For I Am Your God!

In the Old Testament, God formed and chose Israel.  In Isaiah 41:8-10, God says the powerful words: "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you.  I said, 'You are my servant; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.  So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.'"  When I read the Old Testament and learn about the Israelites, I learn that time and time again they rebelled against God.  Time and time again they tested the love and the patience of God by turning to sin, especially the sin of idolatry.  However, I also see that time and time again through loving discipline, God reminded his children Israel that He formed them and called them.  He reminded them over and over again that they are His children.  Nothing Israel did on their own earned or deserved this position with God.  As a matter of fact, it wasn't Israel pursuing God; it was God pursuing Israel.  God's love for His people is amazing, as well as His grace and mercy for them!  And as I continue to read God's Word and move into the New Testament, I see that God's love for His people doesn't end with Israel.  He wants all people to come to a knowledge of Him and to come to repentance and to salvation.

The apostle Peter says 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."  The apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:3-4, "This is good, and pleased God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."  This is good news for you and for me!  Jesus tells me in John 15:16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit - fruit that will last - and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you."  Again, like the Israelites, I have not earned nor do I deserve the love of God in my life.  I have not earned nor do I deserve God's grace and mercy.  God made Himself known to me through the power of His Holy Spirit and the power of His Word.  I repented of my sin and put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  In that moment of repentance and belief, I became a child of God.  The words He spoke to Israel in Isaiah 41:8-10, became words that I, too, hear and cling to today!  God says to me as His child, "Do not fear, for I am with you.  Do not be dismayed, for I am your God."  God says to me as His child, "I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous hand."  This is the amazing love of God!  This is the amazing mercy of God!  This is the amazing grace of God!  And I am a recipient of God's love through Jesus Christ alone!  I thank God for Jesus, who lived for me and died for me and rose from the grave for me, so that I might be forgiven of my sin and set free to live a sacrificial life for God, for God's glory!  There is nothing in this life - no circumstance, nothing - that can change who I am in Jesus.  There is nothing in this life - trial, tribulation, or torment - that can change God's promises to me and for me as His child.  He is with me.  He is for me.  I am His child.  He is my God.  I rest in the truth of God's Word.  I rest in the promises of God.  He is faithful!