Daily Verse: Luke 7:12-13

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.”

 

In Luke 7:13, when Jesus witnesses a widow whose son recently died, it says in the text that "his heart went out to her". I find this small bit of text incredibly encouraging and comforting. It reassures me that when we are suffering, Christ is right there with us, feeling our pain. He is "attached" to what is going on in our lives. Jesus could have very easily walked by this mother in mourning, but he chose to stop and express his compassion and sympathy. It encouraging to know that he wants to be involved in our highs and lows...when we are standing on a mountaintop and at the bottom of a hole....the good and bad...and he wants to be intimately involved, not just a casual observer. If he were content with just being a casual observer, I think he could have simply expressed his condolences to the widow and then moved on. But instead he performed a real-deal, knock your socks off miracle by raising this man from the dead! That seems like some incredible compassion, sympathy, and involvement...and proof that God can do mighty things when we are at the lowest points in our lives! So whether today is filled with highs or lows, may we find encouragement and peace knowing that the Lord cares and he is there with us! To God be the glory!