Our Compassionate God
Today’s reading portrays the loving and compassionate side of our God. Jesus simply walked by a funeral and was filled with compassion. This woman had no one. Her husband was long gone, and now her only son lay in the cold grip of death as well. Her life clung around her in shattered pieces and shredded dreams. Maybe you can feel this woman’s grief. She had no one to provide for her, nor did she have anyone to provide for. Her life’s work and purpose lay wrapped in burial cloths. Her future comfort and provisions disappeared with her son’s last breath. She was lost. She was hopeless. She was broken.
Though this woman was surrounded by a large crowd, I bet she felt all alone as she walked near to the gate of the city. Sometimes our feelings lie. I have felt this with such ferocity, and I am sure you have as well. Our feelings tell us that our life is over, our dreams shattered beyond repair. Our feelings tell us there is no hope, that things will never get better than they were. Our feelings may lie, but our God never does. He is the author of hope. In His hands, the dead come to life and the broken are more than restored. Man can be born again, and life can be greater than our dreams ever imagined.
It is no mistake that God led me to study the book of Job in the weeks before and right after my marriage fell apart. Job loved the Lord, still he faced extreme pain and suffering. Our faith carries us through trials; it doesn’t eliminate them from our lives. I needed to remember that. I needed to see things through the eyes of truth and not through my feelings. Most importantly, I needed to remember God’s compassion. Just as Jesus didn’t allow this widow to mourn forever, God didn’t leave Job broken in the ashes of his former life. Job 42:10 and 12 reveal, “And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before…And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning.”
We serve a compassionate God. He is moved by our tears, not angered or revolted by them. Let us never forget that. Let us never shy away from dropping our mask to be real with our Heavenly Father. He knows our pain. He sees our struggle, and He is filled with compassion. We can cry out to Him because He truly cares. Allow God to wipe away your tears and hold you when times grow too difficult to bear. Trust me, you will not annoy God. He longs to make you new. He aches when you cry and rejoices when you smile. Our God cares, so let us learn to lean on Him in good times and in bad.
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
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