God Of Compassion - Held in Grief by the God of Comfort

“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.” (Lamentations 3:22, NIV)

My phone dinged, and I opened it to see my daughter’s distraught text: Our friends’ daughter had died. This spunky little girl had been born with special needs and some medical complications, but this was completely unexpected. Within the hour, I was at Michelle’s house where friends had gathered. I gave her a long hug and cried with her as our stories converged. Three months earlier, Michelle had walked in my front door after my husband’s sudden death. In those first grueling days, she’d shown up to bring dinner, tidy my kitchen, and just sit with me.

Compassion is different from pity, sympathy, and empathy. We often use these words interchangeably, but they are not the same. Pity says I’m sorry for you. Sympathy says I feel for you. Empathy says I feel with you, and compassion says I’m here to help.^a

When we suffer, God does more than pity or sympathize or even empathize. He’s the God of compassion. Scripture calls him the Father of compassion (2 Corinthians 1:3, NIV) and promises that his compassions will never fail.

Compassion doesn’t just describe who God is, but also what he does.

We see God’s compassion all through Jesus’ ministry. In one instance, Jesus approached the city Nain as a funeral procession was coming out. A young man had died, the only son of his widowed mother. Walking alongside her son’s body, she was audibly weeping with uncontrollable grief.

Luke’s gospel says when Jesus saw her, he was moved with compassion. He approached the open coffin, touched it, and commanded the young man to rise. Immediately, the man sat up and started speaking.

Jesus’ actions give us a window into God’s compassion. God’s compassion is intentional. We can be sure nothing in our lives just happens coincidentally with God. Of all the moments Jesus could have arrived in Nain, he came at the precise moment this grieving widow was walking out so that Jesus’ life converged with hers.

God’s compassion is personal. Scripture doesn’t say the widow saw Jesus, but that Jesus saw her. God sees every tear you cry into your pillow. He knows every longing of your broken heart. His compassion means he cannot overlook you, will not turn a blind eye, and never looks away.

Because God’s compassion is active. Jesus was moved with compassion. The Greek word for compassion is splagchnizomai and it means moved so deeply that you physically feel it in your gut. It expresses an intense, visceral reaction that compels a person to act and respond with help.^b

Jesus could have stayed across the road and spoken a command to raise the young man to life. But his compassion spurred him to not only enter the pain of this woman but also the messy suffering of this world as he touched the unclean coffin and raised her son to new life.

But God didn’t move like that for me, you may say. And I get it, because I prayed my guts out for God to heal Dan. God didn’t heal Dan, and he didn’t heal Michelle’s little girl. God’s compassion doesn’t mean we will be spared all suffering. But his compassions have not failed us.

God’s compassion compelled him to act on our behalf as he gave his only Son to die in our place, so that when we trust him, we will never taste death but will be raised to eternal life. God doesn’t tsk tsk in pity or look down in sympathy. In empathy and compassion, God meets us in our pain, walks with us in it, and acts on our behalf to comfort us. His compassions never fail.

A Prayer to God of Compassion

Dear God, you see my tear-stained pillow and understand my aching heart. This is not the story I wanted, but I trust your compassion will not fail. Thank you that you don’t stay far off. Wrap me in your compassion as you carry me and help me in this. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Journaling Prompt

Where have you seen God’s compassion toward you this week?