“We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
   each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
   the iniquity of us all.”

Isaiah 53:6

This is a verse of despair and hope…

What’s the despairing part?  We have all gone astray and followed our own ways.

Wait just a minute: are you saying that if I follow my own way that something is wrong with that?

No, I’m not, but it seems that God sees it that way…

If we follow our own ways, then we aren’t following God’s ways; from God’s point of view, that is a bad thing.  It is nothing less than outright and open rebellion against the very One who created all things.

Great; what is the hopeful part?  Easy: God placed our iniquities on Christ, who paid the price for our rebellion and paved the way for a peace treaty between Man and God. Will we follow Him to the peace table?