Week Thirty-Eight - Just a Little More Compassion

Isaiah 55:8 is our consideration for today.  God says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." 

Let's put that together with Lamentations 3:22-23, where Jeremiah records, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, Because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness."

God's thoughts toward us are good and infused with compassion and mercy because He understands what we endure and genuinely cares. His thoughts and compassions are higher than the heavens and faithfully encompass every generation, individual, and all eternity. That's a lot to take in, isn't it? Our thoughts don't extend to such consistent compassion.

Personally, I can get cynical and weary of the whining, fussing, and droning around me. Sometimes I think, "Why don't people just suck it up and get on with life by loving each other and being kind?" Maybe my attitude comes from age and experience, or perhaps, it is evidence of my personal lack of mercy and compassion.

Call it what you will; we all spend too much time complaining and thinking we are hard done by compared to the grace, mercy, and compassion afforded us by our Lord. So, praise the Lord; God is in control and not me. Otherwise, some people would be sent to their rooms without supper!

As I prayed and meditated on God's immense compassion, I was humbled again to see my own deep need for love, understanding, and a caring heart. God is the only one who can adequately meet that need, touch my heart, and give me a hug big enough to make me feel better. 

Flowers won't do. Chocolate is a temporary fix - except on the hips. And even tokens of kindness are short-lived compared to a compassionate hug from the Everlasting Arms. 

So, as I sit in my cozy corner wrapped in a special red afghan, listening to the morning raindrops, I know God is here with me. His thoughts are on a higher plain and His mercies, for me and for others, are renewed each morning. His compassions fail not - mine are fleeting.

Lord, grant me the grace to extend to others what you so graciously and faithfully extend to me. Give me, Lord, just a little more compassion!