So, that leaves me with sewing by hand. Here again is an obstacle. I am much too impatient to see a hand sewn project to completion. It would truly take a while! Which is why the smart person who invented the electric sewing machine made life so much easier (namely, Elias Howe in 1846).
All of this sewing thinking randomly started to collide with some study work I was doing yesterday. I was preparing a lesson which parallels Luke 4:18-19 and Isaiah 61:1-2. In the Luke passage Jesus makes his teaching debut in the synagogue of his hometown of Nazareth. He is divinely handed the scroll of Isaiah, from which he reads:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus then sits down again, with all eyes fixed on him. He proceeds to teach them about this passage, opening with this stunning revelation: "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." (v. 21) Can you imagine? The Jews present that day were undoubtedly familiar with this passage from Isaiah and knew it to refer to their coming Messiah. What could have been going through their minds as Jesus proclaimed to be the long-awaited One?
In Jesus the One and Only Beth Moore refers to the Luke and Isaiah passages collectively as Jesus' job description. These two excerpts from God's Word tell us exactly what Jesus was (and is) to accomplish. As I was studying all of this, I came to rest on one aspect of Jesus' mission in particular: To heal the brokenhearted (Isaiah 61:1 NKJV). Beth references Exodus 15:26 where God introduces himself by a new title: I am the Lord who heals you," also known as Jehovah Raphah. The word raphah means to "mend (by stitching), repair thoroughly, make whole". Also, most modern translations phrase this part of the verse as "to bind up the brokenhearted." To me, this translation matches even more closely to the original meaning of raphah.
If you have ever had the privilege of sharing life stories or hearing testimonies from others in a group, you will quickly see two things: (1) We all have a story to tell, and (2) We are all broken!
Life can break our hearts in so many different ways. But the result is still the same - we are shattered, imperfect, sapped of strength and powerless. We have no way of pulling all these pieces back together ourselves and functioning as we once did.
I began to visualize taking all our broken pieces and laying them at the foot of the cross. Then the Lord collects them, gently holding each of our broken selves in the palm of his hand. He tenderly, patiently goes about the painstaking work of binding us up, mending us thoroughly and making us whole again. All of this, in the palms of the hands pierced for us. "You hem me in - behind and before; you have laid your hand on me" (Psalm 139:5). Amazing....
What kinds of things are implied in mending a broken heart by stitching? You may think of the pain of the needle going in, out, in again, out again. A slow and painful process. Healing takes time. And often healing leaves a scar. Scars remind our of where we've been, what we've endured. They also remind us to give thanks for the One who heals us! Binding us up ultimately ends in wholeness. In our wholeness, we remember: "In Christ, all things hold together" (Colossians 1:17).
My heart, which is still being mended and has some scars, is bursting with thanksgiving for Jesus and the work He came to accomplish in each of us. He redeems our brokenness and makes us new!
While I wish I knew how to sew, I am thankful that my Savior does. And the fact that it is slow and tedious doesn't bother Him one bit. He knows how beautiful it will come out in the end!
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Application:
+ Read Luke 4:18-19 and Isaiah 61:1-2. Compare the two passages and make a list of the descriptive phrases from both passages, noting any variations. Keep this list in your Bible to refer to whenever you need a reminder of what Jesus came to do.
+ Are you dealing with brokenness in your life? Stop trying to put it back together for yourself. Get on your knees and lay it all at the foot of the cross, asking Jesus to bind up your broken places, just as He came to do. Then praise Him for all that He will do in you and through you!
The Word:
+ He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. Psalm 107:20
+ The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The Lord upholds al those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. Psalm 145:13-14
