. And so, she has not given up on Him. She does her best to remain faithful to her faithful God.
To see the Rabbi
She had heard about this Rabbi who taught and spoke with unusual authority. And now, He was coming here, to their local synagogue. And so she makes her way to the synagogue. There are more people than usual in attendance that day. The crowds bump her, as she, stooped over, makes her way to the edge of the room. From the periphery, she could listen without drawing attention to herself.
Because so many of the well-meaning people she met have confronted her with judgment. Surely she had done something to deserve this infirmity. Surely she had some dark, unconfessed, unforgiven sin that kept her back bent, unable to straighten and stand tall. In their minds, there must be a reason, an explanation for her suffering.
So, she settles into her inconspicuous spot, turning her ear to this new Rabbi, while her eyes continue to look downward.
He is calls her name
And then, she hears her name. He is calling her forward.
Her heart pounding, she hears Him say, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” (quote from Luke 13:12 NIV) She feels His hands help her as her back immediately straightens.
As she looks Him in the eyes, all she can do is praise God.
She is healed.
She is set free.
Healing on the Sabbath
This outrages the synagogue rulers. They begin to shame the people, admonishing them to come back tomorrow for healing, for today was the Sabbath. According to them, the Rabbi Jesus should not be healing, and consequentially working, during the Sabbath rest.
Jesus responds with His own outrage, accusing them of being more compassionate in untying their animals – an allowable “work” on the Sabbath – than setting free a person bound by Satan’s infirmity for almost two decades.
Jesus was clearly frustrated with the Pharisees and teachers of the law for challenging her healing. His choice of words is significant. He set her free.
From earth to heaven
In setting her free from her infirmity, her gaze shifts from the ground, to Jesus’s face, and then heavenward.
Perhaps this is a detail about the Sabbath rest that the religious leaders missed. They failed to understand that rest was more than just inactivity. That rest is not just about ceasing to work. It’s about shifting our gaze from the earth toward Heaven.
Rest is crucial
One of the things I’ve learned so far this year in my quest to understand rest is this: rest is crucial in knowing God.
Not the kind of rest that is getting caught up on sleep, vegging in front of the television, or lounging on the couch. It’s the kind of rest that prompts me to quiet my heart and mind, to be still and know that He is my God. (Psalm 46:10 paraphrase)
Rest gives us time and space to quiet the earthly noise and to shift our gaze to heavenly things. To see God more clearly. To experience His presence freely. To listen more intently.
And for me, that kind of rest requires discipline.
It’s hard. And honestly, I’m still trying to get the hang of it.
A picture of Sabbath rest
And so, perhaps Jesus chose to set her free, to heal her on the Sabbath to paint a picture for us that part of rest is shifting our gaze from the earth to Heaven. Jesus set her free so that she could experience true rest. So that she could see His face more clearly. So that she could know Him differently.
He sets you free, too. He invites you to rest, to experience knowing God more deeply, more personally than ever before.
I’m trying to rest more, shift my gaze more.
I hope you will, too.