Isaiah 53:3 is a prophetic word speaking of the rejections and abuse that Jesus would endure from humanity. It says, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (NIV).
Have you ever wondered what gave Jesus the strength to resist the insults and attacks He endured from humanity throughout His ministry? At one time His preaching made the crowd so angry that they jumped up, took Him to the edge of a cliff, and tried to push Him over. But Jesus simply turned and walked away from them. How was He able to do that? What kept Him from retaliating against the people’s anger and insults?
The Bible says Jesus was tempted in every way we are, yet He never lost His cool (Hebrews 4:15). Why? It was His attitude toward this harassment that empowered Him to experience such success in life. If we can discover how He dealt with human attacks and insults, we can then become as successful in responding to harassment as He was.
One key to Jesus’ success is that He was focused solely on fulfilling God’s purpose for His life. He didn’t allow anything to draw Him away from what He had been sent to this earth to accomplish.
The truth is, attacks are meant to distract and detour us from fulfilling our God-given purpose and calling. Philippians 2:5 says, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” If we will adopt Christ’s attitude we can become immune to the attacks just like Jesus was, and then we will be able to run our race and finish our course with success.
The promise in Jeremiah 1:18,19 will help us resist any attacks we might encounter in life.
“…Today I have made you immune to their attacks. You are strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. None of the kings, officials, priests, or people of Judah will be able to stand against you. They will try, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (NLT).
Imagine being a fortified city that cannot be conquered. Even though the attacks don’t stop, we are fortified and strong so every attack fails. Wouldn’t that kind of life be like a dream come true? It can be true for us if we will focus on the purpose God has for our lives instead of allowing other things to capture our attention.
