Israel's Only Savior

¹ "But now, this is what the LORD says—
   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 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."-Isaiah 43:1-4






This passage has completely opened my eyes to the truths of God's immense love for us.  The first thing that God says is that He has summoned us by name.  The definition of summon is to authoritatively or urgently call on.  How cool is it that God calls us by our names to come to Him?  I think of it as if God is saying "Reagan I am urgently calling for you!"  He will be with us always and through everything, the fire, storms, water, even when we are walking on solid ground.  I have always known that "God was there," but I never completely lived as if He was living inside of me.  As I finish my freshmen year of college, I look back on everything that I have learned and it is more then I could ever even have imagined.  This year the Lord has urgently called for me to live for Him and it has been the experience of a lifetime and I will never go back!  Just like this passage says, I have gone through the rivers but they have not washed over me.  I have gone through the fires but I have not been burned.  I am precious in the Lord's sight and because He loves me He says He will give men in exchange for my life!!   


Today I was looking through my brother's national geographic magazine and the article was about the world's tallest trees.  This pictures were incredible of the 300 foot trees.  They were absolutely breath-taking!!  A lot of people can see God's beauty through nature.  I see how huge God is compared to the hugest things.  If MY GOD created a 300 foot tree, He must be HUGE.  If my God made the biggest mountains, he is still much bigger.  So who am I to think that my life and my problems matter?  But they do to God.  He loves me and will give anything for me to seek and call after Him.  And what is stopping us sometimes?  God created everything.  He is funnier then the funniest person I know.  God is HILARIOUS!  He is more loving then the most loving person I know.  Because He created them.  He created me.  This fact alone should make us want to THROW our lives at him and allow him to control it all.  If He knows whats going to happen and whats best then why would we ever want to do anything on our own??


What are you holding onto, big or small, that God is asking you to trust him with?  Are you willing to give it away and rest in the lap of our daddy?  The only one who will always be faithful?


This week at church we looked at the passage in Matthew where Peter steps out of the boat and walks on the water towards Jesus.  While this passage is so important in understanding trust and being able to surrender, I picked out something I had never thought about before.  Paul ASKS Jesus to ask him to get out of the boat and walk on the water!!  How many times have we ever ASKED God to challenge us to step out in faith when we could surely fall?  I think that the Sweet Lord wants us to want to be uncomfortable for his glory.  If we are comfortable in our faith then we have settled and we are missing out!!


Today, ask God to test you, ask God to challenge you in an area that you never even thought about.  Then leap out of the boat and run towards the father!  YOU WILL NOT FAIL!  He will be right there with you and when you reach him he will wrap his arms around you.


Hope everyone is having a blessed week.  I love you all so much!!