You are Mine

But now, thus says the LORD, your

Creator, O Jacob,

And He who formed you, O Israel,

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; 

I have called you by name; you are

Mine!"

Remember these things, O Jacob,

And Israel, for you are My servant;

I have formed you, you are My servant,

O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.

I have wiped out your transgressions

like a thick cloud

And your sins like a heavy mist.

Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and

the one who formed you from the womb,

"I, the LORD, am the maker of all things,

Stretching out the heavens by Myself

And spreading out the earth all alone...

Confirming the word of His servant

And performing the purpose of His messengers.

It is I who says of Jerusalem, 'She shall be inhabited!'

And of the cities of Judah, 'They shall be built.'

And I will raise up her ruins again."

Isaiah 43:1 & Isaiah 44:21-22,24,26

I studied these verses this morning after finding a bookmark that one of my roommates at Capernwray gave to me and it said,

"Be not afraid, I am with you always. I have called you by name, you are Mine." 

This is one of those verses that makes me feel warm, safe, and protected. I am His? But then I looked at the surrounding verses because I don't like to take things out of context, and in those verses I found more promises, and I found raw power, and I found forgiveness. I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud and your sins like a heavy mist...and then after stating the work that He goes through to obliterate my sins the LORD says Return to Me, for I have redeemed you. Redeemed, bought with a price, He has bought me back, and will continue to redeem me every time I fall and he has to blot out my sins yet again, like Hosea did for his wife Gomer. It amazes me that He would go through so much work for me. That He would choose me, pick me, He is truly a gracious, forgiving, loving and very patient God. He is perfect, and yet He takes me just as I am in the midst of all my imperfections, He sees every one of them, He chooses to blot them out, as far as the east is from the west, and He redeems me. He also acts on my behalf. He is power. He is Elohim, all powerful God. And rather than use that power to destroy my sinful self, He uses it to build me up again and I will raise up her ruins again. Again...this is not the first time, and it will not be the last, but I don't want to miss the measures my Savior takes to form me, shape me, mold me, into the woman He wants me to be. I don't want to take His forgiveness, His power, His shaping and reshaping, His redeeming for granted. I want to grasp it, I want to understand it, I want to be grateful for it, I want to be in awe and amazed at the unconditional, always there, forever love, forgiveness, patience, teaching, waiting. I want to be in awe of my Jesus. The fact that He wants me, He pursues me, He wants relationship with me. He wants me, I belong with Him, He is who I was designed for. 

And here comes the trap, the trap of...you're not worth it...you need to be perfect...He'll only love you and want you when you do more things for Him...and the list could go on. But that is Satan talking, that is Satan trying to get in my head because He's scared. Ha that's a pretty funny thought, Satan scared, of me? But if I choose to ignore Satan's jabs and focus on the Redemption given by my Savior, and I choose to let Him mold me, shape me and form me, than I guess Satan should be scared. Because my God is awesome. My God is great. My God bigger, and He is stronger. He is God, Elohim, LORD, Jehovah, Lord, Adonai. He is God, and if our God is for us than what can stand against?

Water You turned into wine
Open the eyes of the blind
There’s no one like You
None like You
Into the darkness You shine
Out of the ashes we rise
There’s no one like You
None like You
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…

Into the darkness you shining
Out of the ashes we Rise
There’s no One like You
None like You.

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against?
What can stand against?

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against?
Then what can stand against?
Then what can stand against?

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God… 

Our God by Chris Tomlin