April 23, 2026 Devo

April 23rd, 2026

Powerful Words from the Prophets
“And you will be a light to guide the nations. You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.” – Isaiah 42:6-7 (NLT)
“Our Guiding Light”

Today’s verse is one of those that most of the people in Isaiah’s day didn’t really understand. Jesus was coming to “be a light to guide the nations.” He wasn’t just coming for Israel. He wasn’t just interested in Jerusalem. God’s love was for all people everywhere. No matter who they were. No matter what they had done. His light was meant to shine for ALL to find their way back to God. No matter how deep their darkness.
Dark. That’s a word that describes the place that a lot of us find ourselves in today. Some of us started out on a path that was well-lit. But somewhere along the way, we took a different path. Maybe it looked enticing. Maybe it was posted with signs promising everything we ever dreamed of. Or maybe it was a path that someone talked us into getting on. But instead of that path leading us to better days and a brighter future, we now find ourselves in a dark place. And we don’t know how to find our way out. If that’s you, Jesus came to be a light to you.
Some of us find ourselves in a dark place today because of losses we’ve experienced. We lost a spouse. We lost a child. We lost a parent. We lost a dear, close friend. Sometimes grief has a way of settling upon us like a thick fog or heavy blanket. People tell us we need to just “shake it off.” But we can’t. Like an anchor sinking to the bottom of the ocean, we just keep going down, down, down. We need a glimmer of hope. We need to know that it’s okay to feel again, breathe again, have joy again. If that’s you, Jesus came to be a light to you.
Jesus came to “be a light to guide the nations.” That means that Jesus came for US. He is the light that can save us from the dark paths of sin and self-destruction. He is the light that can guide us out of the dungeons of grief and despair. He is the Light of Life. He is the Light of Salvation. He is the Light of Hope. No matter what dark place we’re in or how bleak our circumstances might seem, Jesus was sent by the Father to find us and lead us Home. He is our Guiding Light. That’s God’s Word for you today.