2018 Easter Devotional — March 26

Isaiah 42:1-9 (click to view Scripture below)

Isaiah 42:1-9 is full of hope. God promises to “bring forth justice” by sending his “chosen” one to deliver those who are like “bruised” reeds or “faintly burning” wicks. That is good news! God’s promise to bring justice is so intentional, it is repeated three times in the first four verses. Verse 7 reiterates that the chosen one will “open the eyes of the blind” and “bring out the prisoners.” It recalls Psalm 146, where the Lord “executes justice for the oppressed [and] gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.” The bruised and the weak have a reason to hope!

God’s promise in Isaiah 42 is fulfilled in Jesus, and it continues to be fulfilled in all those who follow in His steps. In communities of the poor, justice is in short supply. Scarce resources and a lack of education make the poor easy targets. Into these communities, ChildHope brings hope. By providing education, nutrition and the Gospel – tangible expressions of God’s love – the chains of oppression (both temporal and eternal) are broken. ChildHope is continuing the work of the Messiah, setting the captives free.

Bill Shrader
Regional Coordinator, Andean Region of South America
Prayer: Lord, we praise you for your love for those who are weak and bruised. Thank you for sending your Son, the one in whom your soul delights, to set us free. Grant us, O Lord, by your Spirit, the anointing of Jesus, to humbly and gently bring forth justice to your beloved children in Latin America.

See other devotionals in this series.


Isaiah 42:1-9 (ESV)

1Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
    he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
    or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
    and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
    he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be discouraged
    till he has established justice in the earth;
    and the coastlands wait for his law.

Thus says God, the Lord,
    who created the heavens and stretched them out,
    who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
    and spirit to those who walk in it:
“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
    I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
    a light for the nations,
    to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
    from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the Lord; that is my name;
    my glory I give to no other,
    nor my praise to carved idols.
Behold, the former things have come to pass,
    and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
    I tell you of them.”

See other devotionals in this series.

 

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®),
copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.