Of Suffering & Salvation

Beloved People of God,

Of all the Servant Songs found in Isaiah, the fourth is the best known. In it we begin with the triumphant voice of God pointing our eyes towards His Servant, and we end rejoicing in His glory. But this isn’t why most of us know this song found in Isaiah 52.13-53.12. We know this prophetic hymn because of what it sings to us in the middle.

In the heart of Isaiah’s song, we find God’s Servant, not in victory or revered, but as a man of suffering familiar with pain. What began in loud voice and rejoicing and ends in celebration encloses the reality of agony and affliction.

In the heart of Isaiah’s song, we find God’s Servant who was pierced for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquity. In these short verses we find a Savior who personally knows our most profound pain and deepest despair.

How do we understand this? How do we take this truth to heart?

K.J. Ramsey once wrote, “Suffering is not a detour or a delay but the place where Love finds us. Suffering is a place where what feels like absence is actually a safe haven where the truest love is formed.”

This week, as we press on through Lent, hear the heart of Jesus singing over you. Yes, He is victorious! Yes, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But also, yes, He is God’s Suffering Servant who takes our pain and bears our suffering. If you are walking through the middle of a difficult time, be embraced in the safe haven of Christ’s love.

For His Name’s Sake,

Brett