Luke 7:12-15
Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.  And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.  And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.  And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

Just previously, Jesus had healed a man because someone came to Him, expressed a need, and trusted Him for the outcome.  Often in Scripture, Jesus is going to meet a need at someone’s request or answering a cry for help on the spot.  But sometimes, unbidden, Jesus goes to meet a need of someone who would never know to or be able to go to Jesus with their need.  Sometimes, He just shows up at the right place at the right time and makes a huge difference in someone’s life.

That was the case for a grieving widow that Jesus encounters during the funeral for her son.  This woman whose son had died didn’t know that Jesus was near and that she could ask Him to heal her son.  She would have probably never considered asking Jesus to restore her son’s life.  She was simply carried along on this wave without any way to stop what was happening to her.  But then Jesus went out to find her.  He saw her, had compassion on her, and knew He could make a difference, and so He mercifully performs an amazing miracle, restoring her son back to life again.

A lot of times, Jesus responds to us in the same way.  He sees us in our sorrow and grief.  He sees us in a desperate situation.  He sees us where we are when we are feeling lost, broken, and hopeless.  And He comes toward us exactly where we are to intervene in some way we would have never thought to ask for.  He gives us precious gifts that we haven’t even sought from Him.  He has such compassion and love for us that, unsolicited, He will pour out new life into that deadness in our lives in such a tender way.  And when He does that, He restores our hope and our joy along with it.

There are a lot of situations in life that are completely beyond us.  Sometimes we don’t know how to pray.  Sometimes we don’t bring those things before the Lord for many different reasons.  But He knows our needs.  He loves us so much, and we precious to Him, and so He will so often just come and bless us in a significant way for our good and His glory.  He will lift us out of those low places and into a place where we can rejoice in Him and what He’s doing in our lives.