ESOCS Devotional 10 February 2024 – Remember God’s Compassion
MEMORY VERSE: “I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us— yes, the many good things he has done for Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses.” Isaiah 63:7
TEXT: ISAIAH 63:7-16
I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
8 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.
9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?
12 That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
13 That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?
14 As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.
15 Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?
16 Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
The first answer to our difficulties is to recount the steadfast love of the Lord. How important it is to continue to count the blessings of God’s love for us that we have experienced in our lives. Notice how Isaiah pictures this in verse 7. He will speak of the great goodness of God toward the house of Israel. He will speak of the compassion and steadfast love of God. We learn something very important for our lives from Isaiah. When in turmoil and distress, we do not regain our vision and hope by focusing on self. We need to look outside of ourselves to the immensity and greatness of God’s goodness, compassion, and loving commitment that is seen in Jesus.
Oh, how the world misleads us by telling us that we should become introspective and become self-oriented during times of difficulty. The answer to our dark days is to look to God’s blessings in our lives. They are easy to see and many to count when we will stop to reflect on all that God has done and continues to do for us. The book of Jude ends with the words: “Keep yourself in the love of God” (Jude 21). I believe this is one practical way that we do this. We will not walk out of God’s love when we are spending our hours focusing on that love.
Verse 8 pictures God’s people this way. Being God’s people means that we are not disloyal to Him. We will remain faithful to Him, as we observe and remember God’s faithfulness toward us. Verse 9 continues to reveal the love that God has for us: “In all their affliction he was afflicted.” Our distress causes God distress. God cares about us. God cares about our spiritual condition. How amazing it is that an all-sufficient and all-powerful God is afflicted when we are afflicted! This describes the care and compassion of our God. Our God is truly a Father that cares for His children. Notice what God does in verse 9: God saved them, redeemed them, and carried them. God saves, God redeems, and God carries us through.
I want to encourage you to do that right now. Just in your own heart, pause for a minute here in your day, and just recount all the ways God has shown His steadfast love to you. Maybe, it’s even to pause this podcast and just in your own heart, or if you’re with somebody else, or together to say, “Let’s just think about all the ways God has shown His love to us!”
- It is best to recount God’s blessings, favours and kindness than dwell on our pains and sorrows.
- Father, I thank you for all your graciousness at all times, even when I do not deserve it.
Further Reading: Isaiah 64:1-end; Luke 7:1-10; Ephesians 6:10-end
ESOCS Devotional 10 February 2024
