Isaiah 42:1-4 (NIV): “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.”
We, as God’s people, must never become discouraged with the slowness, or with the seeming ineffectiveness of the work He has laid out for us. God Himself will never give up, slow down, or step aside until His work is fully accomplished. That work, the remaking of humanity into the image of Jesus (the very image of Himself that was lost when Adam sinned) is the work of the Church, God’s chosen people. It is difficult work, I agree – impossible, in fact, without God’s help and His power. But it is being effectively done in many parts of the world where people are passionate in both their prayers for God’s kingdom to be a reality on the earth, and in their work to make it happen. Just as Jesus prayed, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” so God’s people must pray for the reality of His kingdom to invade the world every day. And just as Jesus worked every day in the Power of God, His Father, to make that prayer a reality, to the point of laying down His own life for the people God is working to save, so God’s people, His Church, the body of Christ, must work EVERY DAY, wherever they are, and lay down their own lives to accomplish all that He is doing.
I know that it sometimes seems as if nothing much is happening, and it is easy to grow discouraged and feel like giving up. But God will never give up as long as there is hope, and there is still hope! When Jesus returns, all hope for the lost will be over, so He is holding that day back until more are saved, transformed, and reshaped into Jesus’ image. He will not give up, He will not falter, He will not be discouraged until the work is done. And His people must not either!
Father, You are right – we have grown discouraged, we have faltered, we have retreated into our church buildings and have prayed for Your speedy return, while there are still countless billions who will perish instantly and forever if You do come back right now! Forgive us for having hearts that are so unlike Yours; hearts that focus on ourselves and what WE think, what WE are going through. Remake us and reshape us into Your image, so that we can reach and change this world in Your power. I love You. Amen.