The Price for Your Peace
Have you ever considered Who paid the price for your ability to have peace?
Verse of the Day
“But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.”
Isaiah 53:5
Today’s Devotional
It’s so amazing to me that this was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born. It proves to me the power of the words of the prophets. They clearly had a direct revelation from God. It makes me a little jealous, but I also know it must have been an incredible burden as well.
So let’s talk about what Jesus did for us. Can you imagine volunteering to take someone else’s death sentence, knowing that he is guilty of the crime while you are innocent? But for some reason, you want a relationship with this guilty person. You love him and want a better life for him, and the only way that is even possible is for you to take his punishment on yourself. It’s not guaranteed that he will change his life. It’s not even guaranteed that he will be grateful, much less love you in return. Are you willing to die for a guilty man?
Jesus was.
Because we are rebellious against God, Jesus was literally pierced. His hands. His feet. His side. My rebellion takes on many forms, like idolatry (loving things of this world more than God) and many forms of selfishness. Because I am selfish, Jesus was pierced into and through his flesh. Because of my sins, he was crushed. He was beaten and spit upon. The physical and emotional agony is beyond my comprehension. All because each of us is human and we sin. All of this punishment that Jesus endured was so that we could have peace.
Have you ever considered the price that was paid so that you could have even the slightest measure of peace? Peace does not just happen because we completed our checklist for the day, or didn’t procrastinate, or our relationships are healthy, or we have some extra money in the bank account. True peace only happens because of what Jesus did. He granted us access to peace with God which then seeps into all the other areas of our life.
If we will allow it, the brutality that Jesus suffered can heal any broken place in our lives or our hearts. It will require leaning hard into Him, spending time with Him, reading the Word, and lots of prayer. The kind of prayer where you pray….then listen…then act. Allowing Jesus that kind of access to your life may not feel comfortable in the process. But if you’ve experienced victory in any area of your life, you know that it is worth it. And given the incredibly high price that Jesus paid for your opportunity for peace, isn’t the process of allowing Him access to your heart a bargain in comparison? Lean in. Be uncomfortable with the process of growth and change and healing. Jesus paid dearly for you to have peace.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Express your gratitude to Jesus today for the punishment he endured for you to have peace and healing. Where do you still see sin and rebellion in your life today? Invite the healing work of Jesus into your life. Pray…listen…act.