Hey everyone, I'm Dr. Allison. Today's scripture offers us a wiser way of being human as we step into the day.

As we move deeper into Holy Week, the tone continues to shift. On Monday, we grounded ourselves in safety.

On Tuesday, we stepped into the pain of relational rupture.

Today is about what it means to endure, to stay present in the midst of difficulty, to hold steady when something hard is unfolding.

Because there are moments in life when we cannot immediately fix what is happening.

We can't control the outcome. We can't

make the pain disappear. And the question becomes, how do I remain anchored in it? Today's scripture

is Isaiah 50, 4 through 9. The sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue to know the word

that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning

by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. The sovereign Lord has opened my ears.

I have not been rebellious. I have not turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me,

my cheeks to those who pulled out my

beard. I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the sovereign Lord helps me,

I will not be disgraced. Therefore, have I set my face like Flint, and I know I will not

be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring

charges against me? Let us face each other. Who is my accuser? Let him confront me. It is the

sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment. The moths will eat them up.

This passage is often referred to as one of the servant songs. It gives us a picture of someone

who is walking through suffering and what's striking is that they're walking through it

instead of avoiding it or numbing. They're facing it with a kind of grounded strength we don't often

see in this culture. Listen to this line again. The sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue

to know the word that sustains the weary. There's something so beautiful here. Even in the midst of

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