Bruised but Never Broken - One Year Devotions for Women

“He will not crush those who are weak or quench the smallest hope. He will bring full justice to all who have been wronged.” - Isaiah 42:3

You would think that the bruises that the Savior endured on earth would have crushed the spirit right out of him. But God helped him. “Look at my servant, whom I strengthen,” he said (Isaiah 42:1). The Lord will not allow the weak to be crushed or the smallest hope to be quenched.

There is no question about it. On the cross, our Savior was bruised and battered beyond measure, and his light was almost extinguished by the deluge of our sin, but he was never broken beyond mending. What a tender word this is!

One version translates this verse, “A bruised reed he will not break” (42:3, NIV). The reed or dalamus plant has a hollow stem and grows by the sides of lakes and rivers. It was used for making music or fashioned into pens for writing. It is weak, fragile, and brittle. It is easily snapped by the foot of a wild beast, by the wind, or even by a bird that lights upon it. Once it is broken it is of no use whatsoever. Other stems can be mended, but not the reed. Jesus was bruised but never broken. God looked at his precious, bruised One and said, “I must mend this reed. It was meant for music!”

Are you bruised? Do you feel like your hope has been quenched? Listen to the promise of God: “Never crushed or quenched.” Dare to believe it!

For Further Study: Isaiah 42:1-17

Excerpted from The One Year Devotions for Women, Copyright ©2000 by Jill Briscoe. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

For more from Jill Briscoe, please visit TellingtheTruth.org.

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