Ashamed: Fighting Shame With the Word of Godናሙና

Day Three

Isaiah 50 is about listening to God. Listening to God, even when it means suffering. After His encounter with God in chapter 6, Isaiah was a willing prophet who obediently delivered tons of bad news about God’s coming judgment. Isaiah listened and obeyed. Good job, Isaiah! But remember, Isaiah was also “a man of unclean lips.” Isaiah was a sinner.

Other than being the bearer of bad news, Isaiah is known for prophesying about the coming Messiah. If you’re new to Christianity and you don’t know what any of those words mean, prophesying, in this context, means foretelling the future. “Messiah” means “Savior.” Yes, Isaiah was telling the nation of Judah a whole lot about God’s coming judgment, but he was also sharing the ground-breaking, globe-shaking news that God, in His mercy, was going to send a Savior (Jesus).

And in Isaiah 50, we get to hear more from Isaiah, a sometimes obedient but flawed and imperfect servant, writing about the coming of a perfectly obedient, perfectly unselfish Servant. He was writing about Jesus before Jesus came.

In Isaiah 50:7, we can see the nature of Jesus displayed—He is one hundred percent man, but He is also one hundred percent God. The math doesn’t add up, but it’s true. He is the Son of God, sent to live a sinless life on earth by the Father, to die on the cross for our sins, and to be raised again, defeating death.

For most of us humans, the events described by Isaiah in verse 6 would be humiliating. To be beaten and mocked and spit upon? Can you think of anything more humiliating?

However, verse 7 tells us Jesus will not be humiliated. Why? Because He is God, and He knows the end. He knows the results will not be humiliation but vindication.

Because of this heaven-touching-earth moment, we can echo our Savior and say, “I have not been humiliated . . . I will not be put to shame.” That is true for us in Jesus. Hallelujah.

Jesus is better and stronger than anything you face. He is and gives His best and His strength to you. Because of Jesus’s sacrifice, our compassionate God has removed our transgressions “as far as the east is from the west.”

Now, read Isaiah 50. Taking all the time you need, write down in a journal as many things as you can think of that remind you of the goodness of God. When you are tempted to replay your shame reel or tell yourself lies about who God is and who you are, remember what the Bible says—our God is good and compassionate.