30 Day Challenge - Day 23

Isaiah 53:4-6

Isaiah 53:4-6 The Passion Translation

4. “Yet he was the one who carried our sicknesses and endured the torment of our sufferings. We viewed him as one who was being punished for something he himself had done, as one who was struck down by God and brought low.”

Isaiah 53:4 Amplified Bible

“But [in fact] He has borne our griefs, And He has carried our sorrows and pains; Yet we [ignorantly] assumed that He was stricken, Struck down by God and degraded and humiliated [by Him].”

One afternoon I (Joe) was watching Kenneth Copeland read this passage when my life was changed. I carried a lot of sorrows and pain from my childhood. That day Holy Spirit revealed to me that I needed to walk in forgiveness toward those who had hurt me deeply if I was going to lead our family to the places God wanted to take us.

That night I made a very difficult phone call to someone who I had made a decision to forgive and never look back. It was a significant turning point for our family.

Allowing God to heal our sorrows is a pathway to our destiny! It is in this healing that freedom comes!

5. “But it was because of our rebellious deeds that he was pierced and because of our sins that he was crushed. He endured the punishment that made us completely whole, and in his wounding we found our healing.”

Jesus carried our sins in his body on the cross and endured the whipping of his back for our healing.

He received the punishment that makes us completely whole; including peace, prosperity and wellbeing. His finished work is for our entire being – body, soul and spirit.

6. “Like wayward sheep, we have all wandered astray: each of us has turned from God’s paths and chosen our own way; even so, Yahweh laid the guilt of our every sin upon him.”

Every one of us has wandered on a path of self deception, willing to pursue our own ideas, desires or foolishness. Jesus willingly took the guilt of it so we could be in relationship with Him.

As you receive communion, pray this prayer. Thank you Jesus for carrying my sorrow, grief, sickness and punishment so I would not have to. I receive Your forgiveness, healing and deliverance by the power of Your blood.