Read: Luke 15:1-7
All we like sheep have gone astray. (v. 6)
The prayer of confession for the morning service in the Book of Common Prayer teaches us to pray like this: “Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep, we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts, we have offended against thy holy laws.” Sheep have to be herded, otherwise they wander. Sheep will follow their instincts into all sorts of trouble, from which they cannot extricate themselves. The same is true of us. We prefer to follow the devices and desires of our own hearts instead of God’s holy and life-giving laws.
Like the gospel throughout the Bible, the gospel according to Isaiah has bad news for us as well as good news. You can’t really understand the good news until you have reckoned with the bad. The bad news in Isaiah 53 is that we have all gone astray. We’ve become hopelessly entangled in thickets of sin. We’ve fallen and we can’t get up. We’re helpless, and we need someone to rescue us. We’re lost, and we need a Savior who will go out and search for us until he finds us.
The good news is that he has done exactly that. More than that, he’s carrying us back home. We have a shepherd, in fact a Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep. If we hear his voice and follow him (John 10:14-16), all will be well. And though Isaiah didn’t know his name, we do!
As you pray, thank God for his seeking, saving love.
About the Author
Rev. David Bast
David Bast is a writer and pastor who served for 23 years as the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope. In his more than 40 years of devotional writing and preaching, he has been encouraging believers around the world to be shaped by God and his Word.
Prior to his ministry and work at Words of Hope, Dave served as a pastor for 18 years in congregations in the Reformed Church in America. A graduate of Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, he is the author of nine devotional books and Bible studies, includingWhy Doesn't God Act More Like God,Christ in the Psalms, andA Gospel for the World.
Dave and his wife, Betty Jo, have four children and eight grandchildren. Dave enjoys reading, growing tomatoes, and avidly follows the Detroit Tigers.
