Coronavirus has impacted nearly every aspect of life on the planet – and for those really troubled by it – even our dreams! We are all on a journey in God, discovering his goodness, favour, generosity, discipline and his ways and that journey continues despite the virus, and it gives us a sobering prompt to contemplate our circumstances, our ways and God’s ways. I am moved by a story in Luke that engages the heart about what happens when we encounter the unexpected Jesus. When Jesus turns up in our lives, anything and everything is possible. In this Coronavirus ‘life-reset’ moment, there is still encouraging news in the gospel.

The unfolding story

Every step, minute, word and action of Jesus is an encounter with God.

In this narrative – having seen miracles Jesus does (rather than performs), the disciples are suddenly having their understanding of the greatness of Jesus stretched at every level. The disciples are slowly Increasing in the knowledge of God. Every step, minute, word and action of Jesus is an encounter with God. To be fair, He’s being watched, observed, and scrutinised in everything He says and does! Like you, the crowds are intrigued and challenged as they behold him, see his works, hear his words – watch his expressions – watching for the frown! The relentless, ongoing personal encounter with Christ shows to them that no situation is beyond the reach of Jesus’ compassion and kindness (we need to hear that today). Their experience reflects Paul’s prayer for the Colossians years later; keep learning and discovering God;

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:9-10)

Jesus is ready to come into the circumstances of their lives and the community, with little or no notice

It’s the heart of the message I have in mind for the church I was to visit, that as a great Church in the North that they might become an insanely great community of God’s people, impacting everyone they meet – knowing that the unexpected Jesus is ready to come into the circumstances of their lives and the community, with little or no notice.  Suddenly.  Unexpectedly. Luke 7:11-14 brings the compelling story as an answer in our COVID-19 lock downs! It’s an immense story that demands we read, think, muse and respond, and how you read, listen and think about God’s Word is so important; if you want to discern God’s work in your life, that’s where it happens. Where are you and your circumstances in the narrative of Scripture? The Emmaus disciples are a good example as they discover from Jesus first hand, that he is everywhere in time and history, always showing us God’s immense ways, plans and God’s heart for us.

The story begins.

Jesus is on the move, crossing the town border from Capernaum, His time there is done – for now. It’s been a great time, but they needed to be alert and like us, know the time of their visitation” – and don’t miss it! (Lk 19:44) If God is doing something in your heart, don’t let the moment pass you by without responding. Picture the scene: there are two crowds on the move. Jesus is moving out of Capernaum with the disciples and a great crowd. Imagine the mixed emotions;

• Excitement

• Faith

• Expectancy

• Uncertainty

• Caution

• Fascination

They walked along behind Jesus, probably sharing stories of the miraculous, of healings and deliverance’s. Perhaps people were walking alongside or behind Jesus with pondering and speculating with questions about who this man was that could heal with a  mere word, open the eyes of the blind, see the sin in the human heart and pronounce forgiveness with such grace and generosity of spirit.

They were on a journey and so are you.

Wherever Jesus is, you will find the Church – gathered around Him. Jesus is the magnificent obsession of anyone who knows the truth and growing in the knowledge of God.

It was a clash of kingdoms. No one expected the exciting drama that would unfold except Jesus.

You couldn’t plan what happens next though! A great crowd full of excitement and anticipation were following behind Jesus when suddenly, 19 miles from Nazareth, they encounter another considerable crowd walking straight towards them. But the crowd ambling towards them was noticeably different, something was very, very wrong. The crowd moved slowly, heads down, crying, sobbing, wailing – and deep despair. It was a clash of kingdoms. No one expected the exciting drama that would unfold except Jesus.

What was Jesus even doing there? The answer that took Jesus from Capernaum to the dusty roads of the small town of Nain couldn’t be answered by the disciples, or the miracle-hungry crowd, but only by Jesus, “I only do what I see the Father doing.” (John 5:19) Never underestimate what God can do in your life. COVID-19 is a wake-up call for faith to say, “Expect the unexpected Jesus!”

Never underestimate what God can do in your life.

The Father was showing His divine love and deep compassion. We are not alone. We are encouraged to cast all our anxiety on Him because He cares for us. A day of insurmountable sadness is interrupted by the unexpected presence of Jesus. Unannounced; unexpected and unprecedented – a prophetic word for you! You are not alone or forgotten by God in your city, town or village… and depending on which crowd we are with we either behold His glory, or we receive His gracious intervention. We are not told that the downhearted, sad crowd from Nain knew Jesus, but we know faith was present which was so unlike Capernaum; “He did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.” Mt 13:58

Amazing stories – but this is Nain?

The crowds striding along with Jesus had recently seen and heard amazing stories; One Sabbath, Jesus healed a man who had an unclean spirit, on another day Jesus healed a fever in Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. Then a Roman Centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant, which turned out very well , followed by an amazing story of the healing of the paralytic lowered through the roof to reach Jesus. Everywhere Jesus went, the Kingdom of God was making massive advances. Today we have had our various ‘God-spots’: Bethel, Kansas City, China, Korea, London, Brazil…

And now Jesus has come to somewhere called Nain. Nain? Really? Only Luke has researched this and told about it. Wikipedia has very little to say about Nain. No reason for God to suddenly, unexpectedly intervene or do something wonderful and miraculous for a nameless widow.

Enter the unexpected Jesus

The massive expectancy in the air must have been tangible! What on Earth is Jesus going to do? A great crowd gathered around Jesus and a considerable crowd mourning the loss of an only son of a heartbroken, distressed widow. The sudden silence must have been astonishing. For the widow It feels like the end of the world. No husband, her only son has died, no relatives to comfort her. Terrible grief, sadness and loneliness loiters like a blanket of heaviness – and now she is about to bury her loved one. Enter the unexpected Jesus, and now the background music is building up like something from a Bond movie …

The crowds meet at the gate to Nain. The path is full of people. No-one is observing the ‘2-metre rule’ and here comes the funeral procession. Eyes are suddenly on Jesus, conversation stops. And then it happens, out of nowhere, Jesus saw her.

Only 10 minutes ago – what can change for you?

Ten minutes ago she was gathering her things, men were lifting the stretcher up to begin the journey to the burial site. Ten minutes ago the disciples were following Jesus somewhere, happy and cheerful. Your circumstance is exactly the same. Jesus knew where he was going, what the agenda was, how it would all turn out. His gaze is on her, just her – and as he looks at her he had compassion on her. Not just for her, that’s what we would do. He did what only God could do; he had compassion on her, and with that he speaks such kindness, “Do not weep.” his words are not empty; he stops the procession and, breaking all the rules, touches the stretcher and tells the young man to get up! This is a dramatic moment.

Do. Not. Weep. Three words that fill your heart with hope and courage. She came heartbroken and with the vocal expression of a deep, travailing, terrible despair, but she didn’t come to Jesus. He came to her. We never get to know their names. There is only one hero in the story, his name is told in the narrative. Jesus said. The good news is that you don’t have to come to Jesus, He’s coming to you. You don’t have to find Him, He’s here. Whatever your city, town, street, hospital ward or prison address is – he knows where you are – and he turns up unexpectedly. The initiative is his. It always has been… (John 3:16)

Fear that produces worship

And so, as the mixed crowds look on, the dead man became a living man again, and immediately starts talking! What did he talk about?

This is Nain, the place where Jesus raises the dead, restores hope, vision and courage

The result is great fear seized them all, but this was the fear that produced worship, a deep sense of awe. The story ends not telling us of the celebrations that went on into the evening and into the weeks and months to come as they rehearsed the story of how Jesus had come unexpectedly and visited them. They knew what had happened.

God had visited his people. And so in a few verses Luke told us the story no one else mentioned. What a story, encouragement and challenge! These might feel like a dark, hopeless wilderness but this is Nain, the place where Jesus raises the dead, restores hope, vision and courage, the place where Jesus sees you and has compassion on you.

It’s the place where He visits His people with audacious, extravagant grace and kindness. The unexpected Jesus – who oozes life, hope, vision. God comes to town and turns our mourning into joy and celebration. All the light switches get switched on. God visits His people.

But what about you?

Have you crossed a point of no return? Are you that widow, with heartbreak, sadness and devastation, or the young man waiting for Jesus to call you from death to life? He’s here now speaking to you with insurmountable kindness. The heart of the Christian message is that the happy God so loved our weeping world that he gave his own Son to weep with us, all the way to the place of utter forsakenness, that whosoever believes in him will not weep forever, but have everlasting joy. And one day, when he wipes away our every tear, it is not because he is suppressing our sadness. The one who wipes away our tears has shed his own. And he has triumphed – and truly we can say today, God has visited His people.

Coronavirus?

This is a time of heart-searching. Coronavirus is changing things, inconveniencing people including our jobs, families and church life. Tragically some have lost their lives to the virus, but let’s encourage each other to keep turning to the Lord. The Nain event shows us that God has not forgotten us wherever we are, and He already knows about us. Keep trusting the Lord.

Covid has impacted not just the church, but the entire world. In many ways it briefly put lifelong dreams, aspirations, ambitious goals and targets on hold, but then, inspired by faith, it caused many to and take a step back and take stock.

As difficult as it was for so many people, it made many pause to absorb what they experienced, and then realise that little steps can add up to big changes in our walk with God when maintained over the long term.

More profoundly, there are things that still remain before us that we feel strongly to embrace — the great commission still lays tantalisingly before us — it’s a challenging mission even as we come out of lock down but unlike us, God has not been put on hold. We’re also not abandoned. He is here and at work in the heart of the nation. You may be unable to perceive it, but God is profoundly at work. Back in history in the extraordinary encounter Jacob had with God there is comfort and inspiration for us as we consider Jacob felt exactly the way we may feel today. It was time for him to be found wrestling with God, but it took Jacob by surprise.

The Apostle Paul says these things happened in the Old Testament as an example and were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (1 Corinthians 10:11) so it’s an important and inspiring story for us too (Genesis 32:22-31). We need to allow the Holy Spirit to stir our hearts with its promise that as much as God was dealing with Jacob, he is also wrestling with us.

Don’t underestimate what God is capable of doing in your life, or the measure of grace he is able to extend to you.

Jacob had once fled from the land of Canaan, the promised land, the land that God had given his forefathers and him, and he had also fled from his brother’s anger. He had spent years of his life in a foreign land but now he is drawn back. He wants to go back to his home country, back to the land promised by the prophets. He wants to go into the land where God is the Lord and no other. And he wants to go to his brother and make peace with him.

He wants to explore the land of God. For our part, our cities (our church) are waiting eagerly for the gospel to bring hope – and life. We want to reach our nations for Christ, making disciples of nations, not just cities, towns and villages. Clearly, not all of this story is applicable to our current predicament, but in our personal lives it may be that God has much more to say than we think.

Don’t underestimate what God is capable of doing in your life, or the measure of grace he is able to extend to you. And remember, if you feel you don’t deserve God’s grace and kindness, you are right. That free grace leads you to a life of obedience and faith. God is doing something so great that you won’t believe it or comprehend it, even if you were told. The word “unprecedented” and its twin, “awesome” still have time to be used properly…

Something remarkable happens to Jacob. Evening has come, the last evening in the foreign land. He, Jacob, knows that his brother and the promised land are near; tomorrow he will be in his home country. Now it is night. And he stays alone by the river.

Encountering God

Just a few hours, then it will be morning and he will cross over into his home country, but then suddenly he notices that he is being attacked. Someone steps into his path. He puts his arms around him; he wrestles with him; he will not let him go; he tries forcing him down.

Because of his underhand dealings with Esau, Jacob should not return to the promised land, neither should he find peace with his brother. A terrible, powerful force steps in his way and will not allow Jacob to enter; it wants to push him back into the night, into the foreign land. It is an engagement that seems to say, “Stay there, where you are coming from. You may not come into the promised land; you are a foreigner, an unfaithful one. Stay away from here.” And violently the great unknown one tries to push Jacob away from him into the night.

Audacious persistence

That stirring of the Holy Spirit that you have felt before, may well have produced the response that Jacob had – you long for revival and here, Jacob’s longing for the promised land gives him unbelievable strength, and he does not allow himself to be pushed away. He does not give way. He holds the other one tight in his grip, and now in the struggle, he suddenly recognizes who his opponent is! It is none other than God who is guarding this land, who will not let any intruder in, who keeps this land holy, who wants to show this person that one can’t just come in so simply and happily and merrily, but that only the holy and righteous cross over the borders of this land.

We should never be casual about Church – we were brought into the church by Christ Himself, it was never our decision, something we chose ourselves — Jesus through His death on the Cross bids us enter at His invitation alone, in response to His grace and call — and that call leads to a holy life, imparted by God.

But how should we become holy, so that we can enter all that God has for us? Let us look at Jacob. The night is ending and morning is coming, and Jacob is still holding off his opponent. He still does not let himself be sent away. He is still holding him. Then comes a last, terrible blow from the opponent: Let me go; the day is dawning and I must leave. You stay in the night! And now Jacob’s passionate determination becomes immeasurable. He dares to talk back to God, to refuse to do what he says: No, I will not let you go, unless you bless me.

Our desperate remonstrations with God

What else does that mean other than that Jacob dares to reach into God’s heart itself? It is as if he was imploring God, “You may not go away from me. You may not leave me alone in the night. I cannot be without you. I cannot. I want to see your land and live in your land. God, you will not leave me in the night, in sin, in need. You can’t leave me alone. It goes against your heart. No, I will not let you go, unless you bless me. I want only one thing: to know you are not my enemy, that you no longer reject me because of the evil things I did in the foreign land; to know you are with me, that you are merciful to me. I will not let you go, unless you bless me.”

This relentless pursuit of God is what is gripping the heart of the Church in this day, despite those challenges we face. Surely, wherever there are people there will be the Church. If we are sent to the city then surely that is our church and our remit is to turn the heart of the ungodly to the Lord to worship and enjoy Him forever!

Jacob doesn’t know how he should hold on to God so that God doesn’t leave him, and he asks God, “Tell me your name, so that I can always call on you, so that I know who you are.” But God answers: Why do you ask me for my name? It is too wonderful for you to understand it. “And there he blessed him.”

God at work

So that was God’s answer, in which God revealed the divine name, which is not an angry but a merciful name.

• God blessed there. That means God did not leave him alone in the night.

• God did not push him back.

• God did not turn him away but was merciful to him.

• God was there to be found

• God promised faithfulness.

• God blessed him.

That means God let him come into the promised land of God. And Jacob called the place Peniel, which means, “I have seen God face to face, and my soul is restored.”

And at the moment when God blessed him, the night came to an end, the dawn broke, and the sun rose for him.

He had won victory over the night. And God had let it become day for him. The sun came up for him, as it did every day, and it shone over a land that was not any different from any other land. But the sun came up for him.

Now God was there, who made it light around him and inside him. Transformation. Just as God has done in your life. The day of God’s mercy had dawned, and the night was over. Jacob was standing in the promised land, for he had found God and his soul was restored.

But, of course, the signs of the night, which remind him of new nights to come, were still there. He limped because of his hip, says the Bible. That means he could not forget his past. It had cost him a great deal to enter into the promised land, to receive God’s blessing. We don’t go into God’s land without scars.

In the night where we know we are sinners before God, where our need becomes great and God wants to turn away from us, there one must fight for God’s blessing. There we should scream out: I will not let you go, unless you bless me. And then morning is near; then the day breaks. Then none other than God comes and makes it light and quiet within us, and we enter into the promised land. It doesn’t look any different from the day before, but God has been there and left divine mercy and blessing with us, and that is why we are in the promised land.

Wrestling with God. There is only one outcome. God is greater than we ever realise.

As the story unfolds, it is not long until Jacob sees his brother coming. And now, where the day of God has dawned, he sees the face of his brother not as an enemy but “like seeing the face of God.”

He sees in his brother God’s very self and God’s love. And the brother takes him in, and he is in his home country, for he has found God and his brother.

But what now for you?

And now daylight should come over you. Not so that now, from tomorrow on, suddenly everything will go smoothly and easily. But in a way that lets you know that God, who wants to bless you, will never leave you alone. That is the sun that came up for Jacob, which also will come up for you: God’s love and mercy, as you see them in Christ on the cross and in his resurrection.

Our present-day encounters may very well be the beginnings of birth-pangs with worse things to cause us anxiety than Covid, but as we learn to wrestle with God in prayer and faith we can have the confidence that God’s word to us is not just true but full of grace and extreme kindness; all things work together for the good of those who love Him.

Let no one ever take away from you the belief that God has prepared for you, too, a day and a sun and a dawning and that God brings to us this son who is called Christ.  Jesus is with you by His Spirit, you are never alone, and the one who struggles with you till Christ is formed in you, also fights for you.

I will not let you go, unless you bless me! If God is for us, who can be against us? Rouse yourself, fan into flame the gift within you and worship God.