Luke 13:12-13 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

The Greek says “you have been loosed from your infirmity.” The Japanese says “healed” and the NIV says “set free from,” and that’s an important difference of nuance. In any case, however, Jesus spoke to the woman rather than to the disease. The Hunters, who traveled extensively teaching on healing and saw a lot of results, tended to address the problem, commanding it to leave or be healed. Luke specifies that Jesus used that approach with such people as Peter’s mother-in-law, (Luke 4-38-39) but the point, I think, is that He healed differently in different situations. Formulaic healing, prayer, or anything else soon runs into barriers, because we live in an incredibly diverse world. It is easier to stick to formulas, and when they work, rejoice, and when they don’t, blame something else. However, we are called to listen to God and be obedient to whatever He tells us. Only then will His power be manifested through us for His glory.

I try to listen to God’s directions and obey them, but I have a lot of room for growth. A danger inherent in ministry longevity is the tendency to do what has worked in the past, rather than asking God for fresh directions. I need to be aware of that! For example, I need to be open to variations in the message I preach at chapel weddings. I feel it’s a good one, and that the Lord has used it to impact people, but canned is never as good as fresh. I need to remember that God likes new things (Isaiah 65:17), and also that I can do absolutely nothing on my own, without Him doing it through me. (John 15:5) That’s not to say that age or even familiarity disqualifies anything from being useful, but it is to say that I must be flexible and not take anything for granted. Sticking with the familiar generates the temptation to think, or even say, “I can do it,” instead of, “God can do this through me.”

Father thank You for this reminder. It’s not what I thought I was writing on when I started! Help me be both humble and flexible, with no confidence in myself but complete assurance in You, being bold in my obedience so that Your purposes may be accomplished through me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!