He Will Keep Us From Burning Out

Uplook – April 2022 — Grace & Truth Magazine

He Will Keep Us From Burning Out

“A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench.” — Isaiah 42:3 NKJV

This prophecy from Isaiah is applied to the Lord Jesus in Matthew 12:20. He is the Good Shepherd who tenderly cares for His sheep (Jn. 10:11-18); the gentle and lowly Servant (Lk. 22:27) who invites those who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him for rest of soul (Mt. 11:28-29).

We often feel fragile and weak, like a reed bruised and crushed by the weight of life’s circumstances. Picture a slender bulrush or cattail growing by the edge of a pond – its sides crushed and dented in by some external force like a gust of wind, a sudden blow, or the movement of a passing animal. The head is hanging by a thread, but it is not yet snapped or broken off from the stem. When David’s life seemed to be hanging by a thread, he declared, “You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head” (Ps. 3:3). He is the One who “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (147:3).

Sometimes we likewise feel like a smoking flax or dimly burning wick – exhausted, burnt out and depleted. Now imagine a candle burning low, until the flame is diminished to a faint orange glow. Before the wick is completely extinguished in a wisp of smoke, we can be confident that He who has “shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again” (71:20). He can fan even a spark of faith into a flame! He gives “beauty for ashes” and renews us with “the oil of joy for mourning” (Isa. 61:3).

We may be bruised but not broken, smoldering but not snuffed out. God is faithful, who will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able (1 Cor. 10:13). He knows each of our breaking points, and He won’t let us burn out!

By Tim Bouter