When we talk about visiting people, we usually mean to sit with them and talk for a while. It is certainly an important ministry to spend that kind of time with others. Everyone needs to be refreshed, and there is nothing like a face-to-face visit!

But the biblical use of the term is a bit different. On several occasions in both the Old and New Testaments, God is said to visit His people—and it is never simply for a social call. When God visits, He comes not merely to discuss a situation but to inspect what is happening and to do something about it. In the days of Naomi, He visited His people by giving bread in a time of famine (Ruth 1:6). In the days of Sarah and of Hannah, He visited them personally and gave them sons (Gen. 21:1, 1 Sam. 2:21). In the days of Israel’s affliction in Egypt, the Lord declared how He had visited His people and now planned to deliver them out of their trouble (Ex. 3:16–17). He also may visit in order to bring judgment, for He will by no means overlook the guilty (Ex. 34:7).

It seems that Luke especially appreciated the idea of God’s visitation. By the Spirit’s inspiration, he used the term several times in his Gospel and in Acts. We read of Zacharias the priest, who twice spoke of God visiting His people to bring salvation (Lk. 1:68–69; 77–79). Here in Luke 7, the Lord Jesus interrupted a funeral procession, restoring a widow’s son to life; the watching crowd responded with joy. Yet later the Lord lamented that the nation never recognized the day of her visitation (Lk. 19:44).

The God of the Bible is not a casual observer. He is actively assessing our circumstances, and He already knows what He will do. How good for us to notice His hand when He acts, and then glorify Him for His visitation!