*So Moses told the people of Israel what the LORD had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.* Exodus 6:9 (NLT) If we are rebuffed when sharing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we must be very careful that we do not assign the wrong attitude or motivation upon those who do not receive our message. Without complete understanding, which is very difficult when it comes to other people, we may perceive that rejection of our message is because of stubbornness, rebellion or hard heartedness when in fact it is because of the discouragement brought on by the difficulties of life. The people of God had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years and they had cried out to God for deliverance, but when God sent Moses to deliver them they were not initially receptive to him. I wonder if Moses thought to himself, “These people are ungrateful. Don’t they realize what I have given up to come and rescue them?" It was not that they did not wish or desire to be delivered from captivity, but generations of bondage had caused them to lose hope. Moses did not let their initial reluctance derail his mission of bringing the nation of Israel out of slavery. In the same way, we must be very careful that we do not become discouraged when our message of hope and salvation is not received warmly or is even outrightly rejected. We may not understand the hurt and the pain that someone has endured in their life. Many people want to believe, but life has beaten them down to the point to where they see any offer of deliverance as an illusion. If we misunderstand the situation, we may lose an opportunity to introduce someone who is hurting to the only one who can truly bring them freedom and life. We can deduce from Scripture that there is a special place in God’s heart for those who have been beaten down by this life. *“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”* Psalm 34:18 (NLT) At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he went into the synagogue and read the appointed text from Isaiah. *“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.”* Luke 4:18–19 (NLT) Many people need to hear the good news of deliverance for the captives and freedom for the oppressed. They need to hear that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, but for them it may seem too good to be true and so we are called, not simply to get a decision from someone or to lead them in the sinner’s prayer, but instead we are called to a "ministry of reconciliation” and that requires us to apply a healing balm to open wounds and eyes that cannot see. It requires a heart of compassion and patience because we know that we are called to be close to the brokenhearted because they have a special place in God’s heart.