The Upper Room 16th February 2024 Devotional Message
The Upper Room 16th February 2024 Devotional, Friday Message by Eui-mo Yang (Seoul, South Korea)
TOPIC: Welcomed Back
TODAY’S READING
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
KEY VERSE: The father said, “This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So they began to celebrate. – Luke 15:24 (NIV)
MESSAGE: Graduating from university, studying abroad, earning a PhD, striving to be a good Christian — everything was going smoothly. However, at times I had experienced ups and downs. I worked days and nights without a break, repeatedly meeting with failures, and I became depressed. Eventually I moved to a small town where I began to work for a kimchi manufacturing company. I felt like I was starting from nothing. Because I am clumsy and was inexperienced in manual labor, I often received criticism from my co-workers. All I could do was pray. I was weary from my repeated failures. But the Lord welcomed me with open arms even though I had lived like the prodigal son for decades. (See Lk. 15:11-32.)
From that time, my life was changed. My thinking became peaceful and positive, I praised more and felt more gratitude, and when faced with a false accusation I was able to smile and carry on. These changes resulted from the love and acceptance of the Lord.
No matter what we do, the Lord embraces us. Jesus came to save sinners, and he looks for every lost sheep until he finds it. Those who wander away from the Lord can always come back. The Lord welcomes everyone with open arms.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you for waiting for us and forgiving our sins. May all people recognize your love and turn to you. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
I will look for Jesus as eagerly as he looks for me.
PRAYER FOCUS
People struggling with failure
The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together.