Isaiah 53:11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

This is a deeply meaningful verse, echoed with different words in Hebrews 12:2: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorn­ing its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The point is, Jesus knew what His cross would accomplish, and He was willing to go through it to achieve that. The Japanese for this verse specifies “the intense suffering of his life.” I don’t know the Hebrew, but this certainly paints a vivid picture. The NIV gives a footnote for “by his knowledge” to indicate that it could be “by knowledge of him.” (The Japanese could be taken either way.) It is when we know what Christ has done for us, bearing our sins, that we can be justified by faith, as Paul expounded on at great length to the Romans.

What the Lord showed me a few days ago, that we progress from knowledge to faith to trust, has really been impressed on my mind and heart. Our task as Christians, and very specifically my task as a pastor, is to give people knowledge of Christ, so that they may accept the faith that God offers them as a gift, (Ephesians 2:8) and then move on to trust God to be true to His Word. We can’t convince people to trust God by the force of our intellect, any more than we can force them to accept God’s gift of faith, but we can lovingly give them the information they need to proceed along that path. As I seek to help others do that, I must remember that I need to do it as much as anyone else. The fact that I have more knowledge of Christ and His Word than most makes it all the more imperative that I operate in the full flow of the faith He provides, trusting Him for things small and large. I’m far more likely to trip up on the small things, but He wants me to operate in perfect peace, and for that I’ve got to trust Him. (Isaiah 26:3, Philippians 4:7)

Father, thank You for this reminder. The pace of events certainly seems to be picking up, and there is a real risk of losing my peace when that happens. Knowing what I do of You, help me trust You with my schedule, short and long term, so that I will be quiet enough to hear what You are saying to me at all times, and thus accomplish Your will on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!