To Be Still and Know...We Serve a Compassionate God
"Because of the Lords great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23
The sermon at my church yesterday was on Jesus' compassion. It spurred me on to look up verses concerning compassion and led to this blog post. The above verse from Lamentations is not very long but it is filled with awesome truth and assurance! Let's break it down into 4 parts:
"Because of the Lords great love we are not consumed" - What is it that you are being consumed by? Is it worry? Fear? Anxiety? Frustration? Anger? This passage tells us that anything that is weighing us down does not have to consume us. Why? Because of the love God has for us, He will not allow it to consume us if we will turn to him and give it over to him.
"for his compassions never fail."- How reassuring is that promise? Compassion is defined in the dictionary as "a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering." God not only knows what we are going through and what is threatening to consume us, he is also moved to do something about it because of his unfailing compassion.
"They are new every morning;"- God's compassion doesn't wane or fade. His compassion is new every single day. He doesn't grow weary of our needs nor do he run out of means to help us.
"great is your faithfulness."- The dictionary defines faithfulness as "true to one's word, promises or vows". God's faithfulness is perfect and unfailing. Unlike people who make promises they either can't, won't or forget to keep, God's faithfulness to keep his promises are always kept because God is perfect and loves us with a perfect unconditional love.
"The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made." Psalm 145:9
"Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles." Psalm 103:2-5
Take time to remember all the good God has given you. Remember the gift of his salvation, the many provisions for your needs and the fact that he loves you and cares about your daily life. He is moved with compassion about the things that cause you to worry, doubt, and stress out.
"I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat." Mark 8:2
"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick." Matthew 14:14
"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Matthew 9:36
While Jesus was here on earth he spent time teaching the Word of God and spreading the good news of the gospel but he also spent a lot of time having compassion on people and meeting their physical needs.
"For He says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.' It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God's mercy." Romans 9:15-16
God's compassion and mercy has nothing to do with what we do or who we are, but rather on who He is. It is God's nature to love and care for his creation, to be moved to act on our behalf when he sees us in need.
What's should God's compassion for us inspire us to do? It should inspire us to have compassion on others. To see a person in need or hurting and actually do something to help them. Not just say we will pray for them, but to actually do something. Sometimes that may just be praying with them out loud or taking time to sit with them and let them pour out their hearts. It may be doing something practical, like buying someone groceries or paying their rent while they are financially struggling. One thing God doesn't say for us to do is to judge others before we have compassion. He surely has reason to judge us to see if we are "worthy" of his compassion and mercy (and we would all fail) but he doesn't. He gives it freely and without limit. We shouldn't judge another person to see if they are worthy of our compassion either. If we see a need and are able to meet it, we should simply do it out of compassion for another human being that God has created. You never know what your willingness to act out of compassion and not judge may do for that person! It could be the final thing that brings them to Christ, or helps them off the ledge of worry and fear. You could be the instrument God chooses to use to show His compassion to someone else!
The sermon at my church yesterday was on Jesus' compassion. It spurred me on to look up verses concerning compassion and led to this blog post. The above verse from Lamentations is not very long but it is filled with awesome truth and assurance! Let's break it down into 4 parts:
"Because of the Lords great love we are not consumed" - What is it that you are being consumed by? Is it worry? Fear? Anxiety? Frustration? Anger? This passage tells us that anything that is weighing us down does not have to consume us. Why? Because of the love God has for us, He will not allow it to consume us if we will turn to him and give it over to him.
"for his compassions never fail."- How reassuring is that promise? Compassion is defined in the dictionary as "a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering." God not only knows what we are going through and what is threatening to consume us, he is also moved to do something about it because of his unfailing compassion.
"They are new every morning;"- God's compassion doesn't wane or fade. His compassion is new every single day. He doesn't grow weary of our needs nor do he run out of means to help us.
"great is your faithfulness."- The dictionary defines faithfulness as "true to one's word, promises or vows". God's faithfulness is perfect and unfailing. Unlike people who make promises they either can't, won't or forget to keep, God's faithfulness to keep his promises are always kept because God is perfect and loves us with a perfect unconditional love.
"The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made." Psalm 145:9
"Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles." Psalm 103:2-5
Take time to remember all the good God has given you. Remember the gift of his salvation, the many provisions for your needs and the fact that he loves you and cares about your daily life. He is moved with compassion about the things that cause you to worry, doubt, and stress out.
"I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat." Mark 8:2
"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick." Matthew 14:14
"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Matthew 9:36
While Jesus was here on earth he spent time teaching the Word of God and spreading the good news of the gospel but he also spent a lot of time having compassion on people and meeting their physical needs.
"For He says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.' It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God's mercy." Romans 9:15-16
God's compassion and mercy has nothing to do with what we do or who we are, but rather on who He is. It is God's nature to love and care for his creation, to be moved to act on our behalf when he sees us in need.
What's should God's compassion for us inspire us to do? It should inspire us to have compassion on others. To see a person in need or hurting and actually do something to help them. Not just say we will pray for them, but to actually do something. Sometimes that may just be praying with them out loud or taking time to sit with them and let them pour out their hearts. It may be doing something practical, like buying someone groceries or paying their rent while they are financially struggling. One thing God doesn't say for us to do is to judge others before we have compassion. He surely has reason to judge us to see if we are "worthy" of his compassion and mercy (and we would all fail) but he doesn't. He gives it freely and without limit. We shouldn't judge another person to see if they are worthy of our compassion either. If we see a need and are able to meet it, we should simply do it out of compassion for another human being that God has created. You never know what your willingness to act out of compassion and not judge may do for that person! It could be the final thing that brings them to Christ, or helps them off the ledge of worry and fear. You could be the instrument God chooses to use to show His compassion to someone else!
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