“He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
Matthew 14:10-14 ESV

We all have those times, when we want to pull away and shut out the world. Times when bad news comes, when we feel overwhelmed & we’d rather everyone just bug off for a bit and leave us alone. And as we see here in Matthew 14, even Jesus wanted some time away. He was in mourning for His cousin after all, and for the people of Israel, that they would yet again kill one of God’s own prophets. And if they were so quick to do this to John…

And so Jesus tries to withdraw (a natural thing to do) just to breathe for a while and let it sink in, life pops up, people enter the scene and they have needs, too. And so, rather than do what most of us would do, which is probably to share a few choice words at an increased volume and slam a door, Jesus instead opens Himself to them, and He invites them and their problems into His heart.

We often hit these times and we begin the old routine. We cry (which is fine) we get upset (which is normal) and we withdraw (which can be healthy, if done properly.) We go through stages of grieving according to the pain we feel. But what most people forget in those moments is that there is a cure to sadness, sorrow and pain when they turn into self-absorption. It’s quite simple, really, and Jesus does it perfectly. Rather than push away, Jesus draws in the sick and hurting, the sad and misserable…but not to commiserate with them. He draws them in to relieve their pain and heal their broken hearts.

When we are sad, in a funk and may even be throwing ourselves a bit of a pity party, we find that the best cure is to serve someone else who is feeling bad, too. Not to draw attention to ourselves, but to draw attention from ourselves. Setting to task in helping them gives us a purpose in our sorrow. It gives meaning to our struggle, to help someone else in theirs. It can give us a dose of much needed perspective, and it lifts our hearts to see them relieved of their burden. And it is then that we realize that our own burden has lessened, or maybe even fallen off.

Compassion for another in the midst of our own sorrow is yet another grace that God has granted us. Sympathy, acted upon in love, is a beautiful testament to what God can do, even in our brokenness, sorrow and pain, to bring us healing, restoration and even joy.

So, the next time you’re feeling down, find someone else who needs a pick-me-up and help them out. Don’t fall into the temptation to absorb pity, but rather, pour the love that God has graced you with into them, and let them feel that God loves them, too, even in those moments of darkness. Your effort to GoLove them may be the only point of light they have.

Jesus provided it for those gathering to Him, and we can do the same.