ESOCS Devotional 26 January 2024 – Don’t Be Discouraged By Insults
MEMORY VERSE: “Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.” Isaiah 51:7KJV
TEXT:ISAIAH 51:1-11
Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
4 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.
5 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.
9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
10 Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?
11 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
To ‘revile’ means to insult, condemn, abuse or scorn someone. It is a known fact in the Bible that men of God were insulted because they were men of God carrying out the work of God. Noah was laughed to scorn by his people when he started building ‘Noah’s ark’. Elijah was at the mercy of King Ahab and Jezebel for speaking against their evil. Elisha was booed and called bald-headed. The Apostles, and of course, our Lord Jesus Christ, too. But they were not deterred or discouraged because God was with them. The situation has not changed today – the Bible foretold us that persecution will come and will be more serious as the days are passing bye.
In our memory verse, Isaiah encouraged those who follow God’s laws. He gave them hope when they faced people’s scorn or slander because of their faith. The encouragement is for us too. We need not fear when people ridicule us for our faith because God is with us and the truth will prevail.
If people make fun of you or dislike you because you believe in God, remember that they are not against you personally, but against God. He will deal with them; concentrate on loving and obeying Him at all times.
- Many have fallen from the faith because of scorn in various forms.
- O Lord, may the scorning of the heathen be a source of strength to me.
Further Reading: Psalm 37:1-7; Matthew 5:10-12
ESOCS Devotional 26 January 2024
