Stop Wailing (Luke 7:13)

When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, "Do not weep." (Luke 7:13 NASB)

Jesus was often moved to compassion for those around Him, and this grieving mother was no exception. In that compassion, He spoke to the mother. You might expect Him to say something like, "I'm God's Son and I have everything under control," or "I'm so sorry for your loss."  No. He said nothing consoling. 

Jesus, filled with compassion, walked up to this lady, and said, "Stop wailing please." Translations always soften what He said, but the word for weeping here (klaiō) actually means "to wail" or "loud weeping and mourning". She wasn't just sad and grieving. She was wailing so loudly that she couldn't hear anything else. She was totally focused on her grief to the exclusion of everything else around her, as most of us would be. 

Before you decide that seems harsh, reconsider the scene. Almighty God was wrapped in flesh, full of grace and power, and standing right in front of her.  The grieving widow was wailing over her loss to such an extreme that she could not see God in the flesh just inches away. Had she realized that God Himself was on the scene, would she have continued to wail? Probably not. 

In the midst of our own suffering and grief, it is easy to wail and mourn like the widow. It's common to forget that, because of the Holy Spirit's presence, we, too, have Almighty God at our side. There is no need to wail. The loss of a loved one brings grief, certainly, as well as the accompanying sadness and longing for the departed one. For followers of Christ, however, we have the presence of God to comfort us and bring renewed life to our situation. 

The time of grief over the death of a loved one is not the only time we mourn and wail, is it? When children make bad decisions, when loved ones are estranged, it is not uncommon to be so overwhelmed by the situation that all we can do is weep and wail. Take heart, dear ones. Jesus says, "Stop wailing! Look at Me and allow Me to work in your situation."  Although difficult to take our focus from our concern to our Lord Jesus, it is the only way to find peace and hope. 

Today, pray that we would stop wailing and start looking to Jesus for intervention. Let's give our concerns to Him and allow Him to do what only He can do, bringing life and hope to replace death and despair. 

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Here's the link for last might's post here:

 http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-greenhouse.html