A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench … — Isaiah 42:3
No matter how tough we are on the outside, there are places inside that are fragile. Many people spend most of their lives avoiding these places. After all, who wants to feel weak?
This is, by the way, a big reason why anger hangs on us and we hang on to it. Anger covers over those scary places where we are weak. If we make enough noise with our anger, then no one will hear our fear, our shame, our loneliness.
But Jesus reassures us that He can be trusted with those fragile places inside.
It seems strange to me that people pray that God would break them. God knows that we are already broken. The need is not for God to break us, but rather for us to trust God with our brokenness.
And so here the voice of Jesus speaks softly to fear and doubt. It’s okay. With Jesus we will be okay.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.