Food For Thought From Yours Truly

I came across a verse today in my Bible study that has really meant a lot to me, so I thought I'd share it.

Luke 7:13 "When the LORD saw her, He had compassion on her and said, "Don't cry." (the whole passage is 7:11-17)

He then proceeded to heal her dead son. The thing about this passage that got me is that this woman was totally minding her own business. There's no indication that she knew who Jesus was or that He even existed. She did not cry out to Him or seek His attention in any way. There was no condition laid out for her, the only prerequisite was her pain. In the passage before this one Jesus heals a man's servant because of his great faith. Not the case here. Jesus saw this woman crying as He entered Nain and had compassion on her, purely as her Creator and out of His instinctive nature as God.

In my Bible Study (Beth Moore) she talks about the Sweet Nature of God, and how there is a profound plan that overrides the miracle we desperately desire, but that it appears that God's instinctive reaction to our pain is to comfort and fix - His compassion for us is that great. But His love and respect for us is great too, and that if He always fixed we'd be deprived of growth resulting in many rewards.

I have been reminded of the Sweetness of God's Sovereignty. The Tenderness that is instinctive for Him toward me. That He recognizes my pain and hurts with me regardless of whether or not I'm acknowledging Him, let-a-lone seeking Him in the midst of it. And, that when the miracle that I'm longing for doesn't come, it's not because He's distant or abandoning me to learn my lessons... He's applying self-control to His instincts for the profound plan He has for my life, so as not to deprive me of growth resulting in many rewards.

Just something I'm soaking in today.