"A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out." Matthew 12:20

A grocer throws out the soft peaches and the wilted lettuce. An employer discharges the incompetent worker. We discard the inferior.

God isn't like that. He gives His attention to the weak, the brokenhearted, the enslaved, and the faltering ones.

Our faith may have been so buffeted by temptation that it's barely alive. We may be ashamed to face God because of the grave sins we have committed. God's grace reaches out also to those whose moral and spiritual condition seems to be hopeless.

The Gospel of God's redeeming love in Jesus is for all who are like a bruised reed or a smoking wick. God's power can undergird the faltering ones and give the floundering ones strength.

All who trust in Christ are God's children, and He reaches out His hand to them when they are almost down and out. He turns the bent reed into a flourishing plant and changes the smoking wick into a bright light. God never discards the weak as useless. No soul is worthless in His sight. Jesus died for all, including the weak and wavering. In His love and mercy He restores the weak.

PRAYER: Gracious Father, thank You for the assurance that You will not cast us away when we are spiritually weak and almost dead. Amen.

(Taken from "Words of Promise," copyright 1996 (out of print), Concordia Publishing House. For information on other devotional materials, call 1-800-325-3040.)

Today's Bible Readings: Jeremiah 3-5    Acts 27:1-26

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