All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6
Isaiah reminds us of the painful truth that each person strays from God in his or her own way. This is what we sometimes call a besetting sin. You love Christ and want to follow Him, but there is an area of weakness in your life, and it haunts you.
There have been times when you felt you were doing better, but then it comes back, and you find yourself defeated by it again. It is your own way of straying from God, and it grieves you deeply.
Isaiah wants you to know that Jesus died not only for your sins in general, but for your particular sins. The sins that were gathered up by God and laid on Jesus included your own way of straying from God. God knows that you have this battle, and He does not want it to condemn you.
Peace comes from knowing and believing that your sins were laid on Jesus. If you say to God, “Please accept me because I am doing my best to live a good Christian life,” then you are trusting your best effort to live the Christian life, and you will never have peace, because you know that even your best effort could and should be better.
If you say to God, “Please accept me because I believe in Jesus, or because I have repented of my sins, or because I am devoted to serving you,” you will never have peace, because your faith could be stronger, your repentance could be deeper, and your serving could be better.
But if you say to God, “Please accept me because my sins were laid on Jesus,” you will have peace, because you are standing on solid ground. God has counted your sins against Jesus, and having counted them against Jesus, He will not, and He cannot, count them against you.
What has God done with your besetting sin?
