Devotional - I am His

It is Easter Sunday as I write and I figured that I haven't done a devotional blog post since I got my computer back, so it was a good time to write one.

We were talking today in Sunday School about words that describe us and one word to describe the Lord (thanks Fritz and Vicki!  You guys helped inspire a whole blog post!).  Of course I couldn't come up with one, so I basically said He was ALL things.  He is the ultimate paradox, he is the Judge, the Lover, the Bridegroom, He is Jealous for us.  On and on you can describe the nature of God. 

So our discussion class it got me thinking about our identity.  Because as followers of Christ, we are no longer our own, we are His.  It also got me thinking about how much we don't walk in our identity in Christ, I know I don't all the time.

So of course I thought of a song and has been on my heart a lot lately.  God speaks to me through music a lot.  As a former dancer, I communicated through music and music makes us so open and vulnerable (which can be good or bad).  Anyways, it was a very old Misty Edwards song, taken mostly from Isaiah 43.

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by you name; You are Mine.

When you pass through the waters, i will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.  For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. - Isaiah 43:1-3

You have to continue reading because it's awesome.  Anyways, our discussion in class made me think of how much we live in our "old" identity.  The one that says we aren't good enough, the one that says we are unlovable, is that what the Lord has said about us?  No, we are HIS and He delights in us.  Because we have said, "I will give my life to seek you, I will give you my weak adoration and love and all of me." He truly delights in us!

Life has thrown so many challenging things at me and my family lately.  It is so easy to get so caught up in those problems and forget that we are His and he will not let any harm come to us, so long as he stay in the palm of His hand.  How many times do we try to jump out and do it our own way?  I do so many times.  Do we forget that it is my weakness for His strength?  That He is made awesome in my stumblings and weakness?  It was so perfectly crafted this way why God so that we could not boast in our own abilities and that the glory would be ALL HIS.

I love the part in this song where it declares, "though I walk through the valley, it's only a shadow, it's only a shadow.  Though my body may perish, it's only a shadow, it's only a shadow!"  I love to shout that in my car to whatever is keeping me down, because it is all but a vapor compared to eternity with Him.

We hear it all the time, but there is truly nothing that can separate us from the love of God, except our own unwillingness to ACCEPT the love of God.  He is chasing after us, He is the one who is jealous for our love.  We are the whole reason He died a terrible death on the cross.  He died for the JOY set before Him.  The wedding day!  He is just ravished by our seemingly weak and pitiful love!  He is longing to set us apart and prepare us to be His Bride!

So please listen and enjoy this long and let the words (which are straight from the Word of God) soak into your spirit and remind you of the truth of your identity in Him. Oh and you have to listen to the very end so you can shout too!