Determined!

Isaiah 50:7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.

It is going to take determination to recover from our current circumstances. Business owners are going to have to risk starting up again, not knowing if they will make it through this pandemic. Customers are going to have to risk going into close quarters with others in order to make purchases that will keep the businesses afloat. And those of us who enjoy time off are going to have to get out of our comfort zone and head back to work.

I have been praying for several businesses I know. One in particular only started a few months ago. And they were struggling to make the bills even on their best days. So I am sure they will struggle to try to get up and running again. They have put tens of thousands of their own money into the business and they might lose it all.

In Isaiah there is a character introduced into the story that is filled with mystery and a bit of a puzzle. He is call “the Servant of the LORD.” He appears in tiny glimpses earlier in the book, but comes into the central place on the stage in chapter 49. What makes this person an enigma is that sometimes his voice could be the voice of Isaiah speaking. Sometimes of Israel as a whole. And sometimes as a wholly other person entirely. And the lines get blurred.

One thing for sure about this Servant: he brings hope and restoration to Israel and the world. His mission encompasses the whole world. What he does, he does for Israel and the impact on the world as they see the impact on Israel.

But this commanding place in the world doesn’t come the usual way through political power and control. He doesn’t follow the worldly pattern of leadership. Instead he willingly offers his body to receive punishment. He is beat, beard is pulled out, he is mocked and spit upon. Does this sound familiar?

And in the middle of this expose’ of the Servant the words of our text appear. Even this one who is fulfilling the LORD’s mission had choices. He could have faltered. He could have backed out at the last minute.

But instead, he “set his face like a flint.” Now if you know anything about flint, the rock boy scouts use to start fires, then you know that you must hit them with another stone at a very sharp angle in order to get the sparks. And you have to hit it with enough force at that correct angle. Too dull an angle and no spark. Too soft a blow and no spark.

So the Servant of the LORD is willing to take the sharp blow of attack for us. He is willing to place Himself in a stance that makes the blows effective. He doesn’t try to soften the blows. He doesn’t try to angle Himself so as to lesson the impact. No! He takes the full impact at the angle that will bring the spark that will ignite healing and restoration.

That is determination! He knows what it will take and he leans into it. He knows the spark will transform the world in a way only His spark will accomplish, so He gives it everything He has.

Is that the kind of determination you want to have yourself and see in the world around you? I hope so, because we are going to need it and have it to spare to help each other recover in a way that brings Light to the world.