As I was reading in Luke chapter 13 :4-16 this morning it reminded me of the kindness of Jesus and how patient he is with us. When He told the parable of the fig tree and then the story of the women bent over for 18 years it encouraged me so much. It spoke to my heart about how the Lord wants us to be free from the things that keep us from growing into the person that we were created to be and to have the life that he died for us to have. He wants to be patient with us while we make our messes and our mistakes because He wants to lead us into better days and gives us chance after chance because He cares so much for us.

In the parable of the fig tree I took from it that it tells us that even though we may not be growing, producing the fruit of the Holy Spirit within us, Jesus believes in us so much that he pleaded to give us time to grow into who we were created to be. He wants to give us special attention, nourishing our souls with himself so that the fruits of the Spirit may grow within us, producing a rich and fulfilling life. He is patient with us while the process is happening and gives us mercy and grace while He waits.

The story about the woman bent over for 18 years speaks deeply to me. Because I get weary with myself about my constant slip ups and bad habits I tend to feel as if God is frustrated with me and fear that He may give up on me. But this story tells me that even though she was in bondage for 18 years He still freed her because of his love and mercy, therefore giving me assurance that He will do the same for me. It encourages me that there is still hope for my own bondage. My heart filled with warmth and love when I read these scriptures and they increased my faith of being free from own messes.

When we read scriptures of the parables and stories that Jesus told we can learn so much about the person that He is. We can learn how faith works and much more. We can be extremely encouraged in our faith and our fight for the life that Jesus died for us to have. And what I like the most about it is that we can get something totally different out of the them each time that we read them. We may get one meaning one time and then see another meaning another time. I think that is why He spoke in parables often. While they have one main meaning to them, they can also speak to each person in ways that they need in order for their faith to grow or to help them in an area of personal growth or struggle. I hope that I am explaining this in a way that you can understand what I mean.

I was struggling heavily with condemnation on my disobedience and wondering if I had blew my chance of redemption since I have been struggling with the same thing for awhile now. I was lead to those scriptures and it brought hope back to me and they were the answer to the prayer that I had prayed the night before. I had asked God if it was too late for deliverance. I had told him that I was tired of being empty inside and asked what was wrong with me. What I got from these scriptures gave me so much hope. It was like God was telling me to not give up and that my break through was on the way.

We may get stuck in the ditch from time to time but God is faithful to drag us out. We may stay stuck for awhile, rather it is from stubbornness or that we need to learn a lesson from the situation, but as long as we keep the faith and we do what we need to do then God will do what we can not do. He will nourish our souls with His Spirit so that we can produce the lasting fruits that come from Him. It may take 2 days, 2 months, 2 years, or maybe even 20 years, but He will deliver us and mold us into who we were created to be if we do our part and don’t give up.

Read Luke 13: 4-16 and see what it speaks to you. Does it encourage you as it did me? What do you take from them? I would love to hear your response. I hope that you have a blessed and wonderful day!!