February 17, 2026 Devo

February 17th, 2026

Powerful Words from the Prophets
“But the LORD will have mercy on the descendants of Jacob. He will choose Israel as his special people once again. He will bring them back to settle once again in their own land. And people from many different nations will come and join them there and unite with the people of Israel.” – Isaiah 14:1 (NLT)
“From a Mess to a Masterpiece”

Our passage today from Isaiah is a beautiful one. It reminds us again of how great the grace and mercy of our Lord are. Despite Israel’s disobedience and eventual exile, God will bring them back. But not just them. Other nationalities will come with them and be blessed. Think about that for a second. God’s grace not only forgives and redeems His fallen people, but He also seizes the opportunity to bless others in the process.
Two additional inferences come out of this text. One is that it is a reminder of what God had done for Israel before when He brought His people out of Egypt. He not only brought the Israelites out, but He brought the aliens living among them out as well. You see this hint at the bigger picture of what God is up to again and again in the Old Testament. God wants His salvation to be available to ALL people.
The second part is how this text points to the coming of Christ. Jesus made it clear that He had sheep that “are not of this fold.” His ministry would stretch beyond the Jews to the surrounding Gentiles as well. Eventually, His Disciples would take this news around the world to people everywhere. God took the mess of Egypt, the mess of Israel’s capture, and the mess of the cross and made a masterpiece out of each one. And He’s still making masterpieces today!
God has a way of taking our biggest mistakes and using them as a turning point to take our lives to better places. He can take our darkest moments and turn them into times of deeper intimacy with Him than we’ve ever known. I’ve seen Him take the tragic stories of people whose lives have been devastated by addiction and turn them into testimonies that have helped other people find their way back to sanity and sobriety as well. So take heart. If you’ve fallen away, fallen apart, or flat-out fallen on your face, it doesn’t have to be the end. In fact, if you’ll bring your failure to the Lord, it could be a new, fantastic beginning! Because our brokenness can make us better, and our setbacks can be turned into stepping stones. And God can take our mess and make a masterpiece. That’s God’s Word for you today.