A Daily Devotion for Tuesday, May 26
- ontrakk
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Isaiah 42:1-7
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
This is what God the LORD says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
“I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.“
Psalm 42:5
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Sometimes those gloomy moods seem to come out of nowhere. The writer of today’s Upper Room devotion was on a canoe trip, and it was gloomy and rainy much of the first day. Here in NH, it rained for half of this holiday weekend. When things look gloomy, sometimes it is helpful for me to remind myself that this gloomy outlook is no more “the truth” than any other mood or outlook I may find coloring my experience. The truth is that God is present always, and in every moment and every situation. God has gifts and direction for us everywhere. Sometimes the gifts are like rainbows, beautiful and clear. I believe that much of the time, God wants me to pay better attention and finds his gifts for me.
Holy Lord, even when I am not sure what to do or how to move forward, I am always sure that you are involved, and have a plan for me. Help me to see my way. Amen
Becky, transforming
Isaiah 42:1-7/Psalm 42:5
There is profound hope in these passages, We can be blind to that hope if we remain consumed by our struggles. Those in the synagogue in Jesus’ hometown rejected Him when he read the scroll from Isaiah with these verses and declared it was He of whom Isaiah wrote. He could have punished them, but being true to the prophesy, He did “not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.” These were wounded people whose understanding was dim, yet, “A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” Jesus’ mission was not to punish, to “bring justice to the nations.” His mission continues through us with…