Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
Matthew 15:32
In the darkest of seasons, hearts full of compassion shine brightest.
A heart cannot remain full of love and compassion in trying times without the Spirit of God.
And when we allow His Spirit to fill us with compassion for those around us, then the dark season turns light within those compassionate moments.
We are choosing to be a living sacrifice for God while most in this world choose selfish acts.
This is what differs us from the world. We remain in hope and peace while many fall deeper into despair and confusion.
This does not mean we won’t experience negative emotions as we process our lives, but it does mean we have an ability to choose to allow the Lord to strengthen us despite our challenging situations and how we feel about them.
Jesus was full of compassion for those He ministered to while here on the earth. It is out of His heart of compassion that He chose to help them in miraculous ways.
“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
Matthew 14:14
Jesus chose to have compassion even in the midst of His own sorrow. In this verse above we see Jesus choosing to have compassion on a large crowd right before He heals their sick. Prior to this, He had learned about the brutal death of John the Baptist and had retreated alone to a solitary place by boat. However, when Jesus saw how large crowds had found Him and were following Him on foot, He chose to have compassion on them.
That example of compassion amazes me, and mostly because in His sorrow Jesus found room to still show love and compassion. This definitely reminds me of the verse that encourages us to be ready in and out of season to be used by the Lord.
“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction.”
2 Timothy 4:2
This type of love and compassion can only be sourced from the Holy Spirit. It is a supernatural compassion to be able to love and help others in need when you yourself are going through a difficult time in your life.
Loving someone else in their dark season while you are walking through yours, will help your focus remain on the Lord. Serving others with a heart of compassion provides us the blessing of having a shift in our perspectives about our situations. It places our eyes on God and we cannot but help see our situations through His eyes.
If there is anything that you can do in the midst of your trials, it is to still choose to be an individual full of compassion for those in need and to be available to be used by God in any season of your life.