Air1's Verse of the Day for Aug 25, 2025

The Cry of Every Christian

Read the transcript from today's video devotional.

As Isaiah writes this chapter, God's people are being destroyed by the Assyrians. One of the reasons we know from Scripture that God was allowing the Assyrians to conquer the people of Israel is because Assyria was God's chosen instrument of judgment.

God's people had not been faithful, and so they were deserving of God's wrath. That is why God's people here through the prophet Isaiah, they're crying out for mercy because they know that the judgment that they are receiving is something that they deserve. They're asking God, pleading with God, to be merciful. Mercy is when you don't get the judgment that you deserve.

Mercy happens when God withholds the judgment that we justly deserve. When God's people are crying out for Him to be merciful, they are acknowledging their sin and what it deserves. This cry of Isaiah is the same cry of every Christian, because we know that we are sinners who deserve God's judgment and wrath. We plead with God for mercy.

Our Need for Mercy

I don't deserve God's love. I don't have any claim to God's love. I don't have a right for God to forgive me and to cleanse me from my sin, and to adopt me into His family. I can make no demands of God. I can only plead with Him. God is a just God. God does what is right and what is right, and just is to punish a sinner like you and like me.

At some point in my life and in your life, if you're a Christian, you came to understand that God is not only just. He is also merciful, and because we know He's merciful, we plead for God to save us. God has saved us.

How Mercy is Possible

How is that possible? How is it possible that God can show us mercy, not just sweep our sin under the carpet, not just look the other way? How can He actually extend grace and mercy to us if we are sinners? The answer to that question is Jesus.

The same prophet, Isaiah, talked about this in chapter 53. Let me read you just a couple verses, beginning in verse 4:

"Surely He [and this is Christ] has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He [that is Jesus] was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." — Isaiah 53:4-6

Today, with confidence in Christ, say with Isaiah chapter 33, verse 2:

But Lord, be merciful to us, for we have waited for you. Be our strong arm each day and our salvation in times of trouble.

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The Cry of Every Christian

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For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the LORD.

Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.

Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.

Yes, the LORD has done amazing things for us! What joy!

Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with My victorious right hand.

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.

O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for Your help.

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised.

Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to Him for protection.

And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

O LORD, I will honor and praise Your name, for You are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now You have accomplished them.

They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about Your mighty works.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

But from there you will search again for the LORD your God. And if you search for Him with all your heart and soul, you will find Him.

The LORD is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in Him.

And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.

Acknowledge that the LORD is God! He made us, and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Be still in the presence of the Lord , and wait patiently for Him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.

All of Your works will thank You, LORD, and Your faithful followers will praise You.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.

Then Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

The LORD Himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.

Lord , there is no one like You! For You are great, and Your name is full of power.

I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

And the church is His body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with Himself.

So it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

"Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.”

Give thanks to Him who alone does mighty miracles. His faithful love endures forever.

Always be joyful. Never stop praying.

And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.

I took my troubles to the Lord ; I cried out to Him, and He answered my prayer.

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the LORD will be joyful.

Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O Lord , do not abandon those who search for You.

Seek the Lord while you can find Him. Call on Him now while He is near.

Christ is also the head of the church, which is His body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So He is first in everything.

God will do this, for He is faithful to do what He says, and He has invited you into partnership with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today."

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again— my Savior and my God!

I will praise You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things You have done.

Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.

“Everyone who acknowledges Me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven.

For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and His faithfulness continues to each generation.

For He will conceal me there when troubles come; He will hide me in His sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock.

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

O God, we give glory to You all day long and constantly praise Your name.

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’

Sing to the LORD; praise His name. Each day proclaim the good news that He saves.

Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

How kind the LORD is! How good He is! So merciful, this God of ours!

From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine."

I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.

All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; He alone is God. Amen.

But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore— the LORD above is mightier than these!

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.

Give to the LORD the glory He deserves! Bring your offering and come into His presence. Worship the LORD in all His holy splendor.

And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.

For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like You, who works for those who wait for Him!

I cling to You; Your strong right hand holds me securely.

But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread Your protection over them, that all who love Your name may be filled with joy.