There are, according to Holman’s Bible Dictionary, at least five Hebrew and eight Greek words that are translated as “compassion” in our Bibles. Only three will be mentioned here, enough to give a good idea of what God is feeling and how He will act when He is compassionate.  

“Rachamim” is Hebrew and expresses the love and compassion of a mother or a father for, and their devotion to, a helpless child. It means to love someone deeply, to have mercy on them, and to have tender affection for them. This word implies that the person with compassion is seeking to bring security to the other person.  

“Eleeos” is a Greek word that talks about the emotion aroused in a person by another’s undeserved suffering or pain. It is an attitude of kindness and good will toward the miserable and the afflicted, with a desire to help them.  

“Splagxnon” is also a Greek word, closely related to the Hebrew “rachamim”. It means to be moved with compassion, deep in one’s gut. 

God has compassion in all of these ways.

On whom does God have compassion?

Compassion is part of God’s character (Psalm 86:15): “But you, O Lord, are a compassionate [rachamim] and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” Because He is full of compassion by nature, that is how He responds to everybody, whether they love Him or hate Him. The Scriptures say that God has compassion [rachamim] “on all He has made” (Psalm 145:9b). Because of this, He is “good to all” (Psalm 145:9a). Jesus said of Him in Matthew 5:45: “[Y]our Father in heaven . . . causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”.

So God is generally compassionate. However, there are certain situations in which His compassion comes to the forefront. 

·           When we are in distress, even if that distress is the result of our sin (Lamentations 3):
19  I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.
20  I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
21  Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
22  Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions [rachamim] never fail.
23  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24  I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
25  The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
26  it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. 

·           When we are harassed and helpless (Matthew 9):

            36  When he [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion [splagxnon] on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

·           When we are floundering around, not knowing what to do or where to go next (Mark 6):

            34  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion [splagxnon] on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. 

·           When we are sick (Mark 1):
40  A man with leprosy came to him [Jesus] and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make    me clean.”
41  Filled with compassion [splagxnon], Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 

(Matthew 14):
14  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion [splagxnon] on them and healed their sick.

(Matthew 20):
34  Jesus had compassion [splagxnon] on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. 

·           When we sin (Psalm 78):

            38  Yet he [God] was merciful [rachamim]; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath. 

·           When we are in need (Matthew 8):
32  Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion [splagxnon] 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.” 

·           When others hurt us (Psalm 86):
14  The arrogant are attacking me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life - men without regard for you.
15  But you, O Lord, are a compassionate [rachamim] and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
16  Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant.
17  Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me. 

·           When we face the death of a loved one (Luke 7):
11  Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him.
12  As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out - the only son of his mother, and she as a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.
13  When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her [splagxnon] and he said, “Don’t cry.”
14  Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”
 

·           When we are troubled with demons (Mark 5):
15  When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
. . . . .
18  As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.
19  Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you [eleeos].” 

·           When we make mistakes out of our ignorance (Hebrews 5):
2  He is able to deal gently [eleeos] with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 

·           When we come to confess our sins (Deuteronomy 30):
2  and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today,
3  then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion [rachamim] on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. 

·           When we are in rebellion (Psalm 78):
37  their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.
38  Yet he was merciful [full of compassion - “rachamim”]; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath.
39  He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return. 

In other words, when we come to God with any kind of trouble, He meets us with compassion. However, we’re not always so sure of being met with compassion. Sometimes we doubt that God really wants to bless us, keep us safe, relieve us of our sufferings, and give us security. That is an unfortunate problem because it makes the Christian life virtually impossible to live. Why? Because all that we receive from God, we receive by faith, by simply believing that God is who He says He is and that He does what He has promised to do. That is made very clear in Galatians 3:1-5, where the apostle Paul said to a church group who thought that growing to be more like Jesus and receiving God’s miracles had something to do with trying hard rather than simply trusting God to give all that they needed: 

            1  You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
2  I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?
3  Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
4  Have you suffered so much for nothing - if it really was for nothing?
5  Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?  

Most Christians want to be the kind of people with whom God is pleased, yet Hebrews 11:6 says that “without faith it is impossible to please God”. Ever wonder why that is? Is faith some kind of magic that turns God on? Not really. God wants to be a Father to us; Jesus wants to be spouse. These are very intimate relationships. God is pleased when He can be a good Father, and Jesus is pleased when He can be a good spouse.

But think for a moment about how difficult it would be for God to father someone who does not believe He is who He really is, full of compassion and wanting to bless them, making plans to prosper them and give them hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).[1] This is a God so willing to give, He gave His own Son, and Romans 8:32 says: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Then there’s Jesus, the perfect spouse. Loving, willing to die for us. He is passionate to give and to make sure we live very good lives (John 10:10b): “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

What if this person does not believe that the Father and Jesus deeply desire to bless, but believes, for example, that they are stern and very demanding? How easy will it be for this person to receive all that God has to give? If someone I don’t trust as having my best interests at heart gives me a gift, I may take it, but I will not receive the blessing, the goodwill, and the boost to my sense of worth that the giver intends. I will have something in my hand, but nothing in my heart from that gift. Or I may not even take the gift although it appears to be something very nice.

Similarly, when God gives, we may see a healing or a miracle or a deliverance, but we will not receive the full blessing that gives us life to the full. We will not have “all things”, as God intends. Sadly, we will not have the most important things, the relationship things, which are the core need of all people. Or we may not be able to receive at all.

If we’re honest, most of us struggle at some point with our faith in God. Will He really heal our very sick child? Will we get through joblessness with food on the table and a roof over our heads? What can God really do for my struggling marriage? Why are we like that even when we passionately want to believe? After all, we trusted Him with our eternity. What is so hard about trusting Him with health, finances, marriage and so on?

Most of us come to distrust God out of our personal pain. That learning process starts very young. For example:

Our parents may have been very stern, quick to punish our wrongdoings without necessarily listening to our side of the story. We come to our heavenly Father, and we can’t quite seem to shake the idea that He too, as a parent, is stern and without mercy. Yet Father wants to meet us with compassion, love and help: 

Exodus 34
6  And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
7  maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. 

We came to our parents with our problems, but they were good only at advice and telling us how to stand on our own two feet. Comfort was not something we knew them to be good at. And we suspect that God wants tough people, who persevere through their need and weather life’s problems by the grit of their teeth. But our God is a God of all comfort, who has sent us one to be a constant companion, the Holy Spirit, who is also called the Comforter: 

2 Corinthians 2
3  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion [“oiktirmos” - pity and mercy] and the God of all comfort,
4  who comforts us in all our troubles . . .

John 14
16  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor [“parakletos” - comforter, one who is on our side] to be with you forever -
17  the Spirit of truth. 

As children, we get sick and we get hurt. We don’t heal easily or the treatment is, to our mind, as much a punishment as the problem (needles, surgeries, painful or embarrassing tests, etc.). We wonder if God is just a merciless when He sees us in our infirmities. But: 

            Matthew 8
2  A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
3  Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. 

We also, unfortunately, pick up from the church strange ideas about God lacking compassion. Children are taught from a very young age in Sunday school about the acronym JOY (Jesus first, others second, yourself last), and, out of their limited understanding, it is easy for them to come to believe that no one, including God, is very much interested in their needs – they are always last to be considered. We also teach them things like “God is pleased when we obey our parents”, “God is pleased when we share our things”, “God is pleased when we help others”, and we communicate a subtle message that God’s heart is only for them when they are being good, which causes some to believe mistakenly they have to earn His pleasure and grace. New converts are very often discipled by being told what they should be doing: go to church, pray, read your Bible, and witness to your friends. They are often also invited to begin work in the church, sometimes reinforced with inducements like: “After all Jesus did for you, can’t you do this, or pray more, or give more, etc.?” Again, our new Christians can come to understand that Christianity is about what they can do, and God isn’t so terribly concerned about what they need, let alone what the desires of their heart are. They are not told “only one thing is needed” (to sit at Jesus’ feet) (Luke 10:42).[2] They are not told about John 6:28-29: 

28     Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

29  Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” 

Nor are they told (Psalm 37): 

            4  Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. 

But our God is a God of compassion. He feels our need right down to His gut. You can’t feel like that and not want to help. Everything in God wants to help. He is passionate to “prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

However, life happens and, if we do not know how to deal with our pain in Jesus, life robs us of our ability to trust our caregivers, including God. We are not always conscious of how much has been robbed from us. Consciously, we may be full of faith. Until the sickness comes, the job is lost, the market crashes, and so on. Then the button on some long-lost pain is pushed, and up come fear, unbelief, questions about God being there for us.

When we are robbed of our trust in God, we are robbed in two ways. One is that we don’t think to ask God for help because we are sure our issue is not something He is concerned about or willing to help us with. Many Christians fall into this with regard to physical healing, and they make the mistake King Asa did when he became ill: “Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians” (2 Chronicles 16:12). Others of us ask and don’t receive because our beliefs against God’s compassion rob us of an ability to receive by faith what He wants to give. There are several definitions of faith, but the one that concerns us here is given in Hebrews 11:6b “[A]nyone who comes to [God] must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Many of us get tripped up on our lack of trust that God is all set to reward us with what we need from Him. We call it unanswered prayer, but perhaps we should call it unreceived answers.

What is the solution? The solution is twofold. First, we receive healing from all those beliefs that rob us of faith in a God of compassion Who loves to bless. That kind of healing is covered in another paper “Healing the Brokenhearted”. Secondly, we spend time and get to know God for who He really is. Remember, “only one thing is needed” (Luke 10:42) and is the foundation for everything else in our Christian life. Contrary to what many believe, that one thing is not service. The one thing is getting to know our Lord.

 Sharon Currens