Luke 7:11-13 (NIV)

“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.’”

There’s something special about these moments with Jesus, where we see the compassion He had for people up close and personal. We see it when He’s standing at the tomb of His friend Lazarus—where He’s moved to the point of tears. And this is how deep His compassion is: He knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead and His friend was going to walk out of that tomb alive, but He was still so moved by his love for His friend that He wept. Matthew 20 tells of the compassion He had for the blind men in Jericho who called out to Him and asked for their sight.

And we see it here with a widow who has lost her only son. A woman in that day and time who lost her husband and her sons had no way to support herself. So this was more than just a personal, emotional loss. There was a practical fear of what would happen to her with her son gone. And Jesus had compassion on her in her pain.

The Greek word that’s translated compassion here refers to one’s inner organs being twisted and churned up. Jesus feels our distress and our pain on a deep level. And regardless of how He responds—whether solving our issue or walking with us through it—He cares deeply about everything we face in life.

As you pray today, thank the Lord for His great compassion for you, and ask for help trusting Him in every situation.