A Bruised Reed & A Smoldering Wick

I found this writing on the Net, don't know who the author is (God bless him or her richly) and I thought it would be good to post it here as a way of sharing this lovely message of hope.

A Bruised Reed & A Smoldering Wick
Isaiah 42:1-4

A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
Matthew 12:20

Max Lucado writes in his best-selling book He Still Moves Stones—

Is there anything more frail than a bruised reed? Look at the bruised reed at the water’s edge. A once slender and tall stalk of sturdy river grass, it is now bowed and bent.

Are you a bruised reed? Was it so long ago that you stood so tall, so proud? You were upright and sturdy, nourished by the waters and rooted in the riverbed of confidence. Then something happened. You were bruised …by harsh words; by a friend’s anger; by a spouse’s betrayal; by your own failure; by religion’s rigidity. And you were wounded, bent ever so slightly. Your hollow reed, once erect, now stooped, and hidden in the bulrush.

And the smoldering wick on the candle. Is there anything closer to death than a smoldering wick? Once aflame, now flickering and failing. Still warm from yesterday’s passion, but no fire. Not yet cold but far from hot. Was it that long ago you blazed with faith? Remember how you illuminated the path? Then came the wind … the cold wind, the harsh wind. They said your ideas were foolish. They told you your dreams were too lofty. They scolded you for challenging the time-tested. The constant wind wore down upon you. Oh, you stood strong for a moment (or maybe a lifetime), but the endless blast whipped your flickering flame, leaving you one pinch away from darkness.

The bruised reed and the smoldering wick. Society knows what to do with you. The world has a place for the beaten. The world will break you off; the world will snuff you out. But the artists of Scripture proclaim that God won’t. Word pictures painted on page after page display the tender touch of a Creator who has a special place for the bruised and weary of the world. A God who is the friend of the wounded heart. A God who is the keeper of your dreams. That’s the theme of the New Testament. By the way, your portrait is in the gallery too. Go ahead. Look at it. It’s there, to the side. Just like the others, there are two easels (before and after). But unlike the others, these canvases are white. Your name is at the bottom. Beside the easel is a table with paint and a brush …

In the 12th Chapter of his Gospel, Matthew introduces this prophecy from Isaiah with these words:

Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followed him, and he healed all their sick, warning them not to tell who he was. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah. (Matthew 12:15-17)

Matthew beautifully proclaims that this promise is wonderfully fulfilled in Jesus. God says,

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets.” (Isaiah 42:1-2; Matthew 12:17-19)

Jesus wasn’t like some of these people we see today, going all-out, being loud and obnoxious, and weird in the name of the Lord. He really didn’t draw attention to Himself. In fact, He blended into His world so well that in the Garden of Gethsemane, if Judas hadn’t betrayed Him with a kiss, His enemies would never have recognized Him. Here was a Man who had healed, and fed, and taught thousands, yet He remained unidentifiable because He moved in such humility and grace.

“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out…” (Isaiah 42:3: Matthew 12:20)

Reeds grow in marshes. They were then, and still are, good for only one thing: musical instruments. If a reed becomes bruised or bent or cracked, it’s good for nothing. Flax, likewise, was good for only one thing: to be used as wicks in lamps. Through the analogy of reeds and flax, Isaiah described the ministry of Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t smash the reed that bends under the heat of the sun. Nor does He douse the smoking wick that doesn’t ignite easily. If fact, if we look at the parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15), Jesus seems to be most interested in the person who is hurting or struggling. Over and over again, Satan will tells us that if our reed is bruised or our wick is nothing more than smoke, that Jesus is really tired of us and is ready to give up on us. But, that’s a lie. Jesus doesn’t break the bruised reed…He doesn’t snuff out the smoldering wick. Let’s take a look at a few paintings from the Bible.

A woman jumps from one side of a canyon to another. Her clothes are ragged. Her body is frail, and her skin is pale. She looks anemic. Her eyes are desperate as she reaches for the canyon wall with both hands. On the ledge is a man. All you see are his legs, sandals, and the hem of a robe. Her words? “If only …” In the next scene she’s standing. The ground beneath her bare feet is solid. Her face flushes with life. Her cautious eyes look up at the people surrounding her. Standing beside her is the one she sought to touch. His words? “Take heart …”

A scantily clothed female cowers before an angry mob of men who threaten to stone her. In the next scene, the stones lie harmlessly on the ground, littering the courtyard occupied by a surprised woman and a smiling man who stands over something he had written in the dirt.

A paralytic on a pallet urges his friends not to give up as they stare at a house overflowing with people. In the next scene, the pallet is on the boy’s shoulders as he skips out the door.

Then there’s a blind man, who screams to a rabbi. In the next scene, he’s bowing before the one to whom he screamed.

Maybe you feel like some of these people. Maybe you feel like nothing more that a squeaky reed or a smoldering wick. Maybe you’re looking at yourself as a hopeless case. My friend, I have some good news for you. Jesus doesn’t see you like that. He’s not going to break you. He’s not going to throw water on you. He’s not going to give up on you. Why? Because He sees you as you’re going to be. He’ll strengthen you. He’ll rebuild you. He’ll use you for His glory. Sure, you’ll probably fall down a few times. But, He won’t. So, when you do fall down, don’t be discouraged. Get up, dust yourself off, and say, “OK, Lord, let’s try that again…”

The Bible says,

He who began a good work in you
will be faithful to complete it.
Philippians 1:6

By the way, what have you decided to paint on your canvases?