God’s Hope for Your Heart from Luke 7
JESUS FEELS COMPASSION FOR YOUR PAIN
As [Jesus] drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her… (Luke 7:12-13a)
When Jesus raises the dead like He is about to do in this passage, it gets a lot of attention, and rightfully so.
For most of us, though, it’s a little hard to imagine encountering Jesus in this way. To be sure, there are testimonies even today of God still raising the dead for His glory, but it’s likely that most of us haven’t had it happen to us.
But there is another miracle in this passage.
Look again at the situation. Jesus is walking along the road, headed to a town to preach like He always does, and something stops Him in His tracks. No person comes up to Him and asks for help. No request or interruption is even attempted, but Jesus stops in the middle of His journey to intervene because of this.
“And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her…”
Jesus saw the woman’s plight. He saw her pain and her struggle. He saw the helpless road that lay before her, the struggle of a widow with no one left to take care of her in a culture where women had very few options to survive on their own. He saw her and stepped in to her hour of need because He had compassion for the pain before Him.
And He still does.
Whatever your pain today, take it to Jesus. Whatever your struggle today, take it to Jesus. Whatever your fear or frustration, wound or besetting sin, take it to Jesus, because He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
And that means that even though you may not experience the exact solution you want, He will come to your aid if you call on Him in faith. So, as you do, may you find hope in this truth: Jesus feels compassion for your pain.
-Pastor Phillip
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