Daily Devotions
(Jesus said) “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.” Matthew 11:4b-6
There are almost nine million people in the world who have tuberculosis. That’s bad news.
In the last 40 years, only one drug has been introduced to treat TB. That news is worse.
In recent years some strains of TB have shown themselves resistant to all forms of treatment. Translated into human numbers, that’s 650,000 people who aren’t going to get better — no matter what combination of drugs the physicians give them. That news is the worst of all.
But now, according to a report published by the researchers at Yeshiva University, there may be some good news. It appears those drug-resistant, little critters have an enemy. No, it’s not some sort of new super-drug. Their nemesis is large doses of vitamin C.
Although studies are just beginning to see if the results will be the same for animals and humans, in the laboratory those bacteria which shrugged off antibiotics, shrivel up and die when they’re fed a mega-dose of vitamin C.
Now the reason I bring this to your attention is because it seems, every once in a while, that the Lord sends people hope from a place they don’t expect it. For example, King Saul and the forces of Israel didn’t expect David to do much against the giant Goliath. On that day the Lord sent hope from an unexpected source.
Centuries later, the Lord sent hope to all of humankind. Amazingly, He didn’t send that hope to the Roman forum or to a king’s palace in Jerusalem. No, if you wanted to find God’s hope, His Good News of great joy, you would have to go to Bethlehem and take a peek into the animals’ feeding trough. But don’t confine yourself to that single scene in David’s town. Walk with Jesus. Listen to Him; see Him do that which only could be done by the Son of God.
Go to Gethsemane and see Him be crushed under the weight of your sin. Follow Him through His trials and stand at the foot of the cross where, having done as His Father asked, He won your soul’s salvation.
Yes, the Lord sends hope from places we don’t expect. That’s why three days after Jesus was crucified, a person would do well to stand at the tomb where He was buried. There he could see God’s Son returned to life and know that a living Savior has given us the cure for every sin which sickens our souls.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks Your grace has given me Jesus. May I rejoice that through His blood my sins have been washed away. I am forgiven, and my eternal place in heaven is assured. In His Name I give thanks. Amen.