Moved With Compassion
Mark 1:40 – 42 – "And there came a leper to him,
beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt,
thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his
hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon
as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was
cleansed."
Here’s a serious question for all the believers in Christ, "How many of
you want to witness supernatural miracles of God?" All of you should be
saying, "I do!!!" I know all of us would like to see the miracle of
supernatural debt cancellation (God paying off all of your credit cards,
mortgages, car loans, etc.). Now I know I got a 100 % "yes" on that
one! But what about everyday miracles? Would you like to see those occur as
well?
In our tidbit text, we see Jesus performing the miracle of restoring a man’s
body from leprosy. Now if we really generalize this we can say there were three
steps:
(1) The man sought help by coming to Jesus.
(2) Jesus was moved with compassion.
(3) The burden (pain & suffering) was lifted and the yoke (leprosy) was
destroyed.
Let’s focus on step number two "Jesus was moved with compassion."
The word compassion is derived from the Latin components "Com"
meaning with, "Pati" meaning to suffer. When joined, compati means
"to suffer with." Now most of the time, our problem is WE DON’T
SUFFER WITH OUR BROTHERS!!!!! You see, when you’re not hurting you’re not
moved. Let me rephrase that in the way the mind would actually say it, "I
DON’T HURT SO I DON’T NEED TO MOVE" or "I AIN’T BROKE SO I DON’T NEED
TO GIVE." But we need to look back at this scripture and also throughout
the Bible to understand this: WHEN THE LORD WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION MIRACLES
HAPPENED. So what stops Him from performing miracles in our lives? WE DO!!!!!
Here’s an example. Last week, I had a friend who got into a jam. This person
needed something done and I was moved with compassion to help. I had decided to
give X-amount to this person. Then I remembered something that the Lord told me
weeks ago: "Begin to pray for wisdom." So before I acted, I prayed
for wisdom. I waited on Him to tell me what to give, and He said nothing.
Finally, He said, "Eddie, I want you to help me do something…. You’ll
be receiving a check in the mail today for X-amount [which was more than three
times the amount I had intended to give]. Give that to your friend." (It
wasn’t a loan either; it was free and clear!!!) So I stepped out on faith and
gave my friend the money before I got home to check the mail. When I got home
and checked the mail, I found the money right there. (Praise God, Praise
God!!!)
By the Lord’s compassion, two people (my friend and the person she needed to
help) got their burdens removed and their yokes destroyed that day. Throughout
the Bible we see that when Jesus is moved with compassion miracles occur,
burdens are lifted and yokes are destroyed.
Matthew 14:14 – And Jesus went
forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them,
and he healed their sick.
Matthew 15:32 – Then Jesus
called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude,
because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I
will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. [Here He fed the
multitude with seven loaves of bread and a few fish.]
Luke 7:13 – And when the Lord
saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. [Jesus raised
the widow’s son.]
Supernatural miracles can happen every day when we move with compassion and
even when we don’t. Huh? What do you mean, "Even when we don’t?" Well
the story about my friend is not over. After moving with compassion, there was
still another obstacle. My friend needed someone to "watch the kids."
(Trust me, this was all on the up and up!) Before committing, I had to move in
wisdom again, go to a secret place and say, "God, I know I didn’t ask
permission, but I stand at the ready!!! If I am needed I am here!"
Afterwards, I contacted my friend again to see if things had worked out and
they had. Soon thereafter the Lord told me this:
"The reason things worked
out is because you HAD COMPASSION. For some people, they must learn compassion,
and I have to PUT them in those situations to learn compassion. When they say,
‘I sure hope he/she don’t ask me to do this or that,’ then I put them in those
situations to learn compassion."
So from that we should learn that you can either "move with
compassion" or "be moved to learn compassion." If you’re moved
with compassion then you will be in for a blessing, but if you have to BE MOVED
then you’re in store for a lesson. Believe me, I’d rather have the blessin’
than the lesson.
