It seems like over the last month and a half the Lord has been putting the word “compassion” in front of me. In my New American Standard translation of the Bible, the word compassion occurs 98 times. It occurred to me that this is a character trait that God is serious about developing in me. It was time to dig a bit deeper.
The word compassion, according to Merriam-Webster.com, means – “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.” Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary says compassion means – “to be moved as to one’s inwards, to be moved with compassion, to yearn with compassion; to suffer with another”.
David frequently described God as compassionate. Although I couldn’t possibly give you the many examples in the Word, here are a few:
Ps. 25:6 “Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been from of old.” (NASB)
Ps. 40:11 “You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.” (NASB)
Ps. 72:13 “He will have compassion on the poor and needy, And the lives of the needy He will save.” (NASB)
Ps. 103:13 “Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear (respect, honor) Him.” (NASB)
Ps. 111:4 “He has made His wonders to be remembered; The Lord is gracious and compassionate.” (NASB)
What an encouragement to know we serve a compassionate Heavenly Father. Jesus often displayed the compassion of His Father.
After going about cities and villages teaching and healing every kind of sickness, the Word tells us that Jesus felt compassion for God’s people and challenged His disciples to pray for the Lord of the harvest to send out workers. It seems Jesus wanted the ministry of compassionate shepherds to increase and multiply.
Matt. 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.” (NASB)
Jesus again having spent time healing the multitudes of people who were following Him and who were giving glory to God felt overwhelming compassion. It seems He simply could not allow the people to leave without caring for their physical hunger.
Matt. 15:32 “And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, ‘I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.’ “ (NASB)
When teaching the Pharisees and the scribes who were grumbling He shared the story of the Prodigal Son, perhaps so they might know the kind of compassion our heavenly Father has and would emulate it.
Luke 15:20 “So he (the prodigal son) got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” (NASB)
The prophet Micah spoke of the coming Messiah who would “have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19 NASB)
The Father and the Son have a compassion for us is truly amazing.
I will close with a prayer and invite you to make it your own……adapted partly from Colossians 3:12: “I, a child of God, chosen of God, invite Holy Spirit to fill me with the Father’s heart of compassion, that I might be His instrument of compassion giving glory to my heavenly Father in the name of Jesus. Amen.” (NASB)
Victory Call 