Here Is My Servant – January 14, 2023

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. 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. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.” This is what God the LORD says—he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”
Isaiah 42:1-7

Here Is My Servant

“No one knows the trouble I’ve seen; nobody knows but Jesus.” So says the famous African-American spiritual. All of us can feel this way at times. And it’s true. Jesus is the only one who truly knows all of the troubles we have experienced.

When we are drowning in distress, grasping for anything to save us, the Lord answers with the promise, “Here is my servant.” He is talking about Jesus, the one who served us perfectly in order to save us.

Reach out to him! The Lord’s Servant isn’t arrogant like so many world leaders. He restored the most broken of lives—lives that no others cared to touch. To carry out justice, he didn’t come guns-a-blazing. He suffered beatings, taunting, and the humiliation of death on the cross to save us.

Maybe we don’t feel worth rescuing. Jesus sees us differently. It cost him dearly to redeem us; he won’t dispose of us. Rather than snuff us out, he restores us. Rather than grind us down, he makes something new. Jesus needed true grit to save us. But the moment we struggle, he stoops like a mother to care for us.

Prayer:
Lord, when the tempest rages, I need not fear; for you, the Rock of ages, are always near. So take my hand, O Savior, and lead the way. Amen.