‘…She was made straight, and glorified God.’ LUKE 13:13 NKJV
One day Jesus healed a woman in the synagogue who’d been crippled for 18 years. As a result, two things happened: First, she rejoiced like anybody would who’d been set free from an 18-year illness. Second, some church folks condemned Jesus for healing her on the Sabbath day. What a scene; while she was glorifying God over here, they were arguing the fine points of doctrine over there. So, what did she do? She just kept praising God! She didn’t stop to explain herself or try to convince her critics, because she knew their minds were already made up and weren’t open to change. You don’t have to defend yourself because the Lord is your defender. Plus, when you’ve been through difficult times you can’t afford to mess around with people’s moods and attitudes. If you do, your defensiveness can make you vulnerable to the enemy. This woman protected herself by entering into defensive praise, and you must do that too! Don’t get pulled into arguments. When you quit defending yourself, you open a door for the Lord to fight for you. This woman built a wall of protection around herself. She could easily have fallen into negative thinking, but she didn’t. Can you imagine what would have happened if she’d stopped rejoicing and started debating? If argument had gotten through the door, this whole scene would have ended in a fight. But instead, she decided to just keep praising God—and you should too!
Bible In A Year: Josh 14-15, John 15:18-27, Ps 65
