Your Consoling Savior – January 10, 2023

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.”
Isaiah 42:1-3

Your Consoling Savior

When I was ten, I got kicked out of gym class. The teacher told us to take turns playing a pantomime game of tennis. While two of us pretended to hit the ball back and forth, the rest were supposed to cheer.

Since I had never watched a tennis match before, I had no idea there was a proper way to cheer. So, I started clapping, whistling, hooting, and hollering during play. The teacher thought I was being disrespectful and sent me to the principal’s office.

Every time I hear the words of our Bible reading for today, I think of that event in my life, and I rejoice. I rejoice because these words remind me that Jesus, our Savior, does not kick us out of his presence for the wrong things we have done and said. Instead, Jesus carried the crushing weight of our guilt to the cross and had his life snuffed out for our sin.

This is our Savior. When we get it wrong, Jesus does not yell at or humiliate us. When we sin against God, he does not parade us through the streets shouting, “Shame!” When we are bruised and broken, when we are feeling small and insignificant, he summons us to come to him and find rest in him for our souls.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for not crushing my spirit but for constantly consoling me with your mercy and forgiveness. Amen.