2020 has been a very challenging year for Australia as a community. Bushfires raging over the country for weeks, then floods and now conoravirus. And all in a very short period of time.
These are uncontrollable externals which challenge our sense of feeling safe. To feel safe is a primary need God built in us. It is to be human.
I was considering this morning, how Australians are confronted again with feeling vulnerable and even afraid.
Easily to get drawn into the lie that vulnerability is weakness and even shameful.
These words came to my spirit, “When Jesus saw the vast crowds of people, His heart was deeply moved with compassion, because they seemed weary and helpless..” Matthew 9:36
When we see the crowds, our fellow country men, doing not typical things like cleaning out shelves in shops, let our heart be moved with compassion. For surely it will be moved by something.
Compassion is the greatest gift we can give to each other and to our country. Judgement and shaming are not our friends.
People are responding from a context that has been burly this year.
Our nation is resilient and kind. It has a beauty so unique. God is doing an unusual new thing in our nation. These are exciting days. God’s presence inhabits our compassion and our praises.
SO WHAT DOES COMPASSION LOOK LIKE?
1. When you see what you see, let it move your heart. Don’t numb it. Don’t rationalise it. Don’t be afraid of your heart being moved. Lean into it. It’s the birth place of compassion.
2. Ask God how does He see what you’re seeing?
3. Practice Generosity – Generosity is considering what is the most generous interpretation of another’s actions, words and intentions. In other words, it’s choosing to believe that people are doing to best they can.
4. Practice Empathy instead of Judgement. Empathy is hearing the perspective and emotion of others without judging it.
5. Take responsibility for the energy you bring into any space, including the social media space.
God bless you as you navigate this yourselves. We are in it with you! The glory of God is upon Australia! Great is His compassion over you and with our nation.