“And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.”” Isaiah 49:3-4 ESV
Reflection: how can God be glorified through us?
As we were sitting around the dinner table, and seemingly out of the blue, my mom blew a fuse. A mix of emotions; anger, frustration, sadness came over her. We all sat in silence, as she shared what was she was feeling. I may have been in my early teens at most, but I remember this as if it was yesterday. While she had a temper and could get angry at times, this was the first of its kind, and I think the last. She proceeded to share with us how unappreciated she felt, that we had become expectant for her to do “everything” around the house, not offering to help, nor to share how much we appreciated all that she did for us. Let’s just say that this really impacted all of us, as we tried to change the way we functioned in the household to help more. But I think the biggest impact on us kids was to be more grateful towards her for what she did for us. I am so thankful that she spoke up.
Serving others can be hard. We get to this point at times, when we wonder if our work, our sacrifices, are even appreciated. It can feel as if we are just working in vain. We see that exact sentiment in the writings from Isaiah today, as we read about the servant of the Lord. “And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.”” Isaiah 49:3-4 ESV. If we think about Isaiah’s role as a Prophet of the Lord, especially warning the people of their wrongs, their sin, we can only image how unpopular he was at the time. No one likes to hear that they are wrong; especially people who are full of themselves as we looked at a couple of days ago.
Isaiah was called by God directly, to deliver this to the people. “Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away.” Isaiah 49:1-2 ESV. Almost 3000 years later, we still benefit from the obedience of Isaiah’s service to the Lord. And, interestingly, we see these reflections in his writings, that not always point to one person, one situation or one specific time period. Chapter 49, in the calling of the Lord’s Servant, we can also see Jesus.
But was Jesus ever frustrated?
When we think about the progression of Jesus ministry, the further He got into it and revealed His true purpose, the more people rejected Him. To the very end, when even His disciples fled. We might remember His frustration in the garden of gethsemane when His inner circle of disciples couldn’t even stay awake in prayer. We can almost hear the Lord Jesus echoing the words of Isaiah “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;”
But, we know the end of the story.
We remember our Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for us, especially this week, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:6-8 ESV.
There will be times when we all feel unappreciated, that we are laboring in vain as Isaiah wrote. So let’s take a moment today to notice, and tell someone that you appreciate what they are doing for you, and for the kingdom of heaven. And, let’s keep the “big picture” in mind, that our work is for the Lord as we serve those around us. Let’s not give up, but keep doing the good work He has for us, faithfully glorifying Him in all we do as a light to the world. Then through us, the Lord may also say “You are my servant, in whom I will be glorified.”
