day no. 12,909: like a claims adjuster silent before his claimants‏

I was just on the phone for 26 minutes with a customer who was dissatisfied with my service. I have honestly done as much as I can do for them, maybe even more than what would be expected from me, in order to try to help them and serve them and bring them good news. They were unimpressed and accusatory and spent 26 minutes exhausting their anger and ill will towards me.

 

I don’t know if I had considered the sanctifying work of my job until this morning.

Isaiah 53:7

 

He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet He did not open His mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughter
and like a sheep silent before her shearers,
He did not open His mouth.

 

I feel like I better understand Jesus being a sheep before a shearer and refusing to revile while being reviled by others. Handcuffed by civility and a desire to keep my job, I held my tongue. I appreciate Jesus’ commitment to Scripture in enduring false witnesses and a mock trial. He worked hard to keep a job He begged God to remove from Him the night before in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was a lamb led to the slaughter, but not ignorant or incapable of altering His circumstances. The source of all justice endured injustice in order to justify the ungodly. He is just and the justifier.

 

1 Peter 2:23

 

…when He was reviled,
He did not revile in return;
when He was suffering,
He did not threaten
but entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly.

 

I’m getting to know Jesus and appreciate Him more as I experience things in keeping with His sufferings. I held my tongue while I was accused. I did not threaten the frustrated customer on the other end of the phone by implying I would now fail to do my best for them. Rather, I promised I would continue to provide the best service I could (whether they appreciate it or not).

 

The Spirit is turning these thoughts and experiences to Jesus whom I long to know and love more intimately daily.