Compassion: Dealing with Loneliness
You can be surrounded by people, scrolling endlessly, posting, liking, replying—and still feel completely unseen. I have been there, and odds are, you have too. We are not simply discussing the ache of being lonely. We are talking about how our calling fits into that ache, and how Jesus looked out at a crowd and saw a need. We are talking about what it means to be one of the few.
Let’s start with where we got our name—from Matthew 9:36–38.
“When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”
We’ve been given the example of compassion. Paul Tripp once said,
“You can’t minister to a broken world with a detached heart.”
If your heart feels cold toward people, if you’re numb… Start your prayer here:
“God, help me recognize that people are lost without You.”
Jesus looks at the crowd… and He feels compassion.
That’s where this conversation begins—not with anger, nor with frustration. Not even with strategy. It actually begins with compassion. So if you feel lonely today, know this: God isn’t annoyed at your ache. He meets you there with compassion.
Let’s be honest—Jesus was trending. By Matthew 9, Jesus has taught the Sermon on the Mount—chapters 5, 6, and 7. People were crowding into synagogues to hear Him. Jesus’ name was buzzing. But if you flip forward just a few chapters, the same crowds that listened are now rejecting Jesus. The synagogues that invited Him in… shut Him out. Jesus’ popularity wasn’t permanent. And He knew it.
And here’s where it hits us:
God does not promise us popularity or status in our Christian journey.
Actually… He promises something narrow. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus says:
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
There it is again: FEW. Few choose this path. Few say “yes” to obedience when it's hard. Few pick surrender over applause. Because sometimes we get stuck thinking, “I’m not a preacher. I don’t have a platform. I’m not doing missions in Africa. What’s my role in all this?”
Jesus does not call out desired results. Nor does Jesus give a complex process that everyone must follow. He keeps it simple—really simple. All we are commanded to do was pray. He says, “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers.”
Some of us will be the hands out in the field planting or harvest. All of us will be on our knees in intercession.
God actually designed us to need other people—not in a clingy or codependent way, but in a deep, biblical way. What does a real Christian friendship look like? Over the next several weeks, we will discuss how we sometimes feel lonely because we don’t understand what relationships were meant to be. Spoiler alert: Instagram followers and prayer partners are not the same thing.
And we’ll wrap up the series with one of the most comforting truths ever:
God fills the void. No one gets us like He does.
Like John Eldredge says, “Only God is big enough to fill your soul.”
So... What’s the Move? Here’s the challenge for this week: Pray with gutsy honesty.
Don’t pretend you’re not lonely. And don’t pretend you’ve got nothing to give. Ask God to give you His compassion—the kind Jesus felt when He saw the crowd.
Ask Him to give you eyes to see who needs hope… and the courage to be one of the few.
Big start small, y’all! Maybe the “SMALL” is texting someone to check in, or five minutes of quiet where you ask God to break your heart for what breaks His.
Just start.