Isaiah 42:3 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth.
Before I came to Jesus I never really thought too much about what He was like. If I thought of Him at all, I would picture the very large cross that was in front of the Catholic church where I grew up. As I draw closer to Him, however, I see all of my life through Him. He is my starting point for everything I see and hear.
I can remember reading this verse 20 or 25 years ago and really not knowing quite what to make of it. But over the years as I abided in Him...as I beheld Him...I began to catch glimpses of who He is and as I did what I saw made me fall down (metaphorically speaking) in worship. Truly there is none like Him. His love is amazing, His mercies never fail, His ways past finding out, and His faithfulness reaches to the heavens.
"A bruised reed He will not break." Reeds are pretty fragile...they are hollow tubes and bend, break and crush pretty easily. This is how we are before we come to Christ...beaten down and crushed by the world and our sins. Hollow inside...empty. Jesus longs for you to come to Him when the burdens of the world become crushing, when the hollowness and emptiness of our lives scream for something to fill it. Jesus is the only remedy for that emptiness. He will not break you or destroy you...He wants to heal you. He wants to make your crooked places straight and lift the burden from your shoulders. As a non believer you really can't understand this, because faith is the access to the grace and mercy that is in Christ. When we do cry out, however, we begin to understand that the only life living is one lived in Him and for Him.
"And smoking flax He will not quench." This is a reference to the last piece of wick in an oil lamp. It is the piece you just want to throw out and replace. The one that you don't want to bother with. It is still smoking a bit...kinda just making things stink rather than giving any light. In fact the smoke gets in the way of your vision. The oil is gone as is the light. The natural reaction to that would be to snuff it out and put it out of its misery...just like the natural thing to do with a bent reed is to throw it into a fire to be burned. When you come to Jesus with your "smoking flax" He does not snuff it out...He blows on it...fans the flame and pours oil into your lamp and makes your flame bright again. He does this for me every morning as I study His word. He is not a threat to those who come to Him...He wants to help and heal.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Matthew 11 gives us the the only autobiographical statement Jesus ever made.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Come to Him now if you never have before...bring Him your burden. If you know Him, draw near to Him now...draw near to Him daily...immerse yourself in His word. Jesus came to heal the broken hearted and set the captives free.
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.—Isaiah 57:15
1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.—Isaiah 61:1-3
