Isaiah 42 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
5 Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
8 I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Behold, Christ; though co-eternal and part of the triune (body, soul, and spirit) of God, takes on the form of a servant. God elected him to bare the wrath of God against sin and as an obedient servant He, the King of the Universe came to earth to pay the penalty of sin for mankind and bids all who would come to come and share in the love that is His, the Joy that is His and the Glory that is His. The soul of God (the Father) delighteth in His son and the Spirit of God was within Him to assist Him in this journey on earth. That same spirit dwells within each and every one of us who by faith are adopted into His family. A bruised reed shall he not break. Are you bruised today? Has the trials of your life left you broken in pain? Does your heart ache because after giving all that you have to your marriage, your spouse leaves you and you are lost in your loneliness as you wonder if you just aren’t worthy enough to be loved? Did you give everything you had to your job only to find that as the years go by, nobody really cared or noticed and you feel your heart rip apart while you struggle to regain that drive within you that died? Be of good cheer, "A bruised reed shall he not break"; instead, He will renew and restore you. And how is you faith? Is it a bursting flame of light or is more like the smoking flax that seems on the edge of extinction. You have heard of this Christ; but you really can’t believe that He cares about you. The worries and cares of this world have weighed you down and your own tears have quenched the flame until barely there is only smoking flax and so fragile. Again, be of good cheer for the "smoking flax shall he not quench". Remember this, "5 Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee,"
Do you know Him? Did you suddenly realize that He alone was worthy of your praise, even if He never gave you anything in return and even if salvation was not an option? Have you ever come to a place where He appeared so Glorious and the light of His Righteousness revealed the darkness and depravity of your own heart? Did you realize that the only way for you to have a relationship with perfect righteousness would be to be perfectly righteous? Understanding that there was no way for you to do that yourself, did you fall before an Almighty God broken into pieces? Good news, Christ came and paid the penalty for your sin and offers you His righteous in exchange for your sin, if only you believe?
We have a hope in Him, Joy in Him, and need to return to our focus on Him so that He can heal us, restore us, and renew us. All these other things that we desire are only counterfeit joy compared to the joy that we may have in Him.