Photo Credit: Myfriso, Pixabay
“Here is My servant!
I have made Him strong.
He is My chosen one; I am pleased with Him.
I have given Him My Spirit,
and He will bring justice to the nations.
2 He won’t shout or yell or call out in the streets.
3 He won’t break off a bent [bruised] reed or put out a dying flame,
but He will make sure that justice is done.
4 He won’t quit or give up until He brings justice
everywhere on earth,
and people in foreign nations long for His teaching.” – Isaiah 42:1-4, CE
A Bruised Reed He Will Not Break – Sam Allberry – for Desiring God
We wake, this morning, to the news we don’t have a clear outcome for our Presidential election.
I was walking recently with a friend of mine in a Civil War battlefield park. The irony wasn’t lost on us as we talked about our country’s troubled situation. COVID-19. Harshly divided in our politics. Racial unrest. Rioting and looting in the streets of our cities.
As we finished our walk, we prayed. Looking out over a field where fellow countrymen fought and died, we cried out for our country.
With her permission, I captured some of her prayer below. It moved my heart so…absolutely positive it moved the heart of God as well.
“Lord, we are a bent country. Smoldering…we stand in the power and protection of Your righteous right hand…We’ve seen you move the heart of kings…You can change hearts today as You have through the centuries. You love Your children…please Father, make our country’s bent straight.”
We hear so often how our news media is broken, the family is broken, our country is broken. No, not broken. I refuse that…not just me, but God’ Word gives testament.
We are bent and He will not allow for us to be broken. Our wick may be flickering, but He will not let it go out. He will bring justice.
Now, I’m no prophet. Only God knows what will happen in decades ahead with our country or yours…but this is sure: God is in the mix. He is strong and He is good. He will carry His children through it all. Hallelujah!
I came across this songwriter Abigail Miller whose song The Bruised Reed fits this reality so well.
Worship with me (she begins singing 1 minute in):
Crushed, shaken by wind,
Darkened within
Staggered by sin,
I was afraid.
Bruised, covered with shame
Until He came,
Calling my name,
Lifting me–tenderly,
Changing my wounds for the good,
As only He could.
For the bruised reed He shall not break
And the smoking flax, He will not quench
For He loves and tenderly cares for His own.
He will not leave me alone.
A flame–once burning bright,
Shining through night,
Flickering light–
Now it is gone.
Smoke rises like a sigh
‘Til He draws nigh.
Light’ning the eye.
He will heal and reveal
All He has worked for the good
As only He could.
(He will not leave you alone.)
If you are weary and heavy within,
Trampled by pain,
Bruised by your sin,
He will not leave you or cast you away.
He turns the midnight to glorious day.
He’ll exchange ashes for beauty again,
He’ll replace sorrow with joy in His name!
He will not leave you alone.*
Take heart. With eyes fixed on God. We stand and we help others stand, in the truth that God “will not leave (us) alone”. He is here.
*Lyrics to The Bruised Reed by Abigail Miller
A Bruised Reed He Will Not Break – Sam Allberry – for Desiring God
A Bruised Reed and Smoldering Wick – Rhonda Maydwell
Thanks, Friend (you know who you are), for the comfort God gave me as He breathed into your prayer His own words.