he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.” [Isaiah 43]
We've all heard (about a thousand times :)) the message with all the statistics about the galaxies and stars. It attempts to convey to our limited minds just how vast the universe is in comparison to how small we are, and that God created all of it with His hands, yet cares for us. Important truths, for sure. However, this line of thinking has never really reached me quite as much as others.
That up there? One of my favorite passages in all of scripture, for sure. To me, this passage is equally as astonishing and awe-inspiring as realizing that I am 1/4350980238th of a speck of dust in comparison to the size of the universe. To think that the God who created that vast universe calls me "His" inspires a sense of awe that I can't even put words to. I often say that we don't appreciate what we think we deserve, and I think that's true. But the opposite side of this statement is that we most appreciate what we feel we least deserve. For myself? Worthless, torn, ugly, disgraceful, disgusting, filthy, unlovable, failure, without hope -- this and more is how I see myself. I wouldn't want to claim as "mine" something with these characteristics! Why should God?
And here's the part that inspires me to awe and worship -- He shouldn't. He absolutely shouldn't, but the Truth is that He does because He tells us He does. ...because you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you... I can spend all day coming up with lots of reasons why this shouldn't be true, or at least not for me (it's true for other people! :)), but honestly? It's not mine to decide. I don't have to understand why He would love me, I just have to know that I don't belong to myself, I belong to Him. He is the one who bought me at a price. (1 Cor 6:20) He determines my worth. He has said that, "I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life" and, most of all, He's the one who gave His son for me personally, by name. To redeem me.
Created. Formed. Valued. Held. Protected. Daughter. Loved. Redeemed.
That up there? One of my favorite passages in all of scripture, for sure. To me, this passage is equally as astonishing and awe-inspiring as realizing that I am 1/4350980238th of a speck of dust in comparison to the size of the universe. To think that the God who created that vast universe calls me "His" inspires a sense of awe that I can't even put words to. I often say that we don't appreciate what we think we deserve, and I think that's true. But the opposite side of this statement is that we most appreciate what we feel we least deserve. For myself? Worthless, torn, ugly, disgraceful, disgusting, filthy, unlovable, failure, without hope -- this and more is how I see myself. I wouldn't want to claim as "mine" something with these characteristics! Why should God?
And here's the part that inspires me to awe and worship -- He shouldn't. He absolutely shouldn't, but the Truth is that He does because He tells us He does. ...because you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you... I can spend all day coming up with lots of reasons why this shouldn't be true, or at least not for me (it's true for other people! :)), but honestly? It's not mine to decide. I don't have to understand why He would love me, I just have to know that I don't belong to myself, I belong to Him. He is the one who bought me at a price. (1 Cor 6:20) He determines my worth. He has said that, "I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life" and, most of all, He's the one who gave His son for me personally, by name. To redeem me.
Created. Formed. Valued. Held. Protected. Daughter. Loved. Redeemed.
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