In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.”Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, “Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.” – Luke 5:12-15 (NLT)

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A group of friends and I read a daily Bible Study together and discuss what we’re learning through a text thread. Inevitably the conversation also includes life’s ups and downs, which has been a lot over the last 4+ years of us “meeting.” I love learning from these ladies.

We’re currently doing a study called the Miracles of Jesus that walks through everything from turning water into wine to the healing of the blind, lame, and afflicted. Last week, we read the story in Luke about the man with leprosy. Whether it was what we understand as modern-day leprosy or not, people with a skin rash, lesions, or anything similar were thought to be “unholy” and were rendered social outcasts. To make matters worse, the skin disease was believed to be contagious by touch, so if afflicted, you probably never again experienced the very important and necessary comfort of another human’s skin brushing yours. If a person with leprosy did approach society, they literally had to shout, “unclean, unclean” to announce their presence so people knew of their social and physical status.

When I read the story this time, I got choked up. How would declaring yourself as “unclean” day in and day out affect your psyche? Life is lonely and hard enough as it is, without having an internal talk track that reduces you to such a degree. But then came the miracle.

Jesus simply touching the man was revolutionary. When he healed him, what he was really doing was setting him free.

There are people I know who struggle with a similar inner dialogue, and I would be lying if I told you I haven’t struggled myself. Whether it’s a past mistake we keep beating ourselves up over, shame, a limiting belief, or something else, it’s a lie that needs a truth to heal it. And most truths I know originate from this idea: I am loved by the Creator of the universe.

I don’t care what you call the great I AM – Jesus, God, the Creator, the Universe or something else; I AM has the power to touch your spirit, heal your mind, and set you free.

When you doubt your own worthiness and feel like crawling into a den of isolation, hold on to this truth and don’t let go. It could be the miracle that’s waiting for you.

[Photo by Ian Chen on Unsplash]