When suffering from a headache I want relief fast. I go look for some fast-acting pain pills in the medicine cabinet. But I don’t often equate compassion with speed.

The Israelite community suffered during the fall of Jerusalem and the subsequent expulsion to Babylon. They wanted relief fast, and so prayed: Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.

These hurting people asked for the Lord’s care to arrive quickly, asap, without delay. Weren’t they the sheep of God’s pasture? Perhaps they felt some relief as they sustained the shame of exile and the loss of face, but a return to their former status was off the table.

Compassion rarely entails returning everything to its previous setting. These exiles, many of whom rejected the Lord during years of freedom, turned back to the Lord during years of exile. God’s long acting empathy emerged from the ashes of Jerusalem. Faith kindled once again into flame.

Difficult circumstances turned hearts back to God. The sheep looked once again to their shepherd. Maybe not as speedy as hoped, but that’s compassion at work.

Psalm 79:8

Photo by Dan Dennis