Compassion means suffering with someone, not just feeling sorry for them from a distance. When life crushes you under circumstances that feel unbearable, you don’t need platitudes about silver linings or reminders that others have it worse. You need someone who actually sees your pain, feels the weight of it with you, and doesn’t try to minimize what you’re experiencing. The question isn’t whether God is powerful enough to help but whether He’s compassionate enough to care about your specific hurt.
Some versions of Christianity present God as distant and demanding, more interested in your obedience than your suffering. That God keeps score, withholds comfort until you’ve learned your lesson, and views your struggles as opportunities to toughen you up. But that’s not the God Scripture reveals. The Bible shows a God who is moved by human pain, who grieves with those who grieve, and who responds to suffering with tenderness rather than indifference.
These verses expose a compassion that’s woven into God’s character, not just His occasional response. His compassion isn’t theoretical or abstract. It’s personal, persistent, and present in ways that meet you exactly where you are. When you’re broken and barely holding on, God’s compassion isn’t waiting for you to fix yourself first.
Bible Verses About God’s Compassion
1. Psalm 103:8-10 – The Lord Is Compassionate and Gracious
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
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2. Psalm 103:13-14 – As a Father Has Compassion
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
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3. Lamentations 3:22-23 – His Compassions Never Fail
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
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4. Psalm 145:8-9 – The Lord Is Compassionate to All
The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
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5. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – The Father of Compassion
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
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6. Isaiah 49:15 – I Will Not Forget You
Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
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7. Matthew 9:36 – He Had Compassion on Them
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
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8. Exodus 34:6 – The Compassionate and Gracious God
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
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9. Psalm 116:5 – Our God Is Full of Compassion
The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
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10. Joel 2:13 – He Is Gracious and Compassionate
Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
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11. Psalm 86:15 – You Are a Compassionate God
But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
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12. Psalm 111:4 – The Lord Is Gracious and Compassionate
He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
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13. Hebrews 4:15 – We Have a High Priest Who Sympathizes
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
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14. Psalm 78:38 – Yet He Was Merciful
Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath.
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15. Nehemiah 9:17 – But You Are a Forgiving God
They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them.
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16. Isaiah 54:10 – My Compassion Will Not Be Removed
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
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17. Psalm 145:9 – He Has Compassion on All He Has Made
The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
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18. Jonah 4:2 – A Compassionate God
He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”
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19. Psalm 51:1 – According to Your Great Compassion
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
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20. Isaiah 63:9 – In All Their Distress He Too Was Distressed
In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
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21. Zechariah 7:9 – Show Mercy and Compassion
This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.’
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22. Psalm 135:14 – He Will Have Compassion on His Servants
For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.
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23. Matthew 14:14 – He Had Compassion on Them and Healed
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
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24. Mark 6:34 – He Had Compassion on Them
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
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25. Colossians 3:12 – Clothe Yourselves with Compassion
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
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26. Psalm 119:156 – Your Compassion, Lord, Is Great
Your compassion, Lord, is great; preserve my life according to your laws.
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27. Daniel 9:9 – The Lord Our God Is Merciful and Forgiving
The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.
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28. Psalm 69:16 – Answer Me Out of the Goodness of Your Love
Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me.
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29. 2 Chronicles 30:9 – The Lord Your God Is Gracious
If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.
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30. Isaiah 30:18 – The Lord Longs to Be Gracious
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
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31. Romans 9:15 – I Will Have Compassion
For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
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32. Psalm 77:9 – Has God Forgotten to Be Merciful?
Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?
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33. James 5:11 – The Lord Is Full of Compassion
As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
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34. Micah 7:19 – You Will Have Compassion on Us
You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
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35. Philippians 2:1 – If Any Compassion and Mercy
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion.
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Understanding Compassion vs. Mercy
While Scripture often pairs compassion and mercy together, they express different aspects of God’s heart. Mercy withholds the punishment you deserve. Compassion enters into the suffering you’re experiencing. Mercy says, “I won’t give you what justice demands.” Compassion says, “I feel your pain with you and I’m moved to help.” You need mercy for your sins. You need compassion for your struggles. Both flow from God’s love, but they address different dimensions of human need.
Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About God’s Compassion
God’s compassion appears throughout Scripture as a defining characteristic, not a fleeting mood. The phrase “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love” repeats like a refrain across multiple books, establishing this as the foundation of who God is. His compassion isn’t something He occasionally feels toward deserving people. It’s His natural response to human suffering because He made us and understands our frailty better than we understand it ourselves.
Jesus demonstrates God’s compassion in action. When He saw crowds harassed and helpless, He didn’t critique their poor decisions or lecture them about personal responsibility. He had compassion. When people were sick, hurting, or hungry, His response was immediate care, not theological explanations for their suffering. The incarnation itself is the ultimate act of compassion, God entering into human experience to suffer alongside us and for us.
Receiving God’s compassion changes how you relate to others. Scripture consistently connects God’s compassion toward you with your responsibility to show compassion to others. Colossians says to clothe yourself with compassion because you’re God’s chosen people, dearly loved. When you’ve experienced genuine compassion from God, it breaks down the walls that keep you from extending it to people around you. Compassion received becomes compassion given, creating communities that reflect God’s heart rather than human judgment.
Say This Prayer
Father, I’m grateful that You’re the Father of compassion, that Your nature is to feel deeply with people in their pain rather than standing distant and unmoved. I need Your compassion today for the struggles I’m facing that feel overwhelming. Thank You that You don’t minimize what I’m going through or tell me to just get over it.
Help me to remember that You understand my frailty, that You know I’m dust, and that You don’t expect perfection from broken people. When I’m hurting and can barely articulate why, meet me in that wordless pain with compassion that doesn’t require me to explain or justify myself. Your presence is enough when nothing else makes sense.
Teach me to extend to others the compassion You’ve shown me. When people around me are struggling, help me to feel with them rather than judge them. Give me patience for their processes, grace for their failures, and the kind of tenderness that reflects Your heart rather than my irritation or impatience.
Thank You that Your compassion is new every morning, that yesterday’s failures don’t exhaust today’s tenderness, and that You remain moved by human suffering rather than becoming callous to it.
In Jesus’ compassionate name, Amen.
Evang. Anabelle Thompson is the founder of Believers Refuge, a Scripture-based resource that helps Christians to find biblical guidance for life’s challenges.
With over 15 years of ministry experience and a decade of dedicated Bible study, she creates content that connects believers with relevant Scripture for their daily struggles.
Her work has reached over 76,000 monthly readers (which is projected to reach 100,000 readers by the end of 2025) seeking practical faith applications, biblical encouragement, and spiritual guidance rooted in God’s Word.
She writes from personal experience, having walked through seasons of waiting, breakthrough, and spiritual growth that inform her teaching.
Evang. Thompson brings 12 years of active ministry and evangelism experience, along with over 10 years of systematic Bible study and theological research.
As a former small group leader and Sunday school teacher, she has published over 200 biblical resources and devotional studies.
She specializes in applying Scripture to everyday life challenges and regularly studies the original Hebrew and Greek texts for a deeper biblical understanding.