Show Me Your Glory: Reflections on God's Multifaceted HeartChikamu

God is Compassionate

“God, please help that man. Meet his needs, and if he doesn’t know Jesus, please help him to know you.”

I hear my little girl’s prayer often as we drive around our city. Her concern for those without a home reveals deep love and compassion.

She’s taught me a lot about the tender heart of God.

Compassionate is the first adjective the Lord uses to describe himself in Exodus 34:6. In the Bible's original Hebrew, this word relates to the womb, conveying the concept of a mother’s tender feelings for her vulnerable infant.1

Did you catch that?

God’s compassion conveys tender, maternal feelings.

You know that mama-bear, I’d-move-heaven-and-earth-to-take-care-of-you kind of affection? This instinct gives us a glimpse of God’s heart toward his kids.

Rather than turning away in disgust when he sees our need, he is deeply moved toward us. His compassion compels him to act on our behalf, as a mother’s compassion moves her to care for her child in need.

In Isaiah 49:15-16 (NIV), God says to his people Israel, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.”

The prophet Jonah knew God’s compassion was central to his character. This is why he didn’t want to preach to the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3-4). He knew God would extend compassion if the ruthless Ninevites turned to God for mercy.

Because our God is a compassionate God.

What emotions do you feel when you reflect on his compassion toward you?

As a mom, I find this concept evokes awe and wonder. My fierce yet tender love for my kids reflects the image of a God who is tender toward those he created. He runs toward us, not because he has to, but because he is compassionate. This compassion exists in his every interaction with us.

When life breaks our hearts, he feels our pain and weeps with us.

When our sin leaves us lying face down in the mud, he picks us up and journeys with us toward wholeness.

When we’re drowning in a sea of neediness, he walks on the water to meet us right where we are.

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:13-16 NIV).

Personal Reflection: Do I think of God as running toward me in my need or pushing me away? How does this affect the way I relate to him?

Identity Check: Because God is compassionate, I am tenderly loved by him.

Prayer Prompt: Thank God for his compassion toward you personally. Ask him to help you experience his tenderness—to know his compassion in the deepest part of your soul.

1. The Bible Project's Word Study series on the character of God, in a video entitled "Compassion"