‘A bruised reed He will not break.’ Isaiah 42:3 NKJV
In Boston, America, on 15 January 1919, a huge steel vat containing 8.7 million litres of molten molasses burst. The resulting 10-metre-tall wave of hot syrup drowned people and horses, destroyed buildings, and crushed freight trains, wagons, and cars as it swept through nearby streets. The enormous tank, 15 metres tall and 73 metres around, had been poorly designed.
The officials knew the vat was dangerous but they did nothing about it. The disaster, described by one author as the ‘Dark Tide’, killed 21 people and injured 150 others. There are two important lessons in this story.
First, pay attention to the cracks in your character; what you ignore today, you may drown in tomorrow.
Second, When you fail you will hurt others near and dear to you.
No matter how badly broken you may be, if you turn to God, He’ll restore you. Isaiah said, ‘A bruised reed He will not break.’ These words portray the gentleness and grace of God as He stoops to restore and make us whole.
Maybe you think your sin is too great and you’re too far gone. No. God said, ‘I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.’ (Exodus 34:6 NLT)
‘I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away.’ (Hosea 14:4 NKJV)
‘He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us and will cast all our sins into the depth of the sea.’ (Micah 7:18–19 NKJV) Today God will forgive and restore you.
SoulFood: 1 Kings 16:1–18:15, Mark 12:13–27, Ps 108, Pr 12:14
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©