DAILY DEVOTIONAL – March 1, 2021
“Opened Not”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, as You stood before those who falsely accused You and mocked You, You remained silent as a sheep before the slaughter. You endured the treatment our sin deserved. Thank You Jesus. Help us to shine Your light by handling our own affairs with such faithfulness and grace. Amen.
Scripture: Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
Devotional – “Opened Not”
One of the great and amazingly specific prophecies of the suffering of Jesus Christ, God’s promised Messiah, is found in Isaiah 53. This chapter is referenced many times throughout the season of Lent as we once again focus acutely on the suffering our Lord endured both because of our sin and for our sins.
Early last week I spent some time reading and studying Isaiah 53 devotionally. Later on in the day I went out to get something for lunch. It was abnormally busy on the roads, and things were moving very slowly, and I manage to constantly find myself in that loop of frustration when it seems every green light you approach from a distance turns yellow right at the awkward time when you’re too far away to safely zoom through the intersection before the light turns red, and too close to come to anything other than a hard stop. Sitting at yet another red light, I found myself complaining about traffic in Omaha. After a few moments of griping, I realized how ridiculous I was. I thought to myself, “You spent decades driving in the traffic of Los Angeles and Southern California! Why are you complaining about traffic in Omaha!? This should be a dream come true!” Just over 3 years. That’s all it took for me to completely lose sight of how good I have it compared to where I was just 3 years ago sitting on the 405 freeway for hours in bumper to bumper traffic just to travel somewhere that would normally take 20-30 minutes.
In that moment of realizing how petty I was being, the words from Isaiah 53 that I was reading just before leaving to get lunch made me also realize, yet again, just how incredibly faithful our Lord Jesus was in fulfilling the will of His Father; especially when He did nothing to deserve the horrific treatment He received; fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy. There I was complaining about traffic with a hot meal next to me in a temperature controlled vehicle, and there was Jesus, being beaten, tortured, mocked, and crucified for my sins… “yet he opened not his mouth.”
It takes nearly no effort and no special skill to complain. Everyone can do it. Everyone does it. In fact, as sinful people it is our native tongue. No one teaches their children how to throw a proper temper tantrum, but all children have to be taught to say “please” and “thank you.” I don’t know who originally said it, but it’s true, “Complaining today doesn’t make tomorrow any better.”
After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden and hid from God, God sought them out and asked, “What is this you have done? Did you eat of the tree I told you not to?” Instead of answering, “Yes,” Adam complained saying, “The woman who you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit and I ate it.” After seeing the miracle of the burning bush and speaking to God directly, Moses still complained about having to go to Pharaoh, and even after God freed the Israelites through 10 miraculous plagues and split the Red Sea in two so they could walk to freedom and have dropped bread down from heaven, all they did while in the desert was complain about how good they used to have it! That complaining is what drove them to go chasing after false idols, only to find themselves in far worse situations and on the receiving end of God’s anger.
Our Lord Jesus had every legitimate reason to complain about having to suffer for our sin and rebellion that ruined His perfect work of creation. However, God didn’t complain. He took action. Even before Adam and Eve sinned God had a plan to clean up our mess of sin and death, and God was faithful to that plan and promise, sending His Son Christ to die in our place. Our Lord Jesus was perfectly faithful, never once lamenting or complaining as He humbly and obediently suffered the judgement against our sin. Knowing this love of God in Christ and knowing all that we have been forgiven, the children of God should be the last to complain and the first to sacrifice in order to make right what we see is wrong.
Christ paid for our sin in full on the cross. Not His sins, our sins. He paid our debt we owed to God, and Jesus’ perfect blood has satisfied God’s wrath. We have been set free by God to serve Him joyfully, because through faith in Christ we see that God has already satisfied us eternally, which means whatever temporary inconveniences, disappointments, and sufferings in this life are no more worth complaining about then all of our success and accomplishments are worth celebrating in heaven. Neither of them go with us into the presence of our Lord and God who Himself alone is our satisfaction both now and for eternity. As it says in 1 Timothy 6:6-7, “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” We are content with only what we need to live this life, because what ultimately satisfies us in this life and the next, is nothing that is found in this world. Hebrews 13:5 reminds us, “…be content with what you have, for he [Jesus] has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” We find true and everlasting contentment when we open not our mouth to complain, but instead to proclaim the praises of our Lord who is with us, who is our joy and peace now, and who is our eternal satisfaction.
Thanks for joining me today for this devotion, and remember, that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
