You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘compassion’ tag.
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
When we are infants we are totally dependent on our parents for everything from moving from one point to another, food and drink, entertainment, clothing and safety and protection. As we grew older we began to learn new things. The world became alive with new experiences, things to explore, activities to try. We begin to think that the world is a playground and that we are at the center of it. We are invincible!
But something happens along the way. We fall. We stumble. We get burned. We fail. In the midst of that learning something else happens. We begin to doubt. It could be because of critical parenting. It could be because we’ve begun to see ourselves as failures. It could be due to emotional or physical abuse. Gradually, without our knowledge or realization we begin to realize we aren’t invincible. We are not the center of the universe. Where we once thought anything was possible, life teaches us the cruel lesson that perhaps nothing we desire is possible. We lose our dreams, our focus, and our ability to see ourselves as successes.
During those times of self-defeat God says. STOP! I am with you. I, the creator God of the universe. The One that holds the stars in my hand and dictates where the clouds go and the rain falls. The one that sees every bird that falls from the sky and every fish in the sea. I am with you. I am not near you. I’m not within calling range. I’m not merely available. I AM WITH YOU.
Because I am with you I will help you. I will walk by your side to see that you prosper. I will walk by your side during the dangerous, scary, disappointing, frustrating times of life. I’ll help you when you fall. I’ll applaud your successes.
It’s not about you anymore. It never really was. It’s about me. It’s about the fact that you can’t (never really could) do it on your own. It is by my strength that we will walk life’s journey together. Don’t be afraid. I’m here.
Live life today with the realization that you never ever walk alone. Your heavenly Father is yearning to uphold you in anything you do. During your successes and failures. During your rebellion and your times of need. He is there.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. When I think of all you have done for me. When I realize that you have walked with me, by my side through everything. I am in awe. I don’t understand why you have allowed some things in my life. I’m thankful for other things. I ask that in everything I will sense your presence and love today. You are truly an awesome God. Amen.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5
I often wonder what it would have been like to see Jesus during the days He walked on earth as a human being. I imagine that I would most likely have been like many who lived with Him on a daily basis. My human eyes would have been blinded to who He really was. There are so many of the disciples that remind me of myself.
Even so, He must have been an incredible character to watch. Compassionate and understanding enough to kneel before children in order to meet them on their level even though He was the creator God of the universe! But that position of awesome authority and power meant nothing to Him.
To see Him in the crowd, with the throng pressing against Him, yet being so aware of each person that He noticed when the woman who was bleeding (emotionally as well as physically) touched Him. To realize that even today, in the midst of the crowd, He notices my pain, my agony, my incurable condition (sin).
In the midst of unthinkable agony, as parents struggled to find answers when their children were sick or had died, to be able to reach out and with a single touch not only heal the child but heal the wound in the heart and soul of the mom and dad. Even though He himself wasn’t a parent, He had the heart of one.
When the crowd misunderstood Him, and the religious fanatics tried to defame Him. He knew who He was, yet not once did He lash back in anger and hate towards individuals. He always responded with truth and honesty. He was so secure in knowing who He was that the verbal, physical and emotional attacks leveled against Him had no effect. He responded in love.
When His friends never seemed to ‘get it’; when they argued over who was greatest. Imagine that! Playing the ‘I’m better than you’ game in front of the God of the universe! Yet He led them with grace and compassion. When He needed their support the most, they left Him to die alone. Yet His first act after rising from the dead was to make them breakfast.
And still today, when I struggle to obey. When I fall to the temptation to have my own way, to worry about tomorrow, or selfishly ‘stand up for my rights’. He accepts me as I am flaws and all. He forgives. He understands. He encourages. He loves.
Paul writes to the Philippians and to us. He begs us to have that attitude, that mindset that set Jesus apart from the rest. An attitude of love, compassion, forgiveness and security. As Christ-followers we have an opportunity…an obligation as such, to show the world what Jesus was really about. He wasn’t about rules, regulations or religious dogmas. He was about relationship.
PRAYER: My dear Jesus. When I think of how you responded to daily life I’m in awe of your patience, love and compassion. Thank you for loving me the way you do. Empower me with your Holy Spirit so that I may live with the same attitude, the same mindset you did. Help me to live so that others will see Jesus in me. Amen.
Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Lamentations 3:21-22 (NLT)
Jeremiah walked the streets of Jerusalem in agony. He saw homeless children who had become orphans due to war, now dying in the streets of starvation. He saw the elderly looking lost, confused and yearning for the days when they lived in prosperity, but now lived in hopelessness.
In the midst of the national horror, he’d experienced huge personal loss as well. He was verbally and physically abused by those he tried to help. He was all alone and in despair he cried out to God, but it seemed that even God Himself had turned a deaf ear to his pleas. Everything that he considered sacred and secure had either been destroyed or taken from him. He was alone, brokenhearted and saw no hope.
As Jeremiah looked around and took stock of what he was seeing, he was reminded of one thing that had remained constant throughout his ordeal; his faith in a God that loved him and had shown himself faithful in years past. It was the hope that he had in God that helped Jeremiah see that even in the direst of situations God still was in control.
Later, in chapter three he writes: “For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.” (Vss. 31-33)
Hundreds of years later Jesus would teach us the same truth in the story of the Prodigal Son. As the young man sat hopelessly in a pile of pig slop with no money, no hope and no friends, he remembered his father. He remembered home. Pulling himself out of the slop he returned to the one place he knew there would be acceptance, love and compassion. The arms of his father.
So it is with us today.
No matter what you have done in your past to separate you from God, you can always come home.
No matter how much debt you have and how hopeless your financial state, you can always come home.
No matter what consequences of poor choices you carry with you, you can always come home.
No matter what relational turmoil you are in, even if it is a result of your actions, you can always come home.
No matter what abuse you have suffered emotionally, physically or spiritually, you can always come home.
No matter how long you have rejected His call in the past, you can always come home.
Your Heavenly Father longs to have a passionate love relationship with you. He is not concerned about your past. He is not worried about your future. He can help you with present struggles. When you see no light in the darkness; no hope in the midst of despair; no comfort in the midst of your pain. Jesus urges you to come home and rest in His loving arms.
PRAYER: Father God. I look at myself and the mess I’ve made of things and am embarrassed to have to come to you time and again for forgiveness. I am under attack by those who constantly attack me verbally, emotionally and physically and struggle to find ways to carry on. I contemplate the future and fear for myself, my children and my grandchildren. I ask today that you would empower me to rest in your arms of everlasting arms. I can’t do this without you. Amen.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3
If you money were no object and you could provide your child with anything physically, spiritually or emotionally what gifts would you give them?
If money were no object and you could provide your child with anything physically, spiritually or emotionally what would you WITHHOLD from them? Would there be anything they needed to live that you would keep from them?
If money were no object and you could provide your child with anything physically, spiritually or emotionally would there be anything that your child could do that would cause you to say, “That’s enough? You are no longer my child. You’ve overstepped the boundaries. You are on your own from now on. I don’t care about you!”
We have been blessed by our Heavenly Father with every spiritual blessing available. Our blessings aren’t based on our ability to deserve them. We are unworthy of even one of those blessings. But because Jesus loves us and because of His death and resurrection we have access to everything we need to travel though life’s journey. We will encounter obstacles and tragedy. We’ll be lied to and lied about. We’ll succumb occasionally to selfishness and anger. But none of those things will keep our Father from wanting to bless us.
Sometimes life gets hard. Sometimes we get distracted. When that happens, take some time to get alone, take a walk or just sit and meditate on the things God has done for you. When we focus on God’s blessings, it’s easier to endure life’s hardships.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. I have to confess to you that I really can’t comprehend all you have done for me. There are so many times when I’m down. So many times when I want things my own way and feel abandoned when I don’t get them. So many times when friends and those who say they love me reject me. I ask that today, I would walk through life’s journey constantly reminded that You love me and have given me every blessing through Jesus. When things go wrong remind me of all you have done to help me through in the past. Amen.
You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 1 Corinthians 7:23
I am a child of the Creator God of the Universe. As such I claim all the rights of being a son. I can talk to my Father at any time with any request and know that I am heard.
I was purchased at great cost by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He gave up His heavenly throne to live among us and show us the way to God. Most importantly, He died as an innocent man for my sins and rose from the grave so that I can be forgiven and live forever.
Because I am God’s child now, I can live in security, knowing that every minute of every day, whether I am awake or asleep, at home or on the road, He watches over me and protects me. There is absolutely nothing seen or unseen that He is not aware of in my life.
Because I am God’s child my past doesn’t matter. The price He paid for me was so large that it wiped out the mistakes of my past. Even though I may still suffer from the consequences of some of those decisions, the guilt, shame and embarrassment is gone. NOW I am His child.
Because I am a child of God I don’t need to listen to you! I don’t need your religious dogmas and your man-made rules in order to gain God’s favor. I have His Word that I can go to in order to learn about Him, about life and about direction.
Because I am God’s child I don’t need your strength and guidance. I may ask your advice but my real information comes from His Holy Spirit who indwells, empowers, guides and directs me along life’s pathway. I may be taking a different road than you do. I may have different talents and abilities. But my master gave me those gifts and abilities and they are just what I need to get me through today and tomorrow and the day after that!
Because I am God’s child I don’t need to listen to your verbal attacks or be affected by your emotional abuse. What you think about me doesn’t really matter. The ruler of the universe, creator and sustainer of all things loves me! He looks upon me with pride and admiration. He is passionate in His desire for me.
Because I am God’s child I do not need to be driven or affected by fear. He knows my yesterdays. He knows my tomorrows. You can try to make my cup look half empty but I know it’s half full on bad days and overflowing on most. So with all due respect, don’t try to instill fear in me. There is nothing you can do that will stand between me and my Jesus.
Because I am God’s child I am free! I am free to follow His direction, to like the music I like, to eat the foods I eat, to enjoy the things He has given me to enjoy. So don’t load me down with rules and regulations. My heart belongs to Jesus and as I grow in relationship with Him I will know the path I am to take.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Creator God, Sustainer of the Universe. There are so many things trying to distract me today from following You. I praise you from the bottom of my heart for the fact that I do not need to listen to the voices that try to instill worry, fear, guilt and despair in my life. You are in control and I ask that today you would take ownership of my thoughts, my actions and my surroundings. Thank you for being my Daddy. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 