Mission Trip Prayer & Devotional PlanSýnishorn

"The Strange Path of Justice"

Most people going on mission trips have hopes of accomplishing great things. Indeed, when we are called on mission, we are called to participate in God’s powerful plan to set the world right. That is a great thing!

This passage from Isaiah reminds us that God’s way of accomplishing great things can be strange and hidden. Isaiah is describing God’s suffering servant. The terms he used must have seemed very odd to his first readers. All through the Bible, God promises to make his people flourish, to destroy their enemies and to turn evil into good. As we saw in Psalm 72, he sets the world right through a messianic king, who will reign from sea to sea.

Here, though, God’s servant is tormented and crushed — which are the means of healing. Somehow, Isaiah suggests, the worst that can happen to a servant of God will prove to be the best that can happen. Nobody could make much sense of this until, hundreds of years later, Jesus was subjected to torture and was cruelly executed. His suffering and death brought the salvation of the world.

What happened to Jesus was unique in all history, but as 1 Peter 2:21 says, Christians are called to walk “in his steps.” In your mission trip, it’s possible that God will do great things in ways that surprise and shock you. There may be suffering and disappointment and distress. But we should never lose sight of Jesus.

The truth is that he brought justice to earth through the most harrowing and disappointing experience anyone can ever know. Whatever lesser struggles you may encounter, be assured that the God and Father of the Lord Jesus can use them for good.

Prayer: Lord, enable me to walk in the path you walked. Help me to keep my eyes open to see your justice worked out even in moments of struggle.