May 7, 2026 Devo

May 7th, 2026

Powerful Words from the Prophets
“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father, ‘Why was I born?’ or if it said to its mother, ‘Why did you make me this way?’” – Isaiah 45:9-10 (NLT)
“You’re Not a Mistake”

I was watching a movie the other night that broke my heart. A father who had two sons was being really harsh with the younger son. He put him down. He called him names. He told him he was weak, pitiful, and useless. He simply shredded the poor young man’s self-esteem in front of a whole group of people.
What’s worse, the younger son BELIEVED what the father was saying. He believed he was a bother. He believed he had no usefulness or value. He believed he was a MISTAKE. The only saving grace of the scene was the older brother who came to him, put his arm around him, and told him not to listen to their dad. He assured his brother that he was loved. He reminded him of the gifts and talents that he had. And he told him that he meant the world to him and that he would always be there for him. You could see how desperately the younger brother wanted to believe it.
I thought of that scene when I read our verse for today. I thought about how many people I’ve met along the way who have felt like that younger brother. Somewhere along the way, they were beaten down to a point where they accept the harsh treatment from other people as something they deserve. They not only struggle to find purpose and meaning in their lives, but they also struggle to understand why they were even born. So they question God’s Sovereignty. They question their created value. They question whether God really cares about them at all.
But He does. God cares about every single one of us. Some people, in their insecurity, may feel the need to put us down. But that doesn’t change our status with God. Some people, who have been through pain of their own, may seek to wipe that pain off on us, but that doesn’t mean we deserve it. We don’t. And some of us may grow up in places where we’ve been called every ugly name in existence. But those names are not who we are. Only God, who created us, gets to define us. And He calls us His Precious Children. So if you’re struggling with your identity today or thinking your life is a mistake, take a moment to pause. Let Jesus, your Big Brother, who loved you enough to die for you, come alongside you and remind you who you really are. You are not a mistake. You, my friend, are a MASTERPIECE. Created by the Hands of Almighty God. And His opinion of you is the only one that matters. That’s God’s Word for you today.