Read and meditate Our Daily Bread Devotional for 1 January 2021, Today’s Inspirational Message for 2021 written by Members of Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Topic: Uncharted Waters
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Today’s Scripture: Isaiah 43:1–7
Bible in a Year: Genesis 1–3; Matthew 1
Key Verse: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. – Isaiah 43:2
Today’s Insight: The Bible Knowledge Commentary points out that the phrase “but now” (or “and now”), which launches Isaiah 43:1, is a repeating feature of this section of Isaiah’s prophecy. It’s also found in 44:1; 49:5; and 52:5. In a section that boldly promises God’s rescue of the people of Israel, the phrase “but now” sets God’s promised rescue in contrast to the discipline He’s brought upon His people because of their chronic waywardness (see Isaiah 42). The vital thing to remember, however, is that God’s acts of correction and rescue are both expressions of His love for His people. Though they’d rejected His love, He loved them to the point of disciplining them for their wrongful actions. Then He loved them enough to bring them home.
Our Daily Bread Devotional for 1 January 2021 Today’s Message
The ball drops in New York’s Times Square. The crowd counts down to Big Ben chiming. Sydney Harbor erupts in fireworks. However your city marks it, there’s something exciting about welcoming in a new year and the fresh start it brings. On New Year’s Day we push out into new waters. What friendships and opportunities might we find?
For all its excitement, though, a new year can be unsettling. None of us knows the future or what storms it may hold. Many New Year’s traditions reflect this: Fireworks were invented in China to supposedly ward off evil spirits and make a new season prosperous. And New Year’s resolutions date back to the Babylonians who made vows to appease their gods. Such acts were an attempt to make an unknown future secure.
When they weren’t making vows, the Babylonians were busy conquering people—including Israel. In time, God sent the enslaved Jews this message: “Do not fear . . . . When you pass through the waters, I will be with you” (Isaiah 43:1–2). Later, Jesus said something similar when He and the disciples were caught sailing in a violent storm. “Why are you so afraid?” He told them before commanding the waters to be still (Matthew 8:23–27).
Today we push out from the shore into new, uncharted waters. Whatever we face, He’s with us—and He has the power to calm the waves.
Reflect & Pray
What possibilities excite you as you look forward to a new year? What worries can you place in God’s hands?
God, thank You that whatever this new year brings, You will be with me in it.
Sheridan Voysey is a writer, speaker and broadcaster based in Oxford, United Kingdom. He is the author of seven books, including The Making of Us: Who We Can Become When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned, Resurrection Year: Turning Broken Dreams into New Beginnings, and the Discovery House titles Resilient: Your Invitation to a Jesus-Shaped Life and the award-winning Unseen Footprints. Sheridan is a presenter of Pause for Thought on BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show (heard by 10 million people daily), is a regular guest on other broadcast networks across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and beyond, and speaks at conferences and events around the world. Sheridan blogs and podcasts at sheridanvoysey.com, and invites you to find him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
