He was wounded because of our sin; His punishment brought us peace; by His wounds we are healed. These contradictions are staggering; they’re irrational and unjust. We are the ones that have gone astray, and therefore we justly deserve to be wounded, crushed, punished for our sin, and to live out our destruction in aimless wandering. What causes us to go astray, or ‘away from the correct path or direction,” in the first place? The answer in these verses is so simple and yet convicting: “each of us has turned to our own way.” Just like the lost sheep, wandering without purpose, lacking the shepherd’s care and direction, defenseless against the world, we are all before Christ. When was a time in your life that you have been like the sheep who goes astray? What got you there? What was it like to be found by God?
It can often feel like we need to insert a bunch of ‘to-do’s” into our lives in order to walk with God faithfully. However, God calls us to closeness with Him, our Good Shepherd, before anything else. As we aim to stay near Him, we won’t turn to our own way or find ourselves wandering alone. When we’re walking with God, we find that because of the Lord’s perfect sacrifice for our sin, instead of the wounding, crushing, punishment, or destruction, we get salvation, hope, redemption, restoration, and new life!