Daily Devotion: April 9

“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.” Isaiah 53:10-11 NKJV

You are valuable. Notice how I didn’t say perfect... I think we often times fail to see our true worth in Christ because we connect our value to “what we are” rather than “who we are.” Some of us may be liars, others may be fornicators while some may just be failures, but to God we are always loved despite our shortcomings. Yes, what we do is obviously important but that does not define our worth in God’s eyes. If our worth was based on our abilities and performance, then none of us would have value because we all struggle with sin at the core of who we are (Romans 3:23).

 With that in mind, here are two reasons that prove we have worth despite our sin:
1) We were created by God... God doesn’t make mistakes in His creation. This means we exist not by mistake but with intention and value because God created us with a purpose (Jeremiah 29:11). 
2) Jesus gave up His life for us when mankind distorted God’s good plans and intentions for this world (Isaiah 53:5)

Sometimes, we can sit in our hopelessness, grief and sin, and think “how am I valuable to anyone?” But that’s what the Easter story reminds us about every year. It’s the truth that when my imperfections condemn me, Jesus’ love validates me. It reminds me that when I screw up, or am overwhelmed by life’s pain and struggles, Jesus provides me with undeserved hope in the midst of these moments. This hope only exists because I’m valued and radically loved by God, not because I’m perfect.

Jesus looked at my sin and said “I love you too much to let this destroy you” (John 3:16). He says “My death brings Me joy, because of the life it will bring you” (Hebrews 12:2). We may not see our importance, but God did, when it pleased Him to send Jesus to die and rise again to save us from sin (Isaiah 53:10).
So maybe some of us are struggling with our worth because we don’t see what Jesus sees when He looks at us. We don’t see the blood, sweat and tears He shed for us before the Cross (Luke 22:39-44). We don’t see how committed He was to save us when He could have fought back and asked a legion of angels to rescue Him from the Cross (Matthew 26:52-54). We don’t see the forgiveness He prayed upon those who nailed Him to the Cross (Luke 23:34), the same forgiveness available to us today! To gain that hope and forgiveness, all He asks is for us to have faith in His ability to transform our sin into His righteousness! (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 The reality is, the Easter story is a reminder that choosing Jesus means embracing the worth and value God has always had for us. So, are we struggling with our walk with God because we are embracing what we are to this world rather than who we are to God?

FOR YOUR KIDS

Get to know your kids

1. If someone suddenly gave you a lot of money, how would you spend it?
2. What item would you grab first if your house was on fire?

Devotional Questions

1. Name 3 items that are worth alot to you?
2. Do you ever feel like you aren’t valuable to people or to God?
3. If yes, then why do you feel that way? (Take time to talk through it.)

Prayer
Take time to pray together. What do you need prayer for today?