Devotion of the Day

(Isaiah 53:4)

“Surely He has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”

Additional Verses

📖 Isaiah 53:1-12; Mark 16:15-20

Isaiah 53:4 introduces us to what God did in Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all sin. In other words, this is what the Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21 when he declares that, “For He made Him Who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Just as God promised Abraham of how He was going to bless all nations through him and of how Abraham’s descendants were going to inherit the land of Canaan many years after Abraham, the above text was also a prophecy of how God was going to bring salvation to the whole humankind through the suffering, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. This also shows how God has predestined you for a great life from creation. However, for you to partake of this great life you must first earnestly believe that all your sins were forgiven a long time ago when God sent His Son Jesus Christ to suffer and die in your place. There are some experiences which pertain to your old nature and these may continue to depress you so much as a child of God. Such experiences may include grief and sorrows which Isaiah mentions in the above text and you may wonder why this continues to be so when you are now a new creation. First of all let me clarify what the prophet is referring to when he talks about grief and sorrows. These include all sicknesses among which are terminal diseases which the doctors have told you that there is no cure, every weakness and any form of distress or anything that may lead to distress. Distress is produced by financial problems, mental problems, family problems, poor relations at place of employment, sickness and suffering of close relatives and loved ones. You can also be in distress because you miss your relatives and friends because you are in diaspora. All these, just to mention a few, are a result of sin or being cut off from God. Now all these, Jesus Christ took upon Himself in order that everyone who believes in Him would become free. Many children of God who continue to suffer from all these afflictions of the devil, are suffering because they have not received the right information concerning their salvation. Matthew 4:23 tells us that Jesus Christ came to heal every sickness and every disease and every infirmity. Acts 10:38 also tells us that God anointed Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit and power and He went about healing all those who were oppressed of the devil . In Mark 16:15-19, Jesus Christ, after He had paralyzed all the power of Satan through His death and resurrection gave all believers power and authority over demons, all sickness and diseases and over all the power of Satan. As a child of God you are not therefore supposed to enter into the battle field against the devil to begin a new fight, but you should pursue the devil in whatever form he manifests himself as more than a conqueror and a victor because Jesus Christ has already done everything for you. You only have to declare what the Word says about you and your situation. Spend time with the Word of God to find out what Jesus Christ has already done for you and go on to declare His Word to change your situation. Alleluia!

Prayer

Dear Father, I thank You for forgiving my sins a long time ago. I thank You for You took away all my grief, sorrow and iniquity so that I could be made free from sin. I thank You for Your Son Jesus Christ who took my sins. I ask that I always treasure this for it shows how much You love me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.