Balm to my Soul

Richard Sibbs once said to Thomas Goodwin - "Young man, if ever you would do good, you must preach the Gospel and the free grace of God in Christ Jesus". This is something I need to hear in my Christian walk, in my job as a Staff Worker and as a member of the local church and this is exactly what the "Bruised Reed" by Sibbs, did for me. It preached to me the Gospel and the free Grace of God. It reminded me of the beauty of Christ and the joy of knowing the Lord. 

Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that this book was "balm to my soul" at a time in his life when he was tired and downhearted. When we face a psalm 42 season, its easy to look inwards and let sin and self pity spiral out of control. But when we look outwards and towards the glory of Jesus Christ then His words and Grace will certainly be a balm to our souls. 

So, what I plan to do is to share with you once a week for the next few weeks or maybe months some snippets of the Bruised Reed so that they may be balm to your soul and encourage you as you walk with God and in times where you may find yourself in a season of heartache, discouragement, tiredness or darkness. May you know the joy that is in the saving Grace of God and the tenderness of our loving Father. I also encourage you to read this book, it will soothe you. 

So lets begin on this journey with firstly looking at what it is to be bruised and then to what it means to be a smoking flax and how Christ uses both. Let us slowly contemplate and warm our hearts to Christ.

 

He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
        or make it heard in the street;
     a bruised reed he will not break,
        and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
        he will faithfully bring forth justice.
 (Isaiah 42:2-3 ESV)