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OF OUR COMPASSIONATE SAVIOR IT IS WRITTEN, "A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench" (Isa. 42:3). People conscious of their frailty and who have been crushed because of it are likened to "bruised reeds" of whom the loving Messiah shall attend. As it is written, "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." Indeed, He binds up the broken of heart and gives liberty to those in bondage (Isa. 61:1). "A smoking flax shall he not quench" likewise means that our Lord will not snuff out an unsteady flame ready to expire, but will tend to it with special oil to cause it to burn more brightly.
The Spirit of the LORD is always saying, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). God doesn't need our religious acts of service, our worship, our prayers, or our approval; on the contrary, we desperately need Him... Prayer is a mirror of the heart, and we either come to God in our emptiness, our brokenness, and in real humility, or we are just playing religious games. Those who truly call upon the LORD understand their radical need for deliverance, and those who stand before Him will exclaim, "Woe is me, for I am ruined..." (Isa. 6:5). "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:14).
We are all wounded and bruised people, and therefore we should extend kindness and compassion to one another, despite our failures and defects of character. We should take the risk and reach out. The Savior seeks the "trampled and bruised," the poor in spirit, and those crushed by the blows of this fallen world and offers them healing. "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10), and therefore He is found in the midst of the leper colonies of the hurting, the forgotten, and the rejected. As a "man of sorrows" he understands the language of our pain (Isa. 53:3).
There is an old story of two men sitting and enjoying a drink together. One of them then says to the other, "You know, you're my best friend. I really love you, brother!" The other responds, "Oh yeah? If you love me, tell me where I hurt..." If someone loves us, they will know "where we hurt," and therefore we find comfort that our Savior, who "sticks closer than a brother," understands the bruises and heartaches of our lives. "The LORD heals the broken in heart and binds up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3).
Yeshua is the healer of the broken heart and the Savior of those who are crushed in spirit. Blessed be His Name forever...
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![Psalm 34:18[19h] (BHS)](../../Meditations/Bruised_Reed/ps34-18.jpg){kind=small}
