By: Bethany Plett
“Behold! My servant whom I uphold, My elect one in whom My soul delights! I have put My spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands shall wait for His law.” Isaiah 42:1-4
We have a dog. A big one. A St. Bernard that weighs close to 200 lbs. We picked him out of a litter of pups when he was tiny so he grew up with our children and knows them very well.
We call him our gentle giant. Beneath his size, he is a big baby. He still loves to roll his big self over for tummy rubs. When children come over they highly respect him because of his size and strength, but he would hardly know how to be rough and destructive.
He loves when I bring him bones after a meal. In a few hard crunches, they will be ground to small pieces. There is massive strength behind his size, but he is very gentle and rarely chooses to use it.
Gentleness is not the absence of strength, but the application of strength to a tender situation.
There is no one stronger than Jesus. He was fearless before those who opposed Him. He confronted those who needed to be called out and claimed the victory over sin and death. He stands up against the devil in our spiritual battles, which takes an incredible amount of strength! He expelled demons from those who were possessed, and even called a dead man out of his grave.
Yet, Jesus’ enormous strength does not lead to insensitivity. He shows such tenderness to those who are fragile and delicate. The arm with which God effects His mighty rule is the same arm that ‘gathers the lambs to himself, and gently leads those that are with young.’ Isaiah 40:10-11
Do you ever feel like you are in a vulnerable situation? Like your strength is low and you are beginning to feel hopeless that anything will change? You have fought valiantly for your children, your home, your marriage, but it all seems to go unnoticed and you are losing your strength to keep fighting.
Did you know that Jesus is even more committed to our ultimate victory than we are? He shows us His perfect gentleness in His awesome strength. No spiritual force arrayed against us has any chance at surviving. He is someone we can trust with our weaknesses and fragility. He sees when we feel broken, and handles our tender spirits with the utmost care.
When life gets confusing and painful, we can hand the whole mess over to Him because He is more than trustworthy. He has the power and capacity to help us, and the tenderness and care to want to. There is none more fearsome, yet none more gentle than Jesus. He understands every situation and every problem much better than we do! He loves us fiercely and jealously! He will not break a bruised reed nor quench the small flame of hope that is still smoldering in our hearts.
Even if it’s a seemingly small situation you find yourself in. God loves when His children ask Him for His strength. “He is not slack concerning His promise, but is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish.” 2 Peter 3:9
“But I will sing of Your power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; for You have been my defense, and refuge in the day of my trouble. To You, oh my strength, I will sing praises; for God is my defense. My God of mercy.” Psalm 59:16-17
When we tap our souls into that heavenly source of strength, nothing can stop us from being blessed!