Growing with God: A daily devotional with Tonia Slimm.
Isaiah 49:4 (NIV)
“But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.”
Isaiah 49:4 (MSG)
“But I said, “I’ve worked for nothing. I’ve nothing to show for a life of hard work. Nevertheless, I’ll let God have the last word. I’ll let him pronounce his verdict.”
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“Then I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity (pride, uselessness); however My justice is with the Lord, and My reward is with My God.” -AMPLIFIED
“Temptation may even be a blessing to a man when it reveals to him his weakness and drives him to the almighty Savior. Do not be surprised, then, dear child of God, if you are tempted at every step of your earthly journey, and almost beyond endurance; but you will not be tempted beyond what you are able to bear, and with every temptation there will be a way of escape.” ~F.B. Meyer
In yesterday’s text we were informed that God had a chosen Servant. Someone special whose mission was to point Israel back to Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, and to ultimately bring glory to God, Most High.
“And he said to me, “Israel, you are my special servant; in you I will be glorified.” -Isaiah 49:3 (The Passion Translation)
In today’s passage, we find mentioned the burden that the Messiah would be under. We need to remember something that the writer of Hebrews told us:
“Since we have a great High Priest, Jesus, the Son of God who has passed through the heavens from death into new life with God, let us hold tightly to our faith. For Jesus is not some high priest who has no sympathy for our weaknesses and flaws. He has already been tested in every way that we are tested; but He emerged victorious, without failing God.” -Hebrews 4:14-16 (VOICE)
The Messiah would be tempted in every way, just as we too are, but He would not sin. In our text, we can pick up on the stress, the discouragement, and the suffering that the Messiah would endure. But remember, He would come through these tests victorious, sinning not.
“I said, “I’ve worked hard for nothing. I spent my strength, and what have I accomplished—nothing,
Yet my justice and reward are secure with my God, the Eternal One.” -(VOICE)
“I said…”, we know from what we have learned in the previous verses that the Messiah is speaking.
We find the Messiah prophetically speaking of the stress that He would feel. There was always the temptation to give in to fear and discouragement, even for the Son of God. Read once again what He says:
“I’ve worked and served for nothing.
I have used up all my strength for nothing.” -(TPT)
Yet, we need to notice that He trusts God, the Father. The Messiah would be tempted to become discouraged, to give up His God ordained mission. He might have questioned the validity of His mission. But we find here in Isaiah that He gave up His rights. He left them in the Father’s hands, trusting that God would bring about His perfect will and be glorified and triumphant in the end.
“Yet my rights I leave in Yahweh’s hands,
and my just reward is with my God.” -(TPT)
“Ability to resist temptation is directly proportionate to your submission to God.” ~Ed Cole
“I replied, “But my work for them seems all in vain; I have spent my strength for them without response. Yet I leave it all with God for my reward.” -(TLB)
“When we consider what – and who – the Lord Jesus had to work with on this earth, we certainly must believe that one of the great temptations He faced was discouragement. This passage shows that even though He ministered in difficult and discouraging circumstances, He never gave in to discouragement, but always put His trust in the LORD.” ~David Guzik
How does this passage affect us? What should we be learning? Three things immediately come to mind:
1.) Secondly, we need to remember that we do not need to give in to temptation. Jesus, the Messiah was our perfect example, and we need to follow His lead. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, gave them these words of encouragement:
“No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.” -1 Corinthians 10:13 (MSG)
2.) That we need to have the same attitude that the Messiah had. Putting aside our rights, and being obedient to God. Paul wrote about this to the church in Philippi:
“Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility: Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, but stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being. And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!” -Philippians 2:5-8 (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition)
3.) Thirdly, God understands our weak and vulnerable state, and He has taken the initiative, providing for us the perfect example of how to face temptation, through His Son. Not only that, but God also gives to us His Spirit to guide and direct us. Take note:
“God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn’t deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that. The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.” -Romans 8:3-4 (MSG)
“Every time you defeat a temptation, you become more like Jesus!” ~Rick Warren
My friend, Jesus Christ, the Messiah is our example to follow. He is the One who showed us how to come through temptation victorious, because He was able to do so. We need to have the same attitude that He had, giving up our rights, in order to bring glory to God. And we also need to remember that we do not have to face those temptations alone. God gave us His Spirit to lead and guide us, we need to be obedient to do His bidding.
“God has defeated Satan through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this overwhelming victory, God has also empowered you to overcome any temptation to sin and has provided sufficient resources for you to respond biblically to any problem of life. By relying on God’s power and being obedient to His Word, you can be an overcomer in any situation.” ~John C. Broger
My Prayer:
Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, I ask you to help me follow the perfect example of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, when I am faced with temptation. Remind me that every temptation I face, you have given to me a way to overcome it. Help me to remember that Your Holy Spirit, my constant companion, is with me, leading and guiding me. I have put aside my rights, given them over to you, Lord. Whatever comes my way, I am trusting you to work all things out for my good and your glory. I am relying on and trusting wholly in you. Help me faith to grow stronger.
Growing with God 