Practical Christianity is seeing a need…and filling it. But many will see a need, but do nothing about it…thinking someone better qualified than them should fill it. But when God places a need before you, it’s because He knows you will not only see it, but feel it. And it’s that compassion for the need we see that makes us act.
Tag: loving compassion
Lamentations 3:31-32 ” For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love.”
When it comes to our relationship with God, it’s man that proves to be the unfaithful party. For God’s merciful kindness towards us is everlasting and forever. In Isaiah 54:7 it says, “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back.” So when you’re going through sorrow and you don’t feel God near…remember that His deep loving compassion for you can only but gather you back up in His arms.
I Kings 3: 24-25 ” Then the King said, ‘Bring me a sword.’ So they brought a sword for the King. He then gave an order: ‘Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.’ “
What was King Solomon looking for when he gave such a bizarre and brutal order? Before him were two prostitutes seeking justice…both claiming this baby was theirs. On hearing his order, one agreed with it…while the other, filled with compassion for the child, said, “Please my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” That was the visceral reaction King Solomon was looking for…and he gave the baby to that mother. Our God has that same kind of deep compassion towards us. For He looks upon us as a father looks upon his children…with mercy, tenderness and pity.
Lamentations 3:31-32 ” For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love.”
In these verses, Jeremiah is looking over the utter destruction of Jerusalem…overwhelmed by the suffering of the people…and realizing it was because of their sin that God had allowed it. But Jeremiah also knew of God’s tremendous capacity for compassion towards His people. For in Isaiah 54: 7-8 God says, ” For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you, says the Lord your Redeemer.” Never underestimate God’s compassion to change any situation from dire to miraculous.
Lamentations 3: 22-23 ” Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
Even when we’re not thinking about Him, God is still thinking about us. He is continually adding to and filling us with His loving kindness and mercy…even times when we don’t really deserve it. And God’s steadfastness towards us often puts to shame the poor example of trust we have of Him. For regardless of how often we’re mindful of Him…God is always thinking about us.
II Kings 20:5 ” Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of My people, This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the Temple of the Lord.”
King Hezekiah became ill to the point of death when Isaiah went and said to him, “Put your house in order, you’re going to die.” But it then says that Hezekiah prayed and wept before the Lord and the Lord relented. The human mind would look at this as God yielding, changing His mind, or just being fickle. But to God, relenting is grounded in compassion not whimsy. Psalm 106:45 says, “…and out of His great love He relented.” Though it may appear to us that God was changing His plan… according to His divine perspective…nothing changed.
Psalm 86:15 ” But You, O Lord, are compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
God is ever merciful and kind towards you…regardless of how badly you act towards Him. It tells us in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” We need to reflect the mercy God first showed us by forgiving others. Forgiveness is so very powerful…because it’s the starting point for both parties to begin the road towards healing. For without forgiveness, there will never be a release from all the negative and dark emotions of resentment, anger, and bitterness. For without forgiveness, you are never really set free from the past.
Nehemiah 9: 27-28 ” But when they were oppressed they cried out to You. From heaven You heard them, and in Your great compassion You gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies. But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in Your sight.”
We humans have such short memories. When life is going well…we put God in the corner – kind of like disaster insurance…there just in case we need it. And when we get ourselves in trouble, we call out to Him for help…only to quickly forget again when life quiets down. This roller coaster ride isn’t what God desires for us. He wants to be our focus in good times and bad…in happiness and sadness…in calm and chaos.
Romans 9:16 “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”
No matter how we work and strive to live a perfect life…we’ll never come close. For in Titus 3:5 it says, “He saved us not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy.” God’s wonderful and unexplainable mercy is gifted to us before we are even aware of our need. Malachi 1:2-3 states, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” To further illustrate this profound concept, Jesus tells us in John 15:16, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you…” The Lord’s compassion and kindness towards us is beyond our mental capacity…His desire to save us, beyond our comprehension.
Jeremiah 31:3 ” The Lord appeared to us in the past saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.’ “
Someone you know may be far from God. Maybe you’ve been praying for them for a long time and haven’t seen anything positive. Don’t give up! The Lord is still at work – drawing that person with cords of kindness and ties of love…ever wooing them towards salvation. For God takes great delight in them…calling them beloved of Him. Keep praying!
Safetypinlove 