Don't Cry

This devotional considers Luke 6:11-17.

I’m moved by how much Jesus is moved by my grief, our grief. Because I’m a widow, my radar always picks up a little more on those parts of Scripture now. And that’s okay. It’s part of how the Lord will use my life.

There’s a lot to learn from the account of Jesus raising the widow’s son. For example, there are some interesting facts about Nain and it being the location or very close to the location of the Shunamite woman whose son also died and was raised by Elisha. However, I want to focus on Jesus’ heart. The passage says, When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’ Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on…”

It matters that Jesus is so moved by this woman’s grief. Some of us have an idea of God’s sovereignty and power that excludes his loving involvement in the details of our lives. He is big and holy, and so doesn’t have time considering the crises in the world. The Lord’s ever watchful eye is for correction, to keep us in line. Consider that God’s omniscience is not just for knowing sake. The Lord sees, in the sense of a compassionate gaze, like the one he had for this widow whose loss of husband and only son were too much to bear.

And we’re not just talking about feelings. When Jesus’ heart goes out to us, it’s not in unmotivated pity. I’ve found that the Lord moves towards us first, that is, before we have strength to go to him for help. Christ coming to earth is his ultimate demonstration. This woman no doubt needed the Lord, and her Messiah saw her and went up to the place of her grief and touched it. When the Lord comes to us, he doesn’t come and stand afar off. Do we have the imagination—the capacity to broaden our idea of God—to include One who will revive not just the dead in his second coming, but come close enough to touch, in his full majesty and holiness the biers we carry in the realm of the living?

I believe he will and he does. I’ve experienced it time and again how the Lord has touched my deepest pain and given me joy. Every time it feels like the impossible has occurred, and I am in awe of how whole, well, at peace, at ease, trusting, hopeful, confident, joyful I become. The mourning must come first, though. Without it, how else will we know the voice of God saying, Don’t cry.

Maybe mourning is too heavy a word for some. Disappointment is also on the spectrum. Anger. Fatigue. Guilt and shame. Name it today. My hope and prayer is for us to know, by experience, the love of God in the midst of the worst.

Amen.