8-14-07 Isaiah 38:17

Isaiah 38:17 (NAS)
Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness; It is Thou who hast kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, For Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.

Isaiah 38:17 (NRSV)
Surely it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but you have held back my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.

Without the Lord, your life became bitter. Circumstances were hard and harsh. You felt brutalized and afflicted. Unpleasant and offensive things, causing you great pain, seemed to dog your steps.

Then the Lord of Peace came, bringing wholeness and completeness in His hands for you. Because He had such great love and longing for you, He breathed refreshing and new life into your soul. He took you out of the destructive pit and delivered you from the grave. He removed everything that had you bowed down and depressed. He has taken away whatever was wearing you out and using you up. Instead He made it possible for you to fully enjoy your life.

He took your sin that made you wrong and unclean, and He cast it away from you. Even the guilt and the punishment of your sin were thrown behind His back, where He could not see it or remember it. Now, He has exalted you in triumph. He has lifted and raised you up.
You now live in peace, the shalom of God. You are safe and secure. You are whole and sound. You are restored and rewarded. What was bitter is now sweet through the covenant that the Lord has made with you.