Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
The Resurrected Christ who Encourages the Dispirited
Isaiah 41:8-20
“I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.” (Isaiah 41:9b)
Devotion:
We often have this belief as Christians that if we entrust everything we have to God, we will have an easy life. The truth, however, is that God still allows His most faithful servants to experience difficult circumstances. In the scriptures of Isaiah, we see that God allows the Israelites, His chosen people, to fall into exile. However, we must remember that God follows the Israelites into their exile. He walks with them, He struggles with them, He suffers with them. Most importantly, God still loves them. It is easy for our minds to be plagued by thoughts convincing ourselves that our current suffering is a result of God’s rejection. We may consider our past sins, the ways we have failed to love others as God loves, and say, “We are no longer worthy of God’s love.” My dear friends, stay faithful. We must remember that this is not true because we have a God who came down from Heaven, lived among us, died for our sake, and defeated death. Jesus Christ died knowing that we were sinners, that we would continue to sin, that we would continue to walk away from God. At the same time, Jesus died knowing that through His death and resurrection, we would be reminded that He chose us. More importantly, that He would choose us every single time, that He would continuously die for us if it meant that we would draw closer to Him. God does not make our lives easier, rather He gives us the strength to persevere through life’s trials. That is the love of our God. He has chosen us, He has not rejected us, and He will continuously do this every single time. Thanks be to God.
“I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.” (Isaiah 41:9b)
Devotion:
We often have this belief as Christians that if we entrust everything we have to God, we will have an easy life. The truth, however, is that God still allows His most faithful servants to experience difficult circumstances. In the scriptures of Isaiah, we see that God allows the Israelites, His chosen people, to fall into exile. However, we must remember that God follows the Israelites into their exile. He walks with them, He struggles with them, He suffers with them. Most importantly, God still loves them. It is easy for our minds to be plagued by thoughts convincing ourselves that our current suffering is a result of God’s rejection. We may consider our past sins, the ways we have failed to love others as God loves, and say, “We are no longer worthy of God’s love.” My dear friends, stay faithful. We must remember that this is not true because we have a God who came down from Heaven, lived among us, died for our sake, and defeated death. Jesus Christ died knowing that we were sinners, that we would continue to sin, that we would continue to walk away from God. At the same time, Jesus died knowing that through His death and resurrection, we would be reminded that He chose us. More importantly, that He would choose us every single time, that He would continuously die for us if it meant that we would draw closer to Him. God does not make our lives easier, rather He gives us the strength to persevere through life’s trials. That is the love of our God. He has chosen us, He has not rejected us, and He will continuously do this every single time. Thanks be to God.
Prayer
Jesus, help us to remember that You love us, You chose us, and through Your death and resurrection we are forever bonded to You. We did not deserve this love, but through Your grace, You have called us Your own. Help us to serve You in everything we do. In Jesus’ Holy Name we pray, Amen.
Thought for the Day
“When Christ died, He died for you individually just as much as if you'd been the only one in the world.” – C.S Lewis
Justin Babu, St. John’s Mar Thoma Church, New York
Jesus, help us to remember that You love us, You chose us, and through Your death and resurrection we are forever bonded to You. We did not deserve this love, but through Your grace, You have called us Your own. Help us to serve You in everything we do. In Jesus’ Holy Name we pray, Amen.
Thought for the Day
“When Christ died, He died for you individually just as much as if you'd been the only one in the world.” – C.S Lewis
Justin Babu, St. John’s Mar Thoma Church, New York