From Heartbreak to Hope
(Expect the Unexpected • Week 2)
INTRODUCTION — Heartbreak Is Real For All Of Us
Last week we talked about how God often shows up in life’s interruptions — how the mundane can become miraculous.
This week, we’re not talking about minor interruptions…
but those moments that break your heart in half.
The moments you didn’t see coming.
The moments that leave you speechless.
The moments that feel like something died inside you.
And maybe for some of you today:
• It wasn’t one big heartbreak…
• It’s been the slow, quiet kind.
• The kind you hide well.
You smile… but you’re tired.
You work… but you’re empty.
You pray… but you’re hurting.
You keep moving… but you’re carrying something heavy.
The series is called Expect the Unexpected, and today I want you hear this:
You can expect Jesus to meet you in your heartbreak
and lead you toward hope.
He doesn’t avoid your pain.
He moves toward it.
And nowhere is that clearer than in Luke 7.
SETTING THE SCENE — The Worst Day Of Her Life
Last week, I briefly mentioned this moment in Scripture — this heartbreaking encounter where Jesus meets a widow on what had to be the worst day of her life. We touched it for just a moment, but today we’re going to slow down and sit with this story, because it reveals the heart of God in a way few passages do.
Jesus is approaching the small village of Nain, and as He nears the gate, He walks straight into a funeral procession. Not a quiet gathering, not a handful of mourners — an entire village walking together in sorrow.
And at the center is a woman whose world has come completely undone:
• She has already buried her husband.
• And now she is burying her only son.
In the first century, this wasn’t only emotional devastation — it was survival-level devastation.
A widow without a husband or a grown son had:
• no income
• no legal protection
• no inheritance
• no social standing
• no ability to own property
• and no safety net in society
There was no government assistance.
No social work support.
No programs or protections.
A woman in her situation often had only one option left:
to beg… or to hope a distant relative might take her in out of pity.
So she’s not just grieving a child…
She’s grieving her future.
Her security.
Her identity.
Her place in the world.
This wasn’t just heartbreak — it was complete collapse.
And it’s right into that raw, exposed pain — into a life that feels finished — that Jesus steps toward her.
Read Luke 7:11-13
1) Jesus Sees You In Your Heartbreak
“When the Lord saw her…”
This is so important.
She didn’t see Jesus.
She wasn’t praying.
She wasn’t asking for healing.
She wasn’t begging for mercy.
She was just trying to survive grief.
But Jesus saw her.
When nobody else noticed her pain… He did.
When others saw a funeral, Jesus saw a broken heart.
When people saw a crowd, Jesus saw a daughter.
Listen to what Isaiah says about Jesus, the Messiah: In Isaiah 61
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. (Isaiah 61:1)
This is who Jesus is.
This is what Jesus does.
He sees:
• The hurt you don’t talk about
• The fears you hide
• The shame you carry
• The grief you push down
• The exhaustion you don’t want to admit
Your heartbreak has never been invisible to God.
Even if you feel unseen…
He sees you.
Modern Illustration:
You know, this reminds me of a real story that made national news. In 2005, a young father named Kevin Berthia climbed over the railing on the Golden Gate Bridge. He was overwhelmed, hopeless, and convinced no one cared. He later said he felt totally invisible—like the world wouldn’t even notice if he disappeared.
But a highway patrol officer named Kevin Briggs saw him.
Briggs didn’t shout orders or try to grab him.
He didn’t minimize the situation.
He didn’t say, “Come on man, get it together.”
He simply walked up slowly and said, “I’m here. Talk to me.”
For almost an hour, Officer Briggs stood there listening—just listening. No judgment. No lectures. No pressure. Just presence.
Eventually, Kevin Berthia climbed back over the railing.
Today he travels the country telling his story, and he says:
“I didn’t need someone to pull me up. I needed someone to see me. ”
And church—
that’s exactly what Jesus does.
He sees the person, not the problem.
He sees the pain others walk past.
He sees the heartbreak that feels invisible to the world.
Just like that widow in Luke 7.
She didn’t call out to Jesus.
She didn’t pray the right prayer.
She didn’t even see Him…
But He saw her.
You know what’s amazing about that moment on the bridge?
Officer Briggs didn’t just notice Kevin — he felt his pain.
He didn’t know his whole story, but he could feel the weight of a hurting man standing on the edge.
And that compassion pulled him closer instead of pushing him away.
If a normal person can feel even a fraction of someone else’s pain,
how much more does Jesus feel when He sees your pain?”
2) Jesus Feels What You Feel
(Luke 7:13)
“His heart overflowed with compassion.”
Jesus didn’t just look at her…
He felt her.
The word used here means:
• to feel something deep in your gut
• to ache
• to be moved emotionally
• to experience pain on someone’s behalf
This isn’t sympathy.
This is the heart of God breaking for His child.
And Isaiah 61 says the same thing:
“He has sent me to give a crown of beauty for ashes…
the oil of joy instead of mourning…
a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” (v. 3)
He doesn’t just see your grief.
He feels it.
You never weep alone.
Modern Illustration: Counseling on the Worst Days
Far too often in counseling I get a call or someone has had the worst day of their life. Maybe they just lost someone close to them. They just had something awful happened to them or they’ve done something and their plans just disappeared and the truth of the matter is…
there are moments when you can’t fix anything.
You can’t rush the process.
You can only listen.
You know, this isn’t just emotional empathy — this is something God actually wired into our bodies. Neuroscience calls them mirror neurons. These little clusters in your brain fire when you watch someone else experience something — joy, fear, sadness, pain — and your body responds as if you’re feeling it too. It’s why your stomach drops when you see someone else get bad news, or why tears come to your eyes when someone shares something deeply painful. Your brain literally mirrors their experience.
So when you truly connect with someone… you really do feel what they feel. Your body participates in their story. And if God designed our limited minds to enter into someone else’s experience that deeply, imagine how fully Jesus — with perfect love and unlimited compassion — steps into your pain and meets you exactly where you are.
But there’s something holy about presence itself.
Jesus doesn’t rush her grief.
He doesn’t minimize it.
He doesn’t say, “Be strong.”
He doesn’t say, “Where’s your faith?”
He simply lets His heart move toward hers.
Instead…point 3
3) Jesus Steps Into Your Heartbreak To Restore Hope
Read Luke 7:14–15
This is where everything shifts.
“Then He walked over to the coffin and touched it…”
This is shocking —
touching a coffin made you ceremonially unclean.
You weren't supposed to do this.
But compassion crosses boundaries.
Compassion takes risks.
Compassion moves toward pain.
And then Jesus says:
“Young man, get up.”
And he does.
Alive… Restored… Returned….
Hope resurrected.
And then my favorite line:
“Jesus gave him back to his mother.”
Jesus gives back what you thought was lost.
He restored:
• her identity
• her dignity
• her security
• her family
• her future
• her hope
This is Isaiah 61 in action:
“He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory.”
Jesus didn’t just raise her son.
He raised her hope.
ILLUSTRATION — “The Maui Wildfires: Hope Found in the Ashes”
A woman in Maui returned to what used to be her home after the wildfires last year. Everything was gone — her house, her memories, her belongings — just ash and twisted metal. She said she wasn’t even looking for anything specific, just trying to process the loss.
But as volunteers sifted through the rubble, one of them found something small catching the light. They pulled it out — and it was her wedding ring. Perfectly intact. Unscorched.
She broke down and said, “It felt like God wanted me to know that not everything was lost… that hope was still here.”
Isn’t that just like Jesus? He steps into the places we’ve written off as destroyed, and He gives back something we thought was gone forever. That’s His heart — restoration right where hope felt dead .
“When everything looks burned down and beyond repair, that’s exactly where God steps in. And in Isaiah 43, God reminds His people of who He is. In verses 14–17, He talks about how He delivered them before—how He split the sea, defeated their enemies, and made a way through impossible places. But then God does something surprising. He basically says, ‘Don’t camp out looking back. Don’t limit Me to what I’ve done before. I’m not just the God who brought you out—I’m the God who will restore you now.’
And then He gives this promise…”
Isaiah 43:18–19 (NLT)
“But forget all that—
it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US TODAY?
Not every heartbreak ends with a physical miracle.
Not every prayer is answered the way we want.
Not every ending feels neat or tidy.
But here’s what we can expect:
• Expect Jesus to see you.
• Expect Jesus to feel your pain.
• Expect Jesus to step into your heartbreak.
• Expect Jesus to bring hope where there was none.
• Expect the unexpected from a God who makes beauty from ashes.
Sometimes the miracle isn’t resurrecting the situation…
More often the miracle is God resurrecting, redeeming and restoring you.
PERSONAL APPLICATION QUESTIONS (FOR THIS WEEK)
1. Where do I need Jesus to meet me in my heartbreak?
2. What ashes am I holding onto that Jesus wants to trade for beauty?
3. Who is God calling me to show compassion toward this week?
4. What part of my story needs hope restored?
ACTIVATION — ONE STEP THIS WEEK
This week, I want to challenge you to take one simple step of faith:
Ask the Holy Spirit, “Lord, show me where hope needs to rise again.”
Just one place. One person. One need. One step.
Because Scripture tells us:
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”
— Galatians 5:24-25 (NLT)
When your heart has been broken, it’s easy to go numb… to shut down… to stop expecting anything new. But the Spirit gently leads us toward healing — not all at once, but one step at a time.
And the beautiful truth is this:
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”
— Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
That means God has already written restoration into your story.
He has already prepared moments of healing, renewal, and hope for you — and He invites you to step into them.
Sometimes that step isn’t dramatic.
Sometimes it’s closer to the heart:
• A conversation that begins healing
• A prayer that opens a closed place
• A confession that frees you
• A moment where you finally allow yourself to feel again
• A step toward forgiveness
• A relationship slowly being repaired
• A burden you finally surrender into Jesus’ hands
Just one step.
Healing doesn’t usually rush in like a tidal wave.
It starts with movement — a heart leaning forward again.
One step moves you out of heartbreak…
and one step moves you toward hope.
When you follow the Spirit, hope rises — not just in others, but in you too.
This week…Expect the Unexpected
Altar
“Before we close today, I want to give us some space — real space — to let the Holy Spirit do the healing work He’s been stirring in this room. We talked about taking one step toward hope… and sometimes that step isn’t just something you decide in your mind. Sometimes that step is something you bring to God in His presence.
Some of you are carrying heartbreak no one else sees.
Some of you have been walking through a quiet heaviness.
Some of you need Jesus to breathe life into places that feel numb or worn down.
And the same Jesus who stopped that funeral procession in Nain…
the same Jesus who saw that widow’s heartbreak…
who felt her pain…
who restored what she thought was gone forever…
He’s here.
Right now.
And He meets you exactly where you are.
So I want to open this altar — not as a place of pressure — but as a place of exchange.
A place where heartbreak meets hope.
Where ashes meet beauty.
Where Jesus steps into the middle of your story.
If you’re carrying something heavy…
If you need healing in your heart…
If you need God to restore something that feels lost…
Or if you simply need His presence to steady you again…
Would you come?
You don’t need the right words.
You don’t need to have it figured out.
Just come and let Jesus meet you here.
Let’s worship and let’s respond.”
CLOSING PRAYER
“Jesus, thank You that You see us when we feel invisible.
Thank You that Your heart feels our pain.
Thank You that You draw near to the brokenhearted.
Lord, for every place in this room where despair has settled in,
would You bring hope again?
Would You restore what was lost?
Would You breathe life where things feel dead?
Turn our heartbreak into hope,
our ashes into beauty,
and our mourning into joy.
In Your name we pray, amen.”
Benediction —
May the Lord who sees your heartbreak also surround you with His comfort.
May the One who feels your sorrow draw near with compassion.
And may the God who restores what was lost lead you forward with His hope.
May His Spirit guide your steps, heal your wounds, and breathe new life into every weary place within you.
And now—
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—Amen.
________________________________
i “Officer Talked Man Out of Jumping Off Golden Gate Bridge,” CNN, April 26, 2013; and “Officer Who Talked Man Down From Bridge Receives Humanitarian Award,” NPR: All Things Considered, June 10, 2014.
ii Hawaii News Now Staff. “Finding hope in the ashes: Volunteers discover engagement ring in rubble of Kula fire.” Hawaii News Now, August 29, 2023. https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/08/29/finding-hope-ashes-volunteers-discover-engagement-ring-rubble-kula-fire/
