Obedience leads to freedom from sin, and the first step of faith is to change your direction and face him, look to him, and ask him to help you keep walking forward. One step can lead to a life-changing pivot in a new direction.

A question we get asked fairly often here at Harvest USA is, “What’s it like to have a full-time job in which you’re talking about sexual stuff all the time?!” Well, that’s not what we’re talking about most of the time! Sure, the issues that bring people to us for help are connected to sexual shame, brokenness, and sin. But sexual behaviors are, in one sense, only the outward manifestation of what’s going on in a person’s heart.

The Bible teaches that we speak, act, and respond out of our hearts—kind of like a cup of water getting bumped. If there’s refreshing, clean water in the cup, out splashes that kind of water. And if the water is polluted, the bumped cup will overflow with dirty water.

So, when women come to us for help, what do we talk about besides their sexual shame and sin struggles? Many things—but at the very center of it all is Jesus and the amazing, life-transforming truth of how a faith-fueled, dependent relationship with him leads to the type of change we all desperately need: change from the inside out. Changed, healed, forgiven hearts produce new ways of living, responding, and, yes, behaving.

Pornography, extra-marital sexual activity or sinful dynamics within marriage, same-sex relationships that have grown beyond godly friendship, masturbation, and so many other things—these are fruits bearing out of our broken, sinful hearts which need the healing touch, truthful words, and holy love of Jesus to be healed so we live differently.

We’ll address three key ideas in this session. First, what are common experiences women have as sexual strugglers? Next, how does Jesus respond to broken, hurting women? When we feel ashamed, isolated, and hopeless due to our sin struggles—and maybe invisible in our churches—how does Jesus look at us, and what does he offer? And, finally, how can we respond to Jesus?

Jesus and a Bent-Over Woman

We’ll ask these questions in light of a story from Jesus’s ministry which happened in a Jewish synagogue, a religious gathering place, where Jesus was teaching. As most synagogues would have been structured at that time, women usually listened from the perimeter of the room or a balcony, separate from men. As you read, imagine Jesus at the front of the room, a group of men in front of him, and at least this one nameless woman on the margins or in the back.

Now [Jesus] was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him. (Luke 13:10–17)

Why did I choose this story rather than one of Jesus’s encounters with women caught in sexual sin? Because we can all relate to this. Women who resonate with the Samaritan woman or the woman caught in adultery can see themselves as set apart, and, honestly, women who don’t resonate with those stories can also see themselves as set apart. We all must look to Jesus, shoulder-to-shoulder, and learn how to apply the gospel regardless of what we have personally experienced.

Let’s first look at a few aspects of this woman’s situation and make some connections to what this course is about.

Suffering, Heartbreak, and Sexual Shame

First, this woman was suffering! God’s sovereign and mysterious plan allowed for her to have a broken body through Satan’s influence. The text doesn’t explain why he allowed this, but Jesus makes it clear that, while this woman was, of course, a sinner like everyone else, her bent-over body was not because of her sin but rather due to the enemy, Satan.

This life is full of trouble, temptation, sin…and suffering coming at us and against us. God uses all forms of suffering—painful afflictions—for his purposes.

This woman most likely had a broken heart. Can you imagine living this way for 18 years?! Bent at a 90-degree angle, shuffling around, unable to do most activities without incredible struggle. People staring, kids laughing, friends not knowing what to say…this was a challenging trial. She was probably marginalized, judged, and shamed due to her affliction. Perhaps she felt “on the outside looking in” compared to the other women in her village; maybe she was jealous of their lives.

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