Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

This week I prepared to write about God’s confirmations, however the Holy Spirit redirected me to show us God’s compassion.

The first thing the Holy Spirit wants to help us see is the willingness of God to have compassion.

Today’s scripture, Mark 1:40-41 (NLT) shares…
[40] A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. [41] Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!”

Consider…
Two time GMA Dove artist of the year, Kirk Franklin, wrote these lyrics…

Let me touch You and see if You are real
Even though, I know my heart Your hands can heal
But sometimes I get discouraged
And I need Your strength and shield, Jesus
Let me touch You and see if You are real

Sometimes to me You seem so far away
And I wonder how to make it through the day
But if I can touch the hem of Your garment
Your power, I know, You can heal, Jesus
Let me touch You and see if You are real

For many of us, Kirk’s words express our heart’s ache and prayer in our most helpless moments.

Wanting to touch Jesus reminds me of the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5:27-28 (NLT). Scripture says…
[27] She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. [28] For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”

Most of us have had desperate moments in our lives like this woman that caused us to think about pressing our way to Jesus for healing. Moments where we’d sing along with Kelly Price…

I need a healing for my soul
So give me a healing for my soul
I need a healing for my soul
So give me a healing for my soul
(Just for my soul I need)
Lord Im looking for a new life just for my soul
(Just for my soul I need healing)
And I’m tired of crying all night just for my soul
(Just for my soul I need)
Lord, I need Thee, oh, I need Thee
To take away this pain and misery
‘Cause God I just can’t do this by myself
I need help, Lord
I need a healing for my soul
So give me a healing for my soul
I need a healing for my soul
So give me a healing for my soul
(Just for my soul I need healing)

Today’s scripture highlights God’s compassionate response to one of those moments in a helpless man’s life. You see leprosy during the Bible days was basically a death sentence. Even more heartbreaking, it was one that a person had to endure alone, because the person had to isolate themselves far away from the “clean” people.

Much like COVID in 2020, leprosy made people feel like their lives were at the mercy of God.

Here’s the first bit of good news that the Holy Spirit reminded me to share from Psalms 145:8-9 (NLT)…
[8] The LORD is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. [9] The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation.

It’s a blessing to know that regardless of our circumstances in life, we serve a God who is…

• Merciful
• Compassionate
• Patient
• Loving, without fail.

We see these tenderhearted qualities on full display in today’s scripture. You see, the other tragic thing about leprosy in Jesus’ day is that the church refused to engage and address the needs of the helpless. That reminds me of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-37. Yet, here’s where we see the heart of God on display.

• Jesus showed the lepper MERCY, by simply engaging him, despite church law saying He couldn’t.
• Jesus was moved by COMPASSION, when the man humbly asked to be healed
• Jesus was PATIENT, when He stopped to listen to hear the heart of the helpless.
• Jesus was LOVING, when HE TOUCHED the untouchable.

Wow, that just hit home. Jesus touches the untouchable and loves the unlovable. It’s when we’re most helpless that our compassionate God helped the most. That’s what Romans 5:6 (NLT) says verbatim…
[6] When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.

Christ’s sacrificial death is the ultimate display of God’s…

• Mercy
• Compassion
• Love

You see, just like Jesus touched the untouchable man who was unclean, the HOLY GOD touched the unholy with His blood to make them WHOLE.

This makes me hear the hymn…

Shackled by a heavy burden
‘Neath a load of guilt and shame
Then the hand of Jesus touched me
And now I am no longer the same

He touched me, oh, He touched me
And oh, the joy that floods my soul
Something happened, and now I know
He touched me, and made me whole

Here’s the encouragement that the Holy Spirit wants me to emphasize from today’s scripture. The man said, like we do, “If you are willing…”, and Jesus responded with a compassionate touch and said “I am willing”.

So today, I encourage you to humbly bow before our tenderhearted LORD, who is full of…

• Mercy
• Compassion
• Patience
• Unfailing Love

…and ask for His touch. Then remember that He already died when you were utterly helpless before, so He’s absolutely willing to help you now.

*** There is a cavaet to God’s help, which is that it may not always heal, sometimes He just holds us in His loving arms while we endure.

I pray that you feel the willing compassionate touch of Christ today.

Today’s song is…
Let Me Touch You

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)