We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

                                                                                                                        James 5:11 

Never forget the attributes of God. He never changes and will always keep His promises. Although we can be unfaithful in our efforts to serve Him, He will never be unfaithful to us. Two of the characteristics of God that believers should never forget are His compassion and mercy.

Having compassion can be defined as being kind, understanding, caring, and concerned. A lack of compassion would manifest itself in indifference. But God is not indifferent to our plight. Consider the words of David: 

Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. 

                                                                                                            Psalm 103:13-14 

To fear the Lord is to understand who He is and to realize the spiritual state that we are in apart from Christ. The fear of the Lord doesn’t lead to an uncertain, unstable, and unsettling existence, quite the opposite. The fear of the Lord leads us to Christ, resulting in a life of favor, blessing, joy, and peace. God is mindful of our frame and He knows that we are but dust. He is compassionate and willing to show mercy to anyone who will come to Him by faith because He has “walked in our shoes” and understands what it means to live life on this earth. Consider these words from Hebrews: 

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

                                                                                                            Hebrews 4:15-16 

When we belong to Christ, we can approach God with confidence, even in times of failure. Why? It is because Jesus has positioned us to receive the grace and mercy of God by faith. It was His obedience on the cross that provides this pardon and blessing from God (Romans 5:18). As a result, consider Paul’s description of God: 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

                                                                                                         2 Corinthians 1:3-4 

God is ready to comfort us in times of trouble and distress but that same comfort that we receive from Him, we are to share with others who are in need as well. Compassion is always to be reciprocated in the lives of others. And so it is with God’s mercy.

This word translated “merciful” comes from a term meaning “to have pity.” To have pity on someone is to show compassion or forgiveness toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. In other words, because of God’s love and mercy, He is willing to show us kindness and compassion. To be merciful is to show leniency and to be ready and willing to forgive. But just as we are to show compassion to others, we are also to extend this same leniency to others as well. Consider these passages regarding our responsibility to extend mercy to others:

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 

                                                            Luke 6:36 

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 

                                                                        Matthew 5:7 

For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

                                                                                                                     James 2:13 

God honors mercy. We are to emulate the Father’s love by extending this mercy to others. Doing so brings tremendous blessing while failing to show mercy results in judgment. “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” This should be the cry of every believer in Jesus who has discovered how wonderful and amazing the love, compassion, and mercy of God really is.

Just remember, as we seek to show others the character and nature of God, we must never forget those two qualities of compassion and mercy.