Many of us have defining moments that we can look back on which have shaped us into the person that we are today, good or bad. That defining moment could have been something done to you by someone else or it could be something done by you or that you are now currently doing. It could be a loss of a close family member that you can’t get over or an emotional wound inflicted by someone. It could be an addiction that has its grip on you; alcohol, drugs, pornography. It could be financial losses that have shattered your dreams of success or a divorce that has left you torn. Have you allowed your losses and heartache to be turned inward causing brokenness in your life? We do not have to be defined by our brokenness. Do you need a new defining moment? God can redefine you and give you a new life, a new reputation, a new vision.
There are examples in the Bible that we can pull from that give us instruction on how to be redefined. The first one is in Mark where he tells us that Jesus is teaching and a man with a withered hand is there. Jesus tells him to stand up, to stretch his hand out and then He restores his hand. We are not told anything else about him…not how old he is…not where he lives…not his name…he is defined by his brokenness. ..the man with the withered hand. In Luke we are given a bit more information, that it was his right hand. The right hand represents friendship and blessing, fruitfulness and success. This man had none of these things. He has a withered, shriveled hand.
Are you living a withered life? It may be withered relationships, finances, or health, any number of things. Failure or weakness that has restricted you, grasped you and brought you to the place where you say, “This is all I’ll ever be”. Loss of hope. It could have happened years ago or just yesterday.
God wants more for your life. He says to the man, “Stand up and stretch out your hand”. The man was obedient. The Bible doesn’t say that he responded in faith, he, at first, just obeyed. And his hand was restored. He now has been redefined. He is no longer the man with the withered hand, but is now defined by a miracle.
If you want to have a life redefined by Jesus, then take a stand…take a risk. Move against your weaknesses, your limitations, your fear, the old definition of you. Because God can stretch you so you can become a new person. What would your life look like if you could be redefined by a miracle?
Luke tells the story of a woman that had been crippled for eighteen years….bent over, unable to straighten up. Something had happened eighteen years ago that became her defining moment. Jesus touched the woman and said, “You are set free from your infirmity”. Like the man we don’t know anything about the woman. She is defined by her defect. She can’t look anyone in the eye. She can’t see the horizon; she has no vision for the future. Her perspective and point of view is downcast, depressed, small.
Are you defined by your immediate circumstances? No vision or hope for the future. Are there things in your life that make you feel like her? Afflicted by her infirmity, her outer condition is a reflection of her inner condition. Jesus told her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity”. You, too, can step forward in obedience and faith towards freedom. Jesus says to walk towards Him and He will give a freedom that comes from the inside out. That encounter became her new defining moment. No longer was she defined by being bent and broken or by what she couldn’t do. Like the man, she is now defined by a miracle. Do you feel bent and broken so that you can’t see your future ahead and just accept that “this is just the way my life is going to be”?
Too many people are crippled in mind and spirit, unable to reach their full potential for all that God has in mind for them. Be defined by a miracle. Don’t be known by what you did or was done to you, or by what you cannot do. Be known for what God has done in your life….a walking miracle. These Biblical examples are a testimony to the power of Jesus Christ. The man and woman took a stand, a risk, reached out to God in obedience and were healed.
The synagogue rulers were angry that Jesus healed on the Sabbath. Like them, there will always be someone who doesn’t want you healed. Wants to keep you in your brokenness. Take a stand. Take a step towards healing. There are Christian counseling and Celebrate Recovery programs available out there to help you. God wants to redefine you for His own glory. Do you want to be known by your brokenness or by wholeness… by deficiency or God’s sufficiency… by a wound or by healing? Jesus wants to heal you, set you free. What would your life look like in your brokenness to take that stand, that step?
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