Day 4: Respark Your Compassion

Bible Reading: Matthew 14:1-21

Have you ever suffered  the loss of a loved one?

Truth is that it’s never an easy one to deal with. There’s every tear to cry, every weight to feel, every missed opportunity to regret, and every dashed hope to moan over.

I know he’s Jesus- but he walked on the earth as a man. We take it for granted so often that Jesus had just suffered the loss of his distant cousin. Did you notice that in our Bible reading today? Not just some random annoying distant cousin, but John the Baptist was the cousin that paved the way for Jesus in ministry. He’s that family member that you feel you owe so much because of all he has done for you. He’s the one you really want to succeed in life and ministry for , so he’ll be proud of you. And even worse, this was not a cool death that John died- he had his head cut off because a three year old girl was dancing wild.

Oh no!!

We read today that as Jesus was processing all that, he withdrew to be alone.

Understandable, right?

But what pulled him out of that? What made the transition from someone mourning his beloved cousin into someone teaching the word of God and multiplying bread to feed thousands? What took someone from the emotional low place to standing up in the will of God for him?

And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them… Matthew 14:14 NKJV

When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt [profound] compassion for them… Matthew 14:14 AMP

And Jesus went forth and saw crowds of people, and his heart did melt upon them… Matthew 14:14 NMB

There it is: compassion! Profound compassion! The melting of our hearts.

I really believe that compassion is one of the key tools that connects us into God workings. Compassion will propel us in the things of God’s calling and destiny.  If you’re going to walk in the will of God for you, you must have a heart that can sense compassion and be willing to follow its prompts and nudgings.

In spite of all the odds, and the evil and pain in the world, Jesus looked at the multitude of people and was moved with compassion. What do you see when you look at people? When you look at the world? Your neighbourhood / community? Your friends? Your family? The nations? Leaders? Sinners? The broken? The struggling?

Jesus looked at people and was moved with compassion

We must not just learn about compassion or feel compassion, we must be moved by compassion. Compassion is not just an academic head thing. It’s a heart thing that moves us!

Compassion is the difference between someone sitting down in the sulky corner of all the hurt and evil in the world and someone standing up in the life and beauty of the purpose of God.

My prayer is that my heart will really be moved again! There’s so much bitterness and hurt in the world that we live, but we must not allow it steal our compassion away.

Compassion is not about being sentimental or emotional about life. It’s about seeing people through the eyes of God. It’s about feeling a bit of the weight that is on God’s heart for the world.

Let’s believe that as we wait on God today, the Holy Spirit will renew a vibe of compassion in us that will be like a burning prompt in us. I don’t know about you, but I can’t afford to go through the rest of this year flat footed. I need a weight of heaven on my heart.

In prayer today

1. Pray for a deep sense of compassion to burn in your heart as a propelling force in the directions of the will of God for your life
2. Pray for the Lord to heal you from all the heaviness in the world that tries to steal you away from a deep sense of compassion.

Tolulope Moody