Day 7 - Crushed for Me

SCRIPTURE:

Isaiah 58:4-6

Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.…

DEVOTIONAL:

Titled “The Suffering Servant,” this passage paints a poignant image of Jesus upwards of 800 years before He came.

What transformed me: Jesus did it all — for me. My healing; physical, emotional and spiritual, was made complete through His suffering. 

Every time I read this passage I am gripped. My heart is gripped and I fall to my knees in total humility and wonder. 

My pain, my disfigurement, my wrongs, my failures, my ugly selfishness was embedded in the cat-o’-nine-tails flagrum that slashed across His back, the nails that slammed through His hands and sword that pierced His side. He was crushed for my iniquity.

I am left feeling so unworthy and heart-spun to be so loved. Could the Son of God really love me that much? Was my name whispered on His lips? 

What enabled Him to endure the torture of a Roman crucifixion? Hebrews says it was joy. This joy was knowing freedom was purchased and the overthrow of Satan’s oppressive power final. Nothing could be more personal or powerful.

My old life was crucified with Him, and my new life is packed with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. This is the crucible of faith and dawn of hope.