Our Savior
Isaiah 53 

Yesterday, as we explored some biblical history leading up to the time of Jesus, we saw that the Jews were expecting a Savior. Yet Jesus didn’t match the Messiah they anticipated.

The people imagined a strong ruler who would lead their nation with worldly power, but the Lord was a servant who spent time with outcasts. They hoped for a man who would end Israel’s persecution; He died a criminal’s death and warned His followers that they would not be accepted by the world. It is, then, no surprise that the Jewish people rejected Him. He did not fit what they wanted—yet He was so much more than they understood.

For all of us will one day stand before God, and in our iniquity, we would be unworthy to remain in His presence. His judgment of sin will be death, an agonizing eternal existence apart from Him. This is what He warned Adam in Genesis 2:17—that if he sinned, he would die.

Yet Jesus bore our sin so that whoever trusts in Him can look forward to eternal life instead (John 3:16). Christ chose to bear our punishment—the Holy One voluntarily dying the death of a criminal so we could live forever in His presence. Jesus was “the way” (14:6) that God could satisfy His justice yet love His people.

Jesus’ gift of salvation is free. It requires nothing on our part except acceptance and surrender. Have you accepted His death on the cross as the atonement for your sin? The Redeemer’s death leads to life, and though He doesn’t guarantee an easy road, He promises to stay with you always

Why Do My Prayers Go Unanswered?   –   Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you.

Isaiah 30:18

God often delays in answering prayer. We have several instances of this in the Bible. Jacob did not get the blessing from the angel until near the dawn of day-he had to wrestle all night for it. The poor woman of Syrophoenicia received no answer for a long while. Paul asked the Lord three times for “a thorn . . . in the flesh”1 to be taken from him, and he received no assurance that it would be removed, but instead a promise that God’s grace would be sufficient for him.

If you have been knocking at the gate of mercy and have received no answer, shall I tell you why the mighty Maker has not opened the door and let you in?

Our Father has personal reasons for keeping us waiting. Sometimes it is to show His power and His sovereignty, so that we may learn that God has a right to give or to withhold.

More often the delay is for our benefit. You are perhaps kept waiting in order that your desires may be more fervent. God knows that delay will quicken and increase desire, and that if He keeps you waiting, you will see your need more clearly and will seek more diligently, and that you will treasure the mercy all the more on account of the wait.

There may also be something wrong in you that needs to be removed before the joy of the Lord is given. Perhaps your views of the gospel plan are confused, or you may be relying upon yourself instead of trusting simply and entirely in the Lord Jesus. Or God makes you wait for a while so that He may display the riches of His grace more abundantly in the end.

Your prayers are all filed in heaven, and if not immediately answered they are certainly not forgotten, but in a little while they will be fulfilled to your delight and satisfaction. Do not allow despair to make you silent, but continue to present your requests to God.

1 2 Corinthians 12:7

The family reading plan for December 9, 2011

2 Chronicles 9 | Jude 1