You know how sometimes you read or hear something and a certain phrase just sticks with you? And then it keeps popping up in your brain every so often, challenging you, maybe reminding you of something significant? That’s happening to me this month.
I know I have shared before the power of my morning devotion, and the accountability I have in staying committed to it, thanks to a good friend. This month our devotion has taken us to scripture in Isaiah, a book that quite honestly, I have not spent much time in. To be completely transparent, I haven’t spent much time on a daily basis in scripture so I am so grateful for this new habit
Recently in Isaiah 53: 11-12 (MSG) I have found a piece of scripture that has stuck with me.
Out of that terrible travail of soul,
he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
will make many “righteous ones,”
as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—
the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,
because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
he took up the cause of all the black sheep.
I read this verse and what jumps off the page to me is that He (being Jesus) didn’t flinch. He didn’t hesitate, didn’t second guess, he kept walking straight on to the cross for me. I don’t know about you, but I flinch, often… when I see a bug, when my kids try to tickle me, when I am in traffic and someone stops suddenly, when a pop of thunder crashes, or when I turn on the car to discover how loud I left the music. It’s a regular occurrence for me, flinching, and I am sure it was for Jesus too. But He was so confident in His decision to sacrifice Himself for me that he didn’t flinch, He saw death coming, and He walked boldly down that path, FOR ME.
I can’t explain the kind of comfort this gives me. I can’t tell you the warmth that one statement brings me. It reminds me of my worth, my importance to Him.
“Therefore, I’ll reward him extravagantly – the best of everything, the highest honors”
He didn’t flinch for me.
He didn’t flinch for you.
He didn’t flinch.
