Trust in Jesus to guide you

Thu, Apr 17th 2014, 12:38 PM

The sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.
Because the sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the sovereign Lord who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me? - Isaiah 50:4-9a
When the decisions you make and the life you live are according to God's word, then you can say, "I don't care what the world thinks.
"I don't care what the popular trend dictates. I don't care because, I believe in God and what he says is more important to me."
In the above text, the Prophet Isaiah did not care about the things, which his contemporaries did to him because he was on the side of God. When it came right down to the setbacks in this life, the only thing, which counted was that which was of God.
The prophet speaks of the Lord's suffering servant, Jesus the Christ. As we come to Good Friday, we are reminded of the cruelty he encountered, his arrest, his trial, his condemnation before Pilate and the Jewish authorities, his crucifixion and finally his death.
Yes, Good Friday tells us about a savior who hung from a rugged tree, broken, bruised and in pain and agony. This he endured for the same people who had disgraced and shamed him.
Notwithstanding the torture, the miscarriage of justice, he could say like the prophet Isaiah,
"I don't care." He could say that because he loves you and me so much.
No, he did not have to care because he trusted God to deliver him. Even as he cried in the final hour on the cross, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" He trusted and knew that God would deliver him.
With Jesus on your side, you do not have to worry about the things that are said about you. You don't have to be concerned about popular trends. When you take the right position which is from God, it does not matter what the world says. When you stand on the side of God, you are standing on the side of truth.
The prophet Isaiah had a very difficult life. He was tortured, thrown in jail and made an outcast. Nonetheless, he did not care that he was an outcast. He did not care who made fun of him or the evil things which they did to him. He trusted God for his deliverance.
The forces of evil made every attempt to turn Isaiah away from his mission of proclaiming God's word. As our Lord hung on the cross of shame, his detractors ridiculed and tormented him, demanding that he come down from the cross. Praises to our God, all the insults of the world was not able to bring him down from the cross.
Our Lord completed his mission here on earth. The story does not end on Good Friday. His resurrection from the grave on Easter morning is our guarantee of salvation. Yes, we have the victory because our Lord did not care about the shame, the ridicule, and the suffering.
Hold on to God and his Word. Trust in Jesus to guide you and even though others may say evil things and ridicule you because of your stand for Christ, don't give up. The only real peace you will get, will come from God. In all circumstances, believe that Jesus will take care of you. Believe that even in the worst of times, your trust in Jesus means much more than the things and bad mistakes of this world. Let nothing stop you from serving God. Amen.
o Reverend Samuel M. Boodle, pastor at The Lutheran Church of Nassau, can be reached at P.O. Box N 4794, Nassau, Bahamas or telephone: 426-9084 E-mail: lutheranchurch@coralwave.com, Website: www.Nassaulutheranchurch.org.

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