The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares in its joy. Proverbs 14:10
We can’t assume to know fully others pain. God is the only one who can, it says He collects our tears in a bottle in Psalm `139.
In places of pain or confusion I often don’t talk to people about what I’m going through . . . I’m trying really hard to hear God on the topic, because I figure He’s really the only One who knows my heart.
And in those places the direction He has given me has often been so profound. . . don’t pull up your sprouts of hope . . . what does it look like to rewrite this from a place of victory . . . fill your mind with my truth . . .
And recently He’s sent me on a rabbit trail of writing out the Scriptures on the topic of compassion, because when Jesus saw the pain of others He was often moved with compassion.
Another Scripture that has been highlighted to me recently is also from Proverbs 31:26 The law of kindness is on her tongue.
If in doubt, write it out . . . that moment between when we know that the Word says something and yet we are still struggling with the fear, or the symptom or the turmoil of not actually seeing it fully manifest in our lives . . .
The act of writing something is scientifically proven to help create new thought pathways in our minds, and speaking further cements them.
There are laws in the natural and there are laws in the spirit and faith is the way that God decided we would receive from Him.
Faith is simply going, God said He is this to me and He wants me to have this, HE has hardwired faith into us, and faith comes by hearing. Hearing His Word, hearing His benefits.
We can know the Scriptures that God knows the number of hairs on our heads, that His thoughts towards us are like the grains of sand on the seashore, that He sees even if a sparrow falls out of a tree and that we are more valuable, but it feels like it hasn’t really sunk in?
This week I felt to look up Scriptures around the compassion of God and Jesus because Jesus said if you have seen me, you have seen the father.
Throughout the Old Testament God rescues His people many times and each time He is called a God of compassion. It’s worth quickly skimming through the Scriptures on Bible Gateway just to see how many there are. For the sake of time, we are going to land on a few in Psalms.
When I was pregnant with our 3rd nearly 2 years ago I was quite sick with a chest infection and I had studied Psalm 103 previously where it says to forget not all His benefits, Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases but I felt to go further and I came to verse 4 about God’s compassion.
That word for compassion is racham and can also be translated womb; the compassion God has for us is likened unto the compassion a mother has for her unborn child in the womb.
Photo Credit: Saints & Society
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
Psalm 116:5
The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
Full of compassion.
Compassion as defined by Merriam Webster says: : sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! Isaiah 49:15
The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. Isaiah 51:3
The theme of restoration seems to be very closely linked with God’s feeling of compassion towards His people.
Jonah was annoyed at God’s compassion towards the Ninevahites.
God was compassionate
In the New Testament we see it is from a place of compassion that Jesus often moved.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
And in the parable of the prodigal son, the father had compassion on his son.
There are continued references to compassion through the New Testament.
2 Cor 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Imitating Christ’s Humility
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
1 Thess 2:7
…6Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it. 7On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children. 8We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us.…
Written for Five Minute Friday word Prompt: ASSUME
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