Victory in Jesus

Today I read Isaiah 24:10-28:3 and Philippians 2:24-3:15. My favorite verses are:

Isaiah 25:8-9 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. 9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

There is a gospel song that says, “I’ve read the back of the book, and we win!” That is what today’s verses remind me of. If we had stopped reading yesterday or the day before in Isaiah, thoughts of the future would have been very depressing. But today, we see VICTORY! God did not leave His chosen people captive in a foreign land; he brought them back to the Promised Land. When that day came, they rejoiced. In the same way, we can believe that God will not leave us lost and dying. “He will save us.” Jesus died on the cross so that we could have life; we must accept Him as our Savior in order to lay hold of eternal life. As Paul said in Philippians, we must forget what is behind us and reach out to Jesus. He is there waiting to receive us and then to reward us for our service to Him. God is Good; take hold of His blessings today. Don’t be defeated—be VICTORIOUS by the power of Christ Jesus.