Don't Cry~

Tuesday greetings,

Luke 7:11 “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.’”

Before Christ traveled to Nain, He was in the city of Capernum where He had been hard at work teaching large crowds from Judea, Jerusalem, and coastal regions.  These same crowds could not get enough of Him and were constantly trying to touch Him because of the power that was flowing through Him (That's a DEVO topic for another day!).  Christ, and rightly so, was the center of attention everywhere He went. Nevertheless, in the midst of the daily hustle and bustle of His extraordinarily busy life, Christ’s heart goes out to a grieving widow whose only son had died; He puts all of His considerable attention on one broken heart. Sigh~

I do my fair share of asking, pleading, crying, petitioning, and sometimes even begging. I wonder how many others are also out there at any given time praying. Are there millions or even billions of requests being offered up right this second as I write this DEVO?  My guess would be yes, but this verse reminds us that God sees each and every one of His children on a personal and intimate level.  It does not matter who else is trying to reach out to Him, He sees us.  He is aware of our needs, our pain, our struggles, and today He says to you and me, “Don’t cry.”

How might knowing this change our perspective or attitude?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You are never too busy to see us.  You are intimately aware of our hurts, needs, wants, and fears.  Thank You that You, the Almighty and Glorious Lord, are right there when we need You the most.  In Christ’s name, AMEN~  

He Heart Went Out to Her~

This DEVO was initially published in September 2013. Blessings~

Luke 7:11-14 “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.’”

Recently my three nephews, ages one, three, and nine and my niece, age 11, spent the night.  Rayray was still living at home, her fiancé was hovering nearby, Hormone and my lovely daughter-in-law dropped by for a visit, my brother was also present as he was temporarily living with me, and Jorge, of course, the magnificent patriarch of our little family, was there too, and well, it was a little chaotic. 

My phone may or may not have rung; I’m not sure.  I can’t recall what, if anything was on the TV.   Somehow diapers were changed, and I am pretty sure I fed the kids at least once.  Poor things!  At one point we were playing with a large rubber spider, and I meant to hurl it at Jorge, but my aim stinks, and I hit the baby square in the head.  He didn’t even cry. (Do not tell his parents).  I was surrounded by 10 people, hardly a large crowd, but I could barely keep up. 

But notice how a large crowd was with Christ, and yet He “saw her.”

None of us should ever feel that Jesus has more important things to do than to address our needs.  You are the most important thing to Him, and even though it is a mystery, He focuses on each and every one of us as though we were the only ones in the crowd. 

I like to be seen every now and again.  I like to know that I matter.  That someone has noticed me.  That someone is thinking about me.  That I am significant.  That I am special. 

Our spouses, family, and friends provide a lot of the affirmation we need, but sometimes it’s not enough.  A large crowd was with the widow as well.  No doubt they were grieving with her and trying to comfort her.  But she needed more.  She needed Jesus Himself to see her pain and reach out to her, and He did. His heart always makes a beeline for those who are suffering.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that You are never too busy to notice us.  Thank You that nothing distracts You from helping us and reaching out to us.  We are grateful for the love and support of family and friends, but it is a joy and relief to know that You see us and that Your heart goes out to us.  We receive it! In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

He Sees Me~

TGIF greetings~

Luke 7:11 “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.’”

Soon after what?  Previous to this verse Christ had ministered in the city of Capernum, He taught large crowds who were from Judea, Jerusalem, and coastal regions, and He chose the 12 disciples.  The Bible also says that these large crowds all tried to touch Him because of the power that was flowing through Him.  (There’s a DEVO topic we’ll have to explore soon).  Suffice to say, He was busy, and everywhere He went He was followed by people who were eager to learn from Him and/or receive a miracle.  And yet, in the midst of all the hustle and bustle, Christ’s heart goes out to a grieving widow whose only son had died—He puts all His attention on one broken heart. Sigh~

Did any of you ever see the movie Bruce Almighty?  Jim Carrey plays a character, Bruce, who complains to God that He’s not doing a good job so God offers him the job for one week.  Pretty soon Bruce realizes that one of his jobs as God is dealing with all the prayers that are barraging him, and he uses something of an email program to receive and answer the prayers.  The one scene that I have played over and over and over again in my head since watching this movie over 10 years ago is when those initial email prayers start coming in.  God’s job is not so easy, and before you know it, there are so many requests that it overwhelms the system.  Bruce answers eventually answers yes” for every request to save time.  

But there is a really good point to be made with all this: Even though millions upon millions of prayers are pouring in at any given moment, God still sees each and every one of us at a personal and intimate level.  (He is God after all, and rather than thinking that He needs help to answer prayer, I choose to believe in His majesty and grandeur and all-sufficiency.  I don’t know that I could have much real faith in a God Who needs help to help me.  But this is another DEVO topic for later).

God, Who is awesome, sees You and every tear you have ever shed. 

How might knowing this change our perspective or attitude?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You are never too busy to see us.  You are intimately aware of our hurts, needs, wants, and fears.  Thank You that You, the Almighty and Glorious Lord, are right there when we need You the most.  In Christ’s name, AMEN~