January 26, 2016

“He won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt and he won’t disregard the small and insignificant, but he’ll steadily and firmly set things right.” Isaiah 42:3 The Message

There is nothing in your life that surprises God. Your broken parts … hidden bruises …  hidden wounds … unhealed messes … weathered scars … and unforgiven memories do not turn Him away. He doesn’t act alarmed. He doesn’t condemn you. He doesn’t assess blame. He knows where you feel disfigured, discarded, and dismissed. He isn’t repelled by your suspicions .. your doubt .. your anger .. your fear .. or your shame. How far will Jesus go for you? He’ll carry your pains. He’ll carry all the things wrong with you. He became bruised … discarded .. blamed .. accused .. beaten .. accused .. and nailed to a cross for you. Why …? Because He calls the bruised .. the hurt .. the insignificant .. the abused .. the discarded .. the forgotten .. the unforgivable .. the lost .. and the sinner  his friends. And they know it … and they call him Lord … Lord of the wounded … Lord of the lonely … Lord of the lost … Lord of the broken … Lord of the friendless … Lord of the discarded … Lord of the overwhelmed … Lord of the pain-filled … Lord of the rejected … Lord of the addicted … Lord of the isolated … Lord of the wanderers … Lord of Lords.  At first He becomes known  as Jesus … The Bruised One. As you walk further in your life, He becomes more and more and more.  It only takes a moment … to let Him carry what you were never meant to carry without Him.

“But the fact is, it was our pains he carried – our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped, and tore and crushed him – our sins. He took the punishment and that made us whole, through his bruises we get healed.” Isaiah 53:4-5 The Message

Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent to an army of friends found whole through Jesus (kchesterp1@gmail.com)