he will not break you
a bruised reed he will not break...
Advent is a season that comes around and reminds us, if we've forgotten, that we are waiting on Jesus. That the normal disposition of the disciple's desire is to know him, and know of him, more. A key way to do this is to go to the Scriptures to read about what Jesus is like. One such description comes from the prophet Isaiah.
Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.
(Isaiah 42:1-4)
One of my favorite pastors is Ray Ortlund. And one of the reasons I love Ray so much is that he is insightful, intelligent, and wise, and yet all that brain power doesn't produce merely erudite pronouncements. Rather, his heart grabs hold of what he's figured out in his head, and he then speaks with compassion, gentleness, and care that you can feel as you read and listen to him. You walk away encouraged and feeling loved, not only by Ray, but also by Ray's Savior.
Here's how Ray speaks to us of what he sees of Jesus in the passage from Isaiah (above):
“A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench” is a roundabout way of saying he will heal that bruised reed and will rekindle that faintly burning wick. Jesus restores broken people. He isn’t recruiting the heavy-hitters. He wants wounded people, exhausted people, people with doubts, people with weaknesses, injured by their own sins and by the sins of others. Those are the people he brings into his kingdom and serves.
Jesus is the only world leader who can say to us, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
But can Jesus handle all this human need we bring to him? What about all my need, plus yours? Does he care enough and love enough and forgive enough, to make everything right again for everyone who comes to him? Look again:
He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth,
and the coastlands wait for his law.
(Isaiah 42:4)He is gentle, but not weak like us. We start projects with high hopes. Later, we quit. But at his cross, the servant of the Lord took all our failures to himself as if they were his own. Today, the risen Jesus is caring for our needs, and he is not overwhelmed. He doesn’t need to get away from it all for a few days. Right now, as you’re reading this, Jesus is not tired, and he is not tired of you.
Please do me a favor, and read that last paragraph again.
I love the truth that Jesus is not tired of us!
If you'd like more of the same, please click here to read the rest of what Ray had to say about Jesus in Isaiah 42.
You'll be glad you did.
