Don’t Cry

Not long after that, Jesus went to the village Nain. His disciples were with him, along with quite a large crowd. As they approached the village gate, they met a funeral procession—a woman’s only son was being carried out for burial. And the mother was a widow. When Jesus saw her, his heart broke. He said to her, “Don’t cry.” Then he went over and touched the coffin. The pallbearers stopped. He said, “Young man, I tell you: Get up.” The dead son sat up and began talking. Jesus presented him to his mother. Luke 7:11-15 Message Bible

This woman was a widow and now she was burying her only son. I can’t imagine the walk of pain she was enduring that day. All of her hopes, dreams and future were now being carried away in a coffin. Have you ever been on a walk when you feel as if the most treasured thing in your life or dream feels dead?

Have you ever had something in your life look dead? Maybe your relationship with God or your  marriage, your dream, your job or your finances? Well, Jesus says “Don’t cry.” He is the only one who can breathe life back into what is dead. Sometimes what you are willing to let die in your life can He step in and now revive.

HE NOTICES OUR PAIN

Even though we feel no one can understand the weight of what we carry or how overwhelming it can be there is always one who can, Jesus. When Jesus saw her, his heart broke and in other translations it says “he was moved with compassion”. Compassion means more than to pity or feel empathy for someone but this word “compassion” means to “suffer with”. Come along side of someone and take action. It’s one thing to see someone and feel bad for them and another thing to notice and do something about it. Jesus wasn’t feeling sorry for her but took action to change her situation. You are not alone. He notices your pain and wants to touch what is dead and bring life back to you.

HE SAYS “DON’T CRY”

Jesus tells the widow not to cry. He wasn’t saying she couldn’t show emotion but that the story wasn’t over yet. She is in the moment while Jesus knows the outcome. He wants us to surrender it to Him and believe He can resurrect anything He wants to live again. We must know that if God gave it to you then no one can take it from you.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

HE TOUCHES THE DEAD THING

Until you are willing to surrender everything it will be your responsibility to keep it alive. Once you are willing to let it die can God can step in and revive. I am sure this mother wasn’t a terrible mom who caused the death of her son but yet he is dead. Sometimes things in our life come to a horrible end and not because we did anything wrong but He wants to be the one responsible for making it happen. Everything we have belongs to Him and He allows us to manage and enjoy those things in this life. Our children belong to God first and He has only entrusted them to us to train and enjoy. Our marriages are for our enjoyment and teach us relationship, perseverance and experience the joy of loving one another yet both individuals belong to Him first. Your promise is for your good yet to accomplish His purpose in our lives and in this earth. Your job is your livelihood but also to help further the kingdom of God. If you are struggling then you cannot add to His purpose the way He desires. He wants you to succeed more than you want to succeed. Determine to surrender today everything which looks dead and allow Him to speak life to it.

HE COMMANDS PALLBEARERS TO STOP

We must allow God to call some things in our life to stop. The attitudes, perceptions or ways of doing things that are causing us to bury our hope and our dream. We need to stop and assess the situation especially in the darkest moments and look at it as an opportunity to trust God, stand strong and look to Him. For some, this is the only time we reach out to Him when we are in desperate need of Him. Allow God to speak to the things that are causing areas in our life to die and let him do the rest. Are there things in our life carrying away the dead thing that God wants to stop the precession?

HE RAISES THE DEAD

Think about the thing in your life that looks dead or is barely breathing. Is it a ministry, a relationship or something you had wrapped in possibility and now it’s laying there as nothing. It’s in that moment when we have done everything we know to do and yet we see no growth, no acceleration or potential. You start to question everything, was it God? Did I miss it? What was I thinking? Nothing ever works out! We have to resolve that if God wants it to live, it will. Let Him touch the dead thing and decide whether it lives. It’s not a give-up attitude but a surrender attitude. Acknowledging Him to be the life giver and the only way it will happen is because of God!

THE DEAD SPEAKS

When Jesus touched the young man he sat up and spoke. What happens when the dead thing begins to speak? What will it say? When God does awake that which was dead be sure it speaks of God’s power, grace and truth. It is a testament to the God we serve and it displays His everlasting love towards us. People don’t need to see perfection in our lives. Not everyone can identify with a Christian who hides trouble or failure but someone who can go through and yet come out better can definitely give hope to the person struggling. Let your life speak to someone who feels dead and is in search for someone who can bring life.

JESUS GIVES IT BACK

We must be confident of God that He is not trying to rob us of a good life. He isn’t trying to take our joy. It is the enemy who comes to steal, kill and destroy. Once He breathes back into what is dead He presents it back to us to maintain and do again. That is what is so beautiful about God is that He wants us to have life and have it more abundantly. Stay surrendered, put all of your dependency on Him and He will always guide and navigate you through in victory! Surrender the dead thing and watch God breathe life into the dead marriage, the dead finances, the dead relationship, the dead heart and whatever else seems over in your life and watch Him resurrect!

Dirty to Daughter

My dad loves to grow hot chili peppers and jar them for the winter. If you’ve ever worked with hot peppers before you understand how important it is to use gloves. The oils from the peppers seep deeply into the skin and can cause burning and tingling. Yes, I am telling you from a bitter experience. Once you have these oils on your hands everything you touch becomes subject to its potency.

It can be the same with our mistakes. If we don’t know how to walk forgiven and in freedom we can continue to allow it to taint every goal and dream for our lives. It’s that one moment that should have cancelled our call, stopped the gift or removed the position but thank God for Jesus! I’m not talking about living in B.C. (before Christ) but while you have lived this Christian life. I look back at times when I taught things out of ignorance, when I gave up on the inside and made horrible decisions or when I was full of anger and strife all the while attending church every Sunday. I had to learn to clean up and continue learning even when everyone was watching. Don’t ever assume a person should be beyond sin. No one is ever too holy, too godly or too Christian to not make a mistake or sin. We are only too empowered to live in it. We sometimes only see what others want us to see and may not know the hidden struggles of people that we see every Sunday. When a person can’t tell a trusted person their weakness or themselves then they too have only blinded or chained themselves to it. Part of conquering sin is confronting sin. Every person should be able to identify their own strength and weakness in order to conquer what needs to be confronted in their life.

We can not allow these moments of failure, set back or sin to seep so deeply that we live a limited life with a limited view of our future. 

The Woman with the issue of blood takes us on a journey from Dirty to Daughter.

And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” (Mark 5:24-34 ESV)

The only thing standing between her and Jesus, were people.

Are your decisions are based on People or Purpose?

Is it because of where God is taking you or because you don’t want others to think less of you?

Religion serves to please people, Purpose serves to please God.

The People who stand in between:

The people who think you don’t deserve the call or position.

The people who don’t mind pushing you down so they can rise.

The people who only see your issue not your call.

The people who gave up on you along the way.

She was a woman who understood disconnection and loss. By law she was to stay separated from people and considered unclean (Leviticus 15:25). She was defined by her issue. Have you ever been defined by your issue? Jesus took away that label on the cross and we need to leave it there. There is not one issue in your life that you are not empowered to loosen from your life.

When Faith is the connection to reaching Jesus

In one moment of faith she went from dirty to daughter. She had only “heard” of Jesus and believed even before He arrived. She knew she could trust Him to heal if she could just touch Him. Jesus had never called a woman daughter anywhere else in the bible but here. He chooses the woman who was an outcast, who was separated and unclean. Reminding us that there is no sin or failure that can keep us from reaching out to Christ in faith and Him not respond.

Understand her life was at risk. It was not legally allowed for an unclean woman to touch anyone especially Jesus. She had to have touched many others in her quest to touch Jesus. The law says that anyone who touches an unclean woman is now considered unclean. Thank God, you are never too dirty to become His daughter. There is nothing too dirty that God can’t wash away completely.

This story is a reminder of His great compassion to stop, listen and respond to our hearts. He responds to faith not our issue. So instead of telling Him your issue, which He already knows, reach out to Him in faith. Take what He has made available to you which is freedom. He is waiting for someone to reach out to Him and know that He is the only answer.

Because of her faith she went from Dirty to Daughter. It’s what you believe about yourself as to how you think God views you. The freedom is in your faith! Jesus has already conquered the issue in your life.

You are a Daughter or Son not the issue, not the struggle and not the label.  Reach out to Him in faith and He will respond with freedom and wholeness.

Please visit: KellyElders.com for more from Kelly Elders