Restoration at the Gate
Life is marked by transitions—childhood to adolescence, singleness to marriage, parenting to the empty nest. In every shift, we experience both joy and grief as we leave behind one season and step into another, often an uncertain one. These transitions are not only emotional and relational—they also involve our wealth and resources. And in these sacred in-between spaces, I believe God often meets us in profound ways.
One such moment unfolds in Luke 7, where Jesus approaches the town of Nain. Just before this, He had performed a miraculous healing, and a great crowd now follows Him in awe and wonder. As Jesus nears the city gate, another crowd appears—this one wrapped in sorrow. A widow is burying her only son, surrounded by mourners weeping in despair. In this poignant collision of joy and grief, Jesus meets her at the gate.
He says gently, “Don’t cry.” Then He turns to the lifeless body and declares, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The son rises. Life returns. Provision is restored. And the crowd murmurs in awe, “God has come to help his people.”
This is what Jesus does: He meets us at the gate.
In your own transitions—perhaps retirement, a career change, the loss of a loved one, or an unexpected blessing—God may be meeting you right at the gate. It may be to offer comfort when you are empty, or to invite you to be a blessing when you’ve been entrusted with more than enough.
Could it be that, just like in Nain, “God has come to help His people”—and He intends to do so through you?
Jesus affirms this principle in Luke 6:43–45:
“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit... The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good... for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
God desires that you be rooted and fruitful—that your life would bear good things. Why? Because the Spirit of God is still at work in the world, and you may be the very means through which He helps His people.
So don’t miss the gate. Don’t rush through the transition.
It’s often where we plan and strategize the most—and where God may be planning to transform your life, and the lives of others, through you.
