We Can Expect Tender Treatment from the Lord
A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth. — Isaiah 42:3
Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them, wouldn't leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one that was lost, until he found it? — Luke 15:4
Author
Charles Spurgeon
Summary: I feel weak and deeply wounded, like a bruised reed that can no longer make music. Yet Jesus will not break me; under his protection I can rest without fearing what others may try to do. I am also like a wick that barely smolders: I fear being a burden and that my light has gone out. But Jesus will not snuff me out, and so I hold on to hope. I ask him to rekindle me so that my life may shine for his glory and show his tenderness.
Truly, I feel as weak and pliant as a reed. Someone said, “I don’t care a fig about you”
; and the expression, though unkind, was not entirely untrue. Alas, I am beneath a reed growing by the river, for it can at least hold its head high. I am bruised, deeply and sadly bruised. There is no music in me now; a crack lets all the melody escape. Alas for me! Yet Jesus will not break me; and if He will not, I care little what others may try to do. O sweet and compassionate Lord, I curl up under Your protection and forget my wounds!
It is indeed fitting that I should also be compared to the “smoldering wick,” whose light has gone out and whose smoke alone remains. I fear that I am more of a nuisance than a blessing. My fears tell me that the devil has put out my light and left me giving off troublesome smoke, and that the Lord will soon use an extinguisher on me. Yet I see that, although there were wick-trimmers under the law, there were no extinguishers; and Jesus will not put me out. Therefore, I have hope. Lord, light me again, and make me shine for Your glory and to exalt Your tenderness.
Source: The Checkbook of the Bank of Faith. Translated by Allan Roman.
http://www.spurgeon.com.mx/chequera/meditames/septiembre.pdf