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DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2017
He took up our pain and bore our suffering . . .
and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5 (NIV))
I have HIV/AIDS, and it is very difficult living with this disease. Recently I suffered a setback and was hospitalized for eight days, which seemed like an eternity. Weak and with very little energy, I saw on the table close to my bed a copy of El Aposento Alto (the Spanish language version of The Upper Room), which is provided for patients. With great effort, but feeling the need for God, I began reading the devotional guide. In my mind’s eye, I pictured the writers from countries around the world united with me in prayer while I lay in my hospital bed.
The peace of God that surpasses all understanding surrounded me and called to mind the psalmist’s words: “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5). I was able to sleep. I awoke the next morning, calm and confident, feeling the support of the great family of readers of El Aposento Alto, where the world meets to pray, regardless of our ethnicity, social standing, or physical condition.
Having survived the health setback that put me in the hospital, I continue my faith journey with renewed hope in God and supported by an international family of prayer.
I have HIV/AIDS, and it is very difficult living with this disease. Recently I suffered a setback and was hospitalized for eight days, which seemed like an eternity. Weak and with very little energy, I saw on the table close to my bed a copy of El Aposento Alto (the Spanish language version of The Upper Room), which is provided for patients. With great effort, but feeling the need for God, I began reading the devotional guide. In my mind’s eye, I pictured the writers from countries around the world united with me in prayer while I lay in my hospital bed.
The peace of God that surpasses all understanding surrounded me and called to mind the psalmist’s words: “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5). I was able to sleep. I awoke the next morning, calm and confident, feeling the support of the great family of readers of El Aposento Alto, where the world meets to pray, regardless of our ethnicity, social standing, or physical condition.
Having survived the health setback that put me in the hospital, I continue my faith journey with renewed hope in God and supported by an international family of prayer.
TODAY'S PRAYER:
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Isaiah 53:1 Who believes our report?
To whom is the arm of Adonai revealed?
2 For before him he grew up like a young plant,
like a root out of dry ground.
He was not well-formed or especially handsome;
we saw him, but his appearance did not attract us.
3 People despised and avoided him,
a man of pains, well acquainted with illness.
Like someone from whom people turn their faces,
he was despised; we did not value him.
4 In fact, it was our diseases he bore,
our pains from which he suffered;
yet we regarded him as punished,
stricken and afflicted by God.
5 But he was wounded because of our crimes,
crushed because of our sins;
the disciplining that makes us whole fell on him,
and by his bruises* we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, went astray;
we turned, each one, to his own way;
yet Adonai laid on him
the guilt of all of us.
7 Though mistreated, he was submissive —
he did not open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to be slaughtered,
like a sheep silent before its shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
8 After forcible arrest and sentencing,
he was taken away;
and none of his generation protested
his being cut off from the land of the living
for the crimes of my people,
who deserved the punishment themselves.
9 He was given a grave among the wicked;
in his death he was with a rich man.
Although he had done no violence
and had said nothing deceptive,
10 yet it pleased Adonai to crush him with illness,
to see if he would present himself as a guilt offering.
If he does, he will see his offspring;
and he will prolong his days;
and at his hand Adonai’s desire
will be accomplished.
11 After this ordeal, he will see satisfaction.
“By his knowing [pain and sacrifice],
my righteous servant makes many righteous;
it is for their sins that he suffers.
12 Therefore I will assign him a share with the great,
he will divide the spoil with the mighty,
for having exposed himself to death
and being counted among the sinners,
while actually bearing the sin of many
and interceding for the offenders.”
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Header Photo Credit: "Harvested Land," Beth Shumate. August 15, 2014. (link)
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