But I am poor and needy; make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay (Psalm 705).
“WOMAN, THOU ART LOOSED!» This is the title of a beautiful book written by T. D. Jakes. It refers to the war we have against Satan to free ourselves of the chains of sin. God is freedom and He created us as free beings. Our God was able to straighten the back of a woman who was destined to live looking at the ground: «But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, ‘Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.’ And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God» (Luke 13:12, 13). He laid His hands on her, and she straightened herself right at that moment and she glorified God (v. 13).
I still remember when I saw her walking down the church aisle while I was presenting a message to the ladies. She nervously sat down in the first row ready to listen. Her eyes were red, her head was bold, her clothes were worn out and dirty. However, she became our «stellar visitor,» as she did not miss any of the meetings. One afternoon, under a tree, I heard her story. She was a victim of sexual abuse, she left her home when she was just a child, to wander around with people who introduced her to the world of alcohol, drugs, and promiscuity. I left that place with a commitment from the church sisters to take care of her.
Several years later, it was me who sat in the first row to hear the welcome of the Sabbath School leader. I heard her voice, looked at her eyes, and recovered an image almost lost in my memory. It was her! Now she was a free woman. God had broken her chains; He had given her a new image and a new vision of herself. She was not a slave anymore, she had chosen now to live as a daughter of God.
Woman, God made you free! your traumas, disappointments, and failures may freeze you and make you repeat to yourself: «l am nobody, God has forgotten me.» Lift up your hands to heaven, cry out for divine grace, and your chains will fall before your eyes and before those who watch you. Be encouraged, you are a ‘daughter of God and not a slave to Satan. Straighten up and proclaim, «The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord» (Psalm 118: 16—17).