Daily Devotion

“"If I could, I would take the whole misery of the world on myself, and throw myself into the sea with it." … "You need not do that, Eva, it was done long ago by Christ on the Cross."”

Evangeline French · Mildred Cable & Francesca French, Something Happened (1933)

Scripture

Isaiah 53:4-5 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

Reflection

Faced with the suffering of the world and our own limitations, we often fall into a deep sense of helplessness, even trying to carry unbearable burdens in our own strength. However, the Book of Isaiah clearly reveals that Jesus Christ has already borne our griefs and carried our sorrows on the cross. True devotion and salvation do not stem from ascetic self-sacrifice, but are built upon a profound response to Christ's finished work of redemption. When we let go of our self-righteous obsessions and surrender our heavy burdens to the Savior who was crushed for us, our lives can transform from anxious struggling into the ease and freedom of walking by grace.