Because the
Sovereign Lord helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore, I have set my face like a stone,
determined to do his will.
And I know that I will not be put to shame.
He who gives me justice is near.
Who will dare to bring charges against me now?
Where are my accusers?
Let them appear!
See, the Sovereign Lord is on my side!
Who will declare me guilty?
All my enemies will be destroyed
like old clothes that have been eaten by moths! Isaiah 50:7-9
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore, I have set my face like a stone,
determined to do his will.
And I know that I will not be put to shame.
He who gives me justice is near.
Who will dare to bring charges against me now?
Where are my accusers?
Let them appear!
See, the Sovereign Lord is on my side!
Who will declare me guilty?
All my enemies will be destroyed
like old clothes that have been eaten by moths! Isaiah 50:7-9
You ever go through a daunting task or situation where at
one point you could either fail to overcome or seem too tough? I had a task like that where it just never
seemed to be where I wanted it to be, and the mounting pressure built as the
deadline approached. For a bit, it seemed
it would never get done, but I remembered something I had heard at a conference
talking about how sometimes you have to use feeling that is hard to define but
necessary to just get it done. Some
describe it as toughness, but the word they used was grittiness. So rather than resign myself to just dealing
with my potential failure, I dug my heels in and fought with grittiness never
giving in to the voice that it could not be done on time. Low and behold, I had completed my task when
I needed it to be done and ahead of schedule.
Being a servant of God sometimes will require us to fight
through some tough situations. A
question was asked in my bible study about when to let go of something. Is God testing us to be vigilant and ‘gritty’
or does He want us to go another way?
Only through prayer can that be answered, but when it comes to being
faithful servants as Ephesians 6:11 would suggest (Put on the full armor of
God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes), we must
always stand for Him. This is what
Isaiah conveys in today’s verse. Because
we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, we have God on our side. Thus, we should be comfortable embracing this
choice. When times might seem tough and
the pressure seems to mount, we must show our own ‘grit’ to stand for God and
His will for our lives.
No one said serving God is easy. Jesus said, “But small
is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
(Matthew 7:14 - NIV) When you are weary
from the struggles in your life and following God feels more like a burden than
a blessing, remember to find strength in Him, who can carry you through
anything. Do not give in. Dig your heels in, and find that something in
you that is God inspired and keep fighting.
What challenge are you facing today that needs God’s inspired
strength? What situation can you handle
better knowing God has your back? My
prayer is that when challenged with worldly suffering and conflict, we respond
with God inspired true grit. Amen.
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