Our Daily Bread 11th December 2020 Devotional Message for Friday
Topic: Morning Mist
Today’s Scripture: Isaiah 44:9–11,21–23(NIV
Bible in a Year: Hosea 5–8; Revelation 2
Key Verse: I have swept away your offenses . . . like the morning mist. – Isaiah 44:22
Insight: The prophet Isaiah is foremost among Israel’s prophets. His book is the longest of the prophetic books and covers a huge sweep of Israel’s coming experiences. Isaiah contains more messianic prophecies than any other Old Testament prophet. It’s also one of the most quoted Old Testament books in the New Testament, referenced more than sixty times, with twenty-five of those found in the Gospels. The most quoted portions of Isaiah are the four “suffering servant songs” (42:1–4; 49:1–6; 50:4–7; and especially 52:13–53:12), which believers in Jesus see as being fulfilled in Christ and His suffering on the cross. In addition to the prophecies of Jesus’ sacrificial death, some of Isaiah’s most beloved prophecies are those of His birth, including Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6.
Our Daily Bread 11th December 2020 Devotional Message:
One morning I visited a pond near my house. I sat on an overturned boat, thinking and watching a gentle west wind chase a layer of mist across the water’s surface. Wisps of fog circled and swirled. Mini “tornadoes” rose up and then exhausted themselves. Before long, the sunlight cut through the clouds and the mist disappeared.
This scene comforted me because I connected it with a verse I’d just read: “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist” (Isaiah 44:22). I visited the place hoping to distract myself from a series of sinful thoughts I’d been preoccupied with for days. Although I was confessing them, I began to wonder if God would forgive me when I repeated the same sin.
That morning, I knew the answer was yes. Through His prophet Isaiah, God showed grace to the Israelites when they struggled with the ongoing problem of idol worship. Although He told them to stop chasing false gods, God also invited them back to Himself, saying, “I have made you, you are my servant; . . . I will not forget you” (v. 21).
I don’t fully grasp forgiveness like that, but I do understand that God’s grace is the only thing that can dissolve our sin completely and heal us from it. I’m thankful His grace is endless and divine like He is, and that it’s available whenever we need it.
Reflect & Pray
How is it possible to abuse God’s grace? What steps can you take to break free of sinful habits and experience His forgiveness?
Dear God, thank You for Your gracious presence in my life. I don’t want to live in habitual sin. Help me to feel the freedom that comes when I confess my sin and You erase it completely.
Read Grace: Accepting God’s Gift to You at DiscoverySeries.org/Q0613.
