Remember His Suffering

April 12, 2021

I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.

~Isaiah 50:6~

Isaiah's prophecies were quite powerful. We can recall the time Isaiah witnessed God and how he volunteered to be used by Him. "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

Notice it says Us, signifying that Jesus was there when Isaiah had this experience. Isaiah did not know what he was about to prophesy but he spoke for God and God made it very clear what was going to happen to Him at Calvary. Of course people then did not realize what this was to mean but we can look back on it now and see the description of Christ' suffering. He knew from the very beginning what He was to go through and still He proceeded with His promise to come. Meditate on this verse today and take in the details of His suffering. He submitted Himself to each moment of it. Turning His back He was struck several times as it tore His skin off. Turning His cheek His beard was plucked out of His face. Spit upon by several other men. There is no greater shame then this and our Lord bore it all. Could we do such a thing? Of course not. Do we tend to still play "victim" on days when things just may not have gone the way we hoped? Oh yes. Can we take a step back and think on these things that Jesus endured and understand just how blessed we really have it? He did this to give us abundance and freedom. "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

(John 8:36)

The humility of God is beyond words. The use of His prophets to warn of such a time so that we may look back and understand everything, was well known and planned out all for our gift to know God. Therefore let us humble ourselves to Him.

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself."

(Philippians 2:3)

This is what Jesus did for us, let us do the same for Him. Considering ourselves last.

There is an exceeding reward behind serving others, not just within our own souls but in heaven. The Lord was exalted after His death. He received His glorified body and ascended to be with the Father again. His presence was always there. He was not a "new creation." He was part of creating us.

"Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

There are those words again, "Us and Our," signifies Christ' presence in the beginning of the foundations of the world. Could you imagine creating Your own people who would later whip you, tear out your hair and spit on you? What an amazing sense of grace and love. Only God could endure such a task. Only God could love so much that He would suffer for all, even those who took part in the act. For every complaint we utter, we may as well of picked up a whip. For any pity we may feel for ourselves we may just be one who plucks out His beard. For every time we doubt in His power today we may as well be one of them who spat upon His face. Seems harsh, but it is true. We must be remembering this suffering each day and understanding we do not have it so bad after all, in fact we have it so good because we have Him! He not only endured, died and rose again to be beside God; He is with us every single moment of the day waiting for us to grab ahold of Him and take His peace. No more complaints, no more grumblings, no more "woe is me" attitudes; remember what Christ suffered.

"Be hospitable to one another without grumbling." (I Peter 4:9)

Remember His Body and increase it in love and thanksgiving. "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name."

(Psalms 100:4)

There is no other way to enter into His gates unless we truely understand the amount He does for us and are thankful in our hearts, believing who He is and what He did on the cross. Let us praise our King for He deserves it every second of the day! Let us spread the word of what He allowed on His Body for those who do not know yet. Let us remember and hold on to it tightly.

Prayer:

Precious Father, Lord of Lords, I give thanks for Your incredible sacrifice; knowing You would be shamed so terribly You endured it anyway. Your love is neverending and I certainly do not deserve it but I definitely choose to receive it with every ounce of my being. Lord, I love You deeply and I want to focus on the pain You bore for my body to receive strength, the blood You shed for me to receive righteousness and the tears You cried out to give me peace. Please lead me in what I can do each day to fulfill Your will for my life. I want to serve my purpose to the fullest without wavering, complaining or pitying myself. I do it all for Your glory Father and I am forever grateful to be alive today, for each day is a gift and I hold on to it tight as I remember Your suffering to give me this life. I declare blessings over this day in the Name of my Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.