” But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.” Psalm 87:15

I love this scripture verse as it is filled with such a vision of WHO our Lord is! He is a tender man! He is warm hearted and merciful! ! I picture myself looking in his eyes and seeing nothing but a heart that is open to all of his children regardless of the mistakes they have made. I see tenderness and love and grace beyond all measure.  I see a Father who wants nothing more than to spend time with his children and to help them to mature and grow in Him!

Today I want us to look in Mark 6 : 30-34 where Jesus feeds the five thousand. Many know this story, but today I want to focus on the beginning of the story as it teaches us about His compassion! The apostles had been out all day teaching and ministering to people. They were tired and hungry. Jesus said to them “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.”  Jesus said this because he knew that his friends needed some time to be refreshed and renewed. They had been serving all day and He could see they were tired and maybe even weary and of course hungry.  He was showing compassion as he sensed their needs and wanted them to know he cared about them. He knew that they were eager to minister to others but that they also needed to have time for rest and renewal. Jesus tells us this too as he says in Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Whether we carry a heavy load from serving in his name or from the day to day stresses, we need to spend time with Him to be renewed and refreshed!

As we read on in Mark, they left by boat for a quiet place…but many people recognized them and saw them leaving and ran ahead of them to meet them. Jesus saw the huge crowd and it says in verse 34 that he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.He could see that they were lost and searching! Are you lost and searching? I hope that this scripture gives you hope today! He  will continue to seek you too!! It says that people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them. Maybe you are still running and wondering how to find Him! The scripture today shows us that Jesus has compassion on us! He was ready to be with his friends and to rest and be renewed but He saw his lost sheep and so he stopped and began teaching them. He didn’t want them to be scattered and lost! He wants all to come to HIM!  He wants to be our shepherd! No matter where we are…He will take the time to feed his sheep! He has compassion on us!

Lets look in Ezekiel 34:11-16! He is the Good Shepherd who will rescue his lost sheep! He tells us that He, himself, will search for his scattered flock and rescue us from the dark and cloudy day!! I love this scripture as He tells us that not only will he rescue us but also that he will provide for us in all ways! We will be fed on the mountaintops and by the rivers that continually flow. We will lie down in pleasant places and feed in lush pastures. He also promises that he will tend his sheep! He doesn’t ship us off to another person or leave us alone…he will tend to us personally and provide for us all that we need and most importantly give us peace! Another point that strikes me in these passages is that even though we stray and get lost, he promises to bring us back home safely!!

I don’t know about you, but I stray often and I choose to walk my own path. Usually, I come crawling back to my Lord injured and weak because I ended up on the wrong path and beaten down! I realize that I need to put my hope and my trust in Him and that I need to follow my shepherd instead of straying in the fields! In verse 16 He says he will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak…..now that is a Lord full of compassion!!