The Death Of Discouragement

TO READ: Isaiah 42:1-17

I, the LORD, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will guard and support you, for I have given you to my people as the personal confirmation of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide all nations to me.

Isaiah 42:6

The Lord promises to direct his servant, to be his protector and keeper, sharing his presence in all things. “I will guard and support you,” God promises.

There must have been many wearisome days when Jesus of Nazareth, the servant of the Lord, thought of those words. Did he recite: “He will not stop until truth and righteousness prevail throughout the earth” (Isaiah 42:4), as he wrestled with ornery disciples, rebuked pious Pharisees, or dealt with the rank unbelief of the people? When the process was slow and the days were long, Jesus Christ experienced the immediate assistance of God. And so may we!

We, too, are his servants. If we have been born from above, we are dressed in his Spirit. We, too, must bring a right answer to a wrong world, and we, too, can know he will guard and support us, and give us his immediate assistance in the face of frustration and persecution.

If Christ is not discouraged, knowing his kingdom has come in the hearts of people and will one day come universally, then we need not be discouraged either. God gave Jesus his “personal confirmation of [his] covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide all nations to me” (Isaiah 42:6). The word covenant means “promise.” God promised us light in place of darkness. He promised that prisoners would be set free (Isaiah 42:7). The death of discouragement and true spiritual freedom begin here and now for the Lord’s servants!