When Death Collides With Life
Have you ever started crying out of the blue?
We cry when we are happy, when we feel another’s pain, and even in gratitude as we worship God. Most of the time, our tears are rooted in grief; other times, there is no cause for it at all! (Hello, hormones!)
Over the last couple of years, I lost my brother, Stevie. I remember that shortly after his death, I sat down to gather paperwork for his insurance, and at that moment, the floodgates opened.
Sitting at that table, I just cried and cried. And just like a snowball effect, I began grieving that my brother wasn’t earthside. This was followed by mourning an entire decade of my mama and daddy being gone. During all my crying, my husband happened to call and, realizing I was upset, asked what was wrong. My response was simply, “Oh, I’m just crying about everybody who has ever died!”
Sometimes grief just sneaks around the corner, and a physical response follows.
Can you relate?
The Grief of a Widow
Luke 7 tells the story of a grieving widow. You see, not only has she lost her husband, but now, her only son has died.
“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. They were all filled with awe and praised God.”
- Luke 7:11-16, NIV
I want to point out that this passage isn’t so much about grieving the dead as it is about the compassion of Jesus. We can be encouraged that as we encounter mourning, loss, and pain, Jesus relates with us.
When Hopes and Dreams Fall Away
Death doesn’t only come in the loss of a person. It can also be found in the end of a vision and a dream. This widow in Luke 7 not only lost her husband and only son, but she also lost the dreams of a future and her provisional security.
In losing her husband, this woman also lost the dreams she had for them as a married couple. Who will love her, hold her at night, and share in what a husband and wife experience together in life?
In losing her only son, she lost what felt like an inheritance and the anticipation of generations of blessings.
Yet, as soon as Jesus lays his eyes on her, his heart is moved, and he has compassion for her.
What about you?
Maybe you are a single woman in your 40s, and the dream of having children is fading away.
Perhaps all the hard work you put in at work is going unnoticed, and the desire for a promotion does not look too promising.
Possibly, the death of someone you loved dearly has left you feeling broken and alone.
Friend, we are not much different from the widow. In this life, we will experience loss. But also, in our pain, Jesus has compassion for us. And He promises not to forsake us but will stick close to our hearts and grieve with us.
Death to Life
After Jesus is filled with compassion for the widow, he tells her not to cry.
I don’t believe he is criticizing her emotion because, after all, Jesus wept. However, I do think he is asking her to stop crying so that she can see what happens next.
Sometimes, in our humanness, we can get so caught up in our feelings and self-pity that we miss what God is doing entirely. Because when Jesus shows up, things happen, and if Jesus never leaves us, he is always doing something!
At that moment, Jesus raised her son back to life, and as a result, an entire town realized that God was among them.
The same can be true of us today. When we allow Jesus to bring life to the grief we have for the death of people, our visions, and our dreams, lives around us can be impacted, and the glory of God can be revealed.
May we be Daughters who live lives that align with our faith in a God that brings life!
When Pain Collides With His Presence
MercyMe’s song, “The Hurt & The Healer,” speaks encouragement and power into grief. One part says,
Even though a part of me has died
You take my heart and breathe it back to life
I fall into Your arms open wide
When the hurt and the healer collide
How beautiful to think that no matter what we are walking through, when God’s presence remains the center of our lives, His glory will collide with our suffering, resulting in life in us and those around us.
And just like the widow in Luke 7, when death and Christ’s compassion collide, He will dry our tears (Isaiah 25:8) and do the miraculous in our lives.
Because regardless of whatever is causing pain in our lives, when Jesus shows up, life is always on the other side.