“But the Lord GOD helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.” (Isaiah 50:7)
Isaiah prophesies the sufferings of Jesus on the cross. The portrait he gives us here aptly describes the Suffering Servant, the Messiah. As a true disciple of the Lord He obeys the Father no matter what the cost to Him, no matter what suffering and shame He has to endure. He is totally committed to the task which the Lord has set for Him. He relies solely on the Lord for comfort, vindication, and victory. The Suffering Servant is the perfect disciple, one worthy of emulation.
The world we live in is filled with tribulations, troubles and woes. We dwell in the midst of them, surrounded by Satan’s disciples, people who are eager to oppress, denigrate, and persecute we who are disciples of the Lord. We face many trials and many times our way is filled with shame and despair. The good disciple, like the suffering servant, relies on the Holy Spirit to set him or her self up like flint, like steel to endure what one must and not desert the way of the Lord. If we were to set ourselves up based on our own strength, we would fall apart as many people in the world do. But with the help of the Spirit those obstacles we see are light and bearable because we have the Lord’s strength. Often we think we have no right to receive such grace as we certainly have not earned it. But that is just the point: we can’t earn it. Therefore let us rely upon that Spirit that the Lord has given us.