Don’t Cry

se of Focus

“When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry

Luke 7:13

Most of us have probably lost people at some point in our lives, I lost my mum when I was two, nothing to really grieve about since I really didn’t know her. When I lost my Dad at seven the grief was a bit tougher. However, when I lost my sister’s husband at 12, my world came crumbling. I questioned everything I ever knew about God. This man was a faithful man of God who sacrificed everything in his youth to follow God and just like that he became sick until death, how could a caring God let that happen? Oh, I grieved! Yet, he was just an in-law. What happened to me was nothing compared to what happened in Nain.

“Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and His disciples and a large crowd went along with Him. As He approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 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, and the bearers stood still. He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.”

Here, we see sorrow cast its heavy shadow upon a grieving widow. This woman, already burdened by the loss of her husband, now faced the unimaginable—the death of her only son. The ache of her heart was palpable, and the weight of her grief hung heavily in the air. Incidentally, Jesus was passing by at this moment and when he saw this woman and the procession taking his son for burial, His heart went out to her

I personally find it interesting that Jesus’ heart went out to her; it means that Jesus was touched by this woman’s pain. No wonder the bible says that “…we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). And if Jesus’ heart goes out to this woman, I bet his heart is with us in our moment of grief even today as well. But that’s not all. He said, ‘Don’t cry.’

Why would Jesus ask her not to cry? It was both a statement of comfort and of hope in His restoration power. The next action of Jesus was to restore life to her son and tears of sorrow quickly became tears of joy. In this same way, Jesus still restores today. Yet, it’s important to acknowledge that restoration doesn’t always unfold in the way we expect. Sometimes, God chooses a son for a son, at other times he might choose to comfort us in other ways. However, this truth is certain, in our moment of loss, grief and pain, Jesus is always there to comfort us and to restore us. If there’s anyone to turn to for healing, it is He. 

PRAYER