March 9, 2022 -- Isaiah 53:2b-3 -- Why I was made this way
/People deeply loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!
...he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:2b-3 ESV
Many long-time Christians will recognize this Old Testament passage as one of the prophecies that foretold the coming of Jesus. It is a reference to Jesus as "the Suffering Servant" While reading Jerry Bridges, “Trusting God” He offered a wonderful insight. I am using and building on his ideas.
Hebrews 4 reminds the believer that Jesus was tempted in every way you are, but He remained without sin. He never once caved into sin. That would include the sin of complaining about His lack of majesty and His physical appearance. He never shook His fist at the Father and wondered, why am I not taller, not handsome? Why mention this in light of today’s reading? Glad you asked.
How many among you complain about how you’re made? You are too short. You are bald (ouch, that is cutting a bit close to home). You’re nose is too long, your ears stick out…you get the idea. Fill in the blank, the physical struggle which frustrates you and causes you to question God’s wisdom. Now, look again at the description of Jesus. He was not handsome. Contrary to many paintings and pictures and artistic renderings of Him, He was not physically striking.
No doubt Jesus would have agreed with the Psalmist: “I praise You, because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Bridges draws together several strands of Scripture as he summarizes:
This is the believer’s foundation for self-acceptance.
I am who I am and you are who you are because God
sovereignly and directly created us to be who we are.
Jerry Bridges, page 161
Bridges then quotes George MacDonald:
I would rather be what God chose to make me
than the most glorious creature that I could think of;
for to have been thought about,
born in God’s thought, and then made by God,
is the dearest, grandest, and most precious thing
in all thinking.
Bridges, quoting MacDonald, page 161.
Are you physically weak? God made you for His holy purposes. Are you handicapped in some way? This does not surprise God, He has created you for His pleasure so that He would be Your strength and song. This is very personal to me as I have been wrestling with the long-term effects of concussions and beyond this, have already for years and years struggled with depression. (It means, today, as is very often the case, I am writing this and preaching it to myself!). Are you handsome but insecure? The LORD knows what He is doing in your life. No matter your physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual challenges, you have been made by the Father in heaven. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection are more than enough to lead you, washed by His blood, to the Father in heaven. The Spirit of God is given in great measure allowing you to reflect on the fact that Jesus was not handsome or physically ‘all-that’ but in learned obedience through what He suffered (Hebrews 5:8) and in His life He obeyed His Who knit Jesus together in Mary’s womb.
God knew you before you were ever made. God put you together in your mother’s womb. You are no accident or freak of nature. You are made in the image of God, for the purpose of God and your life is designed for God’s glory and it is perfectly suited to bring Him praise. Now, serve Jesus with all you have and all you are. Offer to God even your vulnerabilities and trust that Jesus’ Name will be lifted high through that as well.
Glorious God, Who has knit His people together, one by one, each in his mother's womb, You are amazing beyond description. You are creative in Your every purpose for each person. Forgive us for the times we are griping and complaining about our lot in life. Now, especially as we are on the journey to celebrating Jesus' suffering, death, and His glorious resurrection on that First Resurrection Sunday, help us to trust Your holy reasons for making us as we are. May we bless You, Triune God, with the full knowledge that all You have done is for perfecting Your people in Christ. What we are and how we have been made is Your intentional design to cause us to lean fully on the Spirit's strength. All this taken together will bring You, Father of All Wisdom and Fount of Love, the praise and honour, glory and blessing that is so richly Your deserving. Amen.
https://youtu.be/YoBgjVsqC8s
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