Compassion

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”  Isaiah 54:10

This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.  It is full of God’s hope and promise for us.  Hope that his unfailing love and covenant of peace will not be removed from us, and the promise of experiencing His compassionate heart towards us.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that God’s first response to our heart’s cry and our daily battle is one of compassion.  He looks at us tenderly-full of compassion, and longing for us to know Him as He truly is. 

I think of the Prodigal Son, who came home after squandering all of his Father’s wealth, and his Father responds to him not with harshness or criticism,  but with compassion- running to his son, embracing him, cloaking him, inviting him in, feasting and celebrating with him.  The Father saw His Son’s true heart condition and was moved to act on his behalf.

Truthfully, so few of us know this kind of response from others.  We are accustomed to the harshness, and “I told you so’s of life.”  But we have to believe in our trials, the compassionate heart of God sees us, is reaching out to us, and longing for us to know Him and ourselves as completely loved, chosen, and blessed by Him.