What Moves God’s Heart?

When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said.

Luke 7:13

JESUS WAS ON HIS WAY TO the town of Nain when He came upon a funeral procession. A woman, who was already a widow, had just lost her only son. Moved with compassion, Jesus did what only God can do: “He walked over to the coffin and touched it. . . . ‘Young man,’ he said, ‘I tell you, get up.’ Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother” (Luke 7:14-15).

Jesus could have raised every dead person and healed every pain for every single person that crossed His path. But He didn’t. We can feel bewildered or even slighted by God when we read about these momentous miracles that never seem to happen for us. Are we second-class saints? No, not at all. Jesus did not come to create paradise on earth. He came to save us from our sin and even from some (but not all) of the pain of living in a fallen world. He came to restore our relationship with the Father now and for all eternity. The best is yet to come.

The miracle Jesus performed for the widow of Nain is not a promise to do a miracle for us. But it does testify to the power of God to one day raise us from the dead, and it shows that there is something deep within God’s nature that is “moved with compassion” when He sees our pain. We may not see a healing miracle in this life, but this life is not the end of things. In the meantime, reach out to others who are hurting with the love and compassion God supplies.

BOTTOM LINE

The compassion Jesus showed for the hurting reveals a heart that cares deeply about every loss you have suffered and every grief you endure. Let that sink in.

Moment of Strength: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10