God is My Strength

In chapter 49 of Isaiah, we see a Messianic prophecy as Jesus Christ is being described.  The focus today will be verses 4 and 5.  We see in these verses that Jesus questioned why He was doing everything He did for us... but it DID NOT stop Him from DOING what God called Him to do by finding strength in God.  Take a look...

Isaiah 49:4-5 state, "Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain; yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.  And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength."

I think it's worth it to look at the translation in the NLT... "I replied, 'But my work all seems so useless!  I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose at all.  Yet I leave it all in the Lord's hand;  I will trust God for my reward.'  And now the Lord speaks- he who formed me in my mother's womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring his people of Israel back to him.  The Lord has honored me, and my God has given me strength."

The word "laboured" in the King James Version means "to be exhausted, to tire, to toil, to be weary."  Jesus was exhausted in His work that He did for us on this earth.  He worked so hard only to be rejected.  No wonder He wondered if it was all in vain.  Yes... He questioned why, but notice the 2 things Jesus did to be able to do the work of God each and every day despite the lack of reward right then.  First, He focused on the truth... "yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God."  Jesus clung to the truth that God would bring justice for His work.  Second, He found strength in God... "my God shall be my strength."

Sometimes it seems that what God has called us to do is useless.  We don't see any fruit or reward from our labor.  We work so hard and don't see the purpose.  At these times, let us remember our Savior.  Remember how little fruit He saw His entire time here on planet earth.  Praise God that He did not stop the work God called Him to do even though He was not given His reward while here.  Let us cling to the truth as Christ did and remember that God will bring justice for each of us and give us our reward one day.  Then remember as Christ did that "my God shall be my strength." May we continue to do what God has commissioned each of us to do every day of our life until we see our precious Savior's face!