Devotions

Time and again the Gospels portray Jesus as a man of deep and unwavering compassion. After the death of John the Baptist, Jesus withdrew alone on a boat to mourn the loss. He knew John was in heaven, but He hurt for those who were left behind.

When Jesus returned to shore, He saw a crowd of five thousand people gathered to see Him. Matthew records that “He had compassion on them.” So He took five loaves of bread and two fish and miraculously provided food for them all (Matthew 14:14-21). His heart went out to these people who had come to be with Him, and He couldn’t stand to see them hungry. He not only provided food, but He also healed the ones who were sick.

When Jesus saw two blind men on the road to Jericho, He “had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him” (Matthew 20:34). His compassion for these men outweighed any other task before Him at the moment.

On the road between Samaria and Galilee, while going into a small village, Jesus noticed ten men who had leprosy and He healed them (see Luke 17:12-14). The lepers instinctively kept their distance, even from Jesus. Society had shunned them and they were rejected by the world. But Jesus saw them and had compassion on them. He saw them as people in need of a Savior.

How do we respond to the lepers of our day — the outcasts of society? What does our culture do with the poor, the addicts, the alcoholics, the sinners? Does the Body of Christ see them as people in need of help, lost and searching?

We must never forget what Jesus has done for us and for those around us. Without His saving grace we would be just as lost and hopeless as those lepers were. Without Jesus we are nothing and without compassion we have no place in God’s kingdom.

Nicky Cruz, internationally known evangelist and prolific author, turned to Jesus Christ from a life of violence and crime after meeting David Wilkerson in New York City in 1958. The story of his dramatic conversion was told first in The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson and then later in his own best-selling book Run, Baby, Run.

Centuries before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah prophesied that God would send a deliverer to mankind who would liberate mankind, and Jesus himself stood in a Jewish synagogue one Sabbath and reminded the world of this prophecy when he read:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. . . . Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:18, 21).

Jesus was proclaiming to the whole world, “My mission on earth is to liberate every bruised life.” Liberate means “to set free from all bondage; to do away with all that oppresses.” If you believe the truth of Christ’s words, then you know he is saying to you, “I am sent to liberate your life, to release your life from all oppression and bondage. I come to set your spirit free.”

Paul preached about “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21) and urged the Galatians, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made [you] free” (Galatians 5:1). 

Christ came to call every believer to live in liberty. If we believe it, why do we go on living the same old miserable way? Is it because we think a life totally free of fear and guilt is just too incredible? Life without a heavy burden of condemnation or depression? Life in the presence of a loving, gentle Savior who care about all our needs?

Does it all sound too good to be true? Well, believe it! Because that is exactly the kind of life Christ wants every one of his children to enjoy. Not just a few of his children, but all of them! This life is freely offered to all who simply trust him for it. 

Suppose one of your children was injured and crying out for your help. As his parent, would you immediately rush to his aid or would you stop to analyze the quality of his trust in you? You would run to his side without hesitation, of course, motivated by love and concern.

What kind of earthly father would leave a child bleeding and hurt simply because the child didn’t voice some kind of faith in him? And the same can be said of our heavenly Father. He will never leave one of his children to suffer alone or shut his ear to their cry simply because their faith in him may be weak.

“If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).

My faith, your faith, all faith must rest on the kindness and concern of our heavenly Father; we are commanded to glory in his love and everlasting kindness.

“But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight” (Jeremiah 9:24).

God loves his children so much that he hears before they call. That is why David prayed, “Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O Lord, revive me according to Your justice” (Psalm 119:149).

So many Christians have difficulty grasping the great love of God for them. He loves you and comes to your rescue even when your faith is weak, when you don’t deserve any answer from him — all because of his tenderness and compassion.

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy” (Psalm 103:8).

Great peace will flood your life when you become convinced that God deeply loves you. He will rescue you and intervene in every situation of your life. Weak faith or not, nothing can hinder his pure love for you!

The prophet Elijah had become so disheartened by the moral landslide his nation was experiencing that he ran from the threats of Jezebel, the wicked wife of King Ahab, and hid in a cave.

“Elijah, why are you hiding?” God inquired of him.

“Because your people have forsaken your word, your altars are broken down, your ministers have been persecuted, and everyone is pursuing pleasure. I’m the only one left — and now they’re coming for me, too” (see 1 Kings 19:10).

To all outward appearances, Elijah had a good argument. His society was nearing collapse and the government was the most wicked and vile in all of history. “Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (1 Kings 16:33). Furthermore, Jezebel, the most wicked queen ever to share the throne, was bent on killing every follower of Jehovah.

Elijah was determined to “hold out to the end” and stay true to God all by himself, but he did not know that at that very moment, the Holy Spirit was moving throughout the land. A great moral awakening was about to happen and God would soon throw Jezebel to the dogs and overthrow the wicked rulers. God emphatically told Elijah that not only was he not alone, there were seven thousand in Israel who had not given in to the corruption around them. God was telling Elijah that he had people stationed in key positions, believers standing tall and true!

The same is true today. Whereas God said to Elijah, “Thousands have not bowed,” he is saying to us today, “Millions have not bowed!” Glory be to God. We are not a tiny remnant, but a mighty army, unbending and uncompromising in an age gone crazy. Satan would have God’s people believe their numbers are dwindling, but don’t believe his lies. God is still at work, pouring out his Holy Spirit and drawing hungry hearts to himself.  

In his darkest hour, Jeremiah discovered a glorious truth that brought new hope and assurance to his mind. Actually, he already knew this truth, but it did not touch his soul until he came to the end of himself. He discovered that when he reached the very bottom — God was there! “Down” does not mean going deep into a dark abyss, it means going deeper into God. So the truth is, God is not to be discovered “up there” in some blissful untroubled skies, but in the shadows of grief and despair.

When Jeremiah hit bottom, he bumped into God! He fell hard against the faithfulness of a compassionate Father and gradually he realized many deep truths.

When you are so hurt that you can hardly face another day, God’s Word says, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

If the Lord allows grief and sorrow to come into your life, he will uphold you with abundant compassion, mercy and love (3:32).

God hurts when you hurt; he is not against you, trying to crush you under his foot when you are down (3:33-34). When you are at your lowest, turn to the Lord and praise his name. “Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven” (3:41). That is when God will draw near to you and whisper, “Do not fear!” (3:57). 

Jeremiah wrote the Book of Lamentations out of a broken heart, mourning the destruction of Jerusalem. His strength and hope had dissipated; he was empty and humbled. But he put his trust completely in the Lord’s mercies and he was able to testify, “Therefore I have hope” (3:21).

There is no human condition so bleak and hopeless that God will not meet us and give us hope.