December 11, 2015

“He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised. and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” Isaiah 53:4 NAS” Isaiah 53:3-4 NAS

You may have followed Him if you had been healed or knew someone that had been healed by Him. You have probably discovered by now that Jesus isn’ in a hurry to answer your life and death prayer. Look at the words that describe His life: “despised .. forsaken .. man of sorrows .. acquainted with grief .. bore our griefs .. carried our sorrows .. stricken of God .. smitten of God .. and afflicted”. He was “familiar” with suffering. It was the first thing that confronted Him in the morning and stayed throughout the day, His whole life was confronted by some form of suffering. He suffered for the men and women He saw along the road He walked. He was confronted by suffering every time someone asked Him to heal them. He stated very early that His life purpose was to serve and give His life a ransom for many.(Mk. 10:45) His disciples didn’t grasped how wide the reach of His life would extend. He conquered in love but He always had room for he the anxious .. rejected .. the despairing .. and those who just couldn’t make life work. And when it is all said and done, Jesus invites and welcomes you to unload all the cares of your life onto Him. And it begins as easily as: “Jesus, here I am and this is what I am carrying. Would you carry it for me?” It only takes a moment …

“casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 NAS

Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent to Christ followers. (kchesterp1@gmail.com)