Rev Gideon Lee
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 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. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
14 Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
We've just read a passage that to say the least, the scene that is depicted is quite disturbing. The deceased was carried on the same day of his death as there was no embalming then. As Jesus approached the town, He stopped this funeral possession. Can you imagine today someone stop the hearse in the middle of the procession? Jesus told this widow not to cry. She just lost her one and only son and the bible says Jesus had compassion.
If you are wondering in your time of sadness, understand that He cares. Jesus spoke to the young man, arise and this man arose. Only one other time Jesus did it, raising someone from the dead. I am not saying Jesus raised the dead on all occasions but I want to say that Jesus can raise you from your discouragement.
Discouragement comes in all forms and sometimes it can be very discouraging for want of a better word. We need to know how to rise above our discouragement.
1. Accept the reality of what happened.
We do not deny the suffering nor the pain that we are going through. Jesus did not tell the disciples the storm is not real when they were in the boat. He instead told the storm "peace be still". The discouragement that you go through is real.
I am reminded of a story where a man who lived in a tornado region heard the alert. This man had a son who was worried about the tornado. To comfort the son, he told him that the houses there are very well built. Just as he said that the tornado came and the houses all fell flat.
Jesus came and understood the pain that we go through. He did not belittle our situation. He understood how we felt. He never insult our pain. As we accept this is real, we need to come to Him as He is the only one that can turn the bad to good. And He wants to do it as He has compassion for us. Don't deny reality, what we are going through, but Jesus alone has the ability to tell the storms in our lives to be still. Are you going through a tough time, a serious illness, a financial crisis, lost your job? Accept it is real, but bring it to Him.
2. Consider the alternative that Jesus presents to us in the midst of our discouragement.
There was once a man who knows that he may be laid off by his company. He had commitments but the company tried to help him, so gave him a placement elsewhere. But he refused and that could have led him to bankruptcy.
Maybe for some of us, we may have to consider the alternatives that we have. Most of the time we don't want to because it will require us to change. But friends, there are times when we must choose to move on and not just stay or wallow in our sorrows.
There is this story where there is a hut where mothers who lost their infant at birth go to and mourn for their lost. She can go there to mourn for a month and after that the people will go to burn the hut. The mother can choose whether to come out of the hut or stay. If she comes out, then it means she is ready to move on. That was the custom then. I am not saying it is right but that was what their custom did.
How many of you know Eric Clapton? On a warm day in March, he got news that his son fell out of a window and died. Eric Clapton rushed home to find the paramedics there and realized it is true. When it sunk in he said he felt blank and turned to stone. He had to go through the suffering and out of it he came to a point where he has to move on. He did it by writing a song "Tears in heaven".
"Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven
Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven?
I'll find my way through night and day
'Cause I know I just can't stay here in heaven"
Friends, this morning we need to rise above our discouragement. It is okay to grief but we need to move on to live.
3. We need to let God touch us.
No words can take us out of our discouragement and we have to come before the Lord and let Him touch us. God is not against us, we need to come to Him and let Him touch us as only He can give us His peace.
We need to rise above our discouragement and with the help of our brothers and sisters, we can do it.
Last week even when we were attending to the wake of Bro David, I heard news of a bible school classmate that they were hit from the back of their car on their way back from camp. As a result of the impact, her 12 year old daughter died and the wife's skull was split in two. The trauma was great for the husband who was also admitted.
You may ask me why do bad things happen to good people? I have no answer for you but that we have to move on. We have to rise above the discouragement.
Today I am reminded of the eagle. Unlike most birds in times of storms where they find shelter, the eagle flies above the storm and the rain clouds. We all have the ability to soar like the eagle and rise above our discouragement.
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