He Feels It All

He who has compassion on them will lead them and will guide them to springs of water. Isaiah 49:10 (New American Standard Bible)

Jesus’ leading and guiding stems from a heart of compassion. It is so easy to feel no one notices and no one cares about the difficulties of our life. We each live in a fallen world that has many joys but many sorrows as well. What a difference it makes when we feel we are not alone in the hard times.

I am thinking of two friends this morning. They each carry their own particular burden. One friend struggles with infertility. For her, it is quite an emotional time. Many tears have fallen as she aches to bear a child. Waiting for God to open her womb is painful for her. But recently God has lead her to gather prayer warriors to intercede for her. She is finding the strength that comes from prayer support.

The other friend is dealing with hurts and disappointments in her life. These are causing her to become cynical and suspicious of people. As she hurts, she finds a way to comfort herself by writing letters of accusation and judgment to various people in her life. I have been the recipient of such letters and they hurt. But God is reminding me “why” she is doing it. She has not yet learned to connect with God’s heart and allow Him to give her what others cannot or will not. He wants her to know there is a better way for her to live her Christian life!

When life gets difficult we can rest assured that the Shepherd of our soul is compassionate. What a precious word. I looked it up in the dictionary and was struck by the meaning. Compassion is a sympathetic consciousness of another’s distress together with a desire to alleviate it. In other words, He feels our hurts and moves on our behalf. Those things that matter to us, matter to Him. Those things that affect us, affect Him.

Think of someone you love dearly. It is hard to watch them go through a hard time. Our emotions are affected greatly when they suffer. God is no different with us when we hurt. As long as we are in this world we will not escape the pain, loss, and disappointment of life. But eventually He will alleviate all of it for eternity. Heaven is the ultimate place of pain free living for those who know Christ.

Father, life is hard at times. I feel the effects of this world. Thank you for being my Shepherd. I follow Your lead and I drink at Your springs of living water today. Amen