“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1
When I read that verse in my morning devotional, I felt a calm come over me, I felt my shoulders relax and these truths go a bit deeper into my being.
We may think we are our own person, and we do have free will to help us think we are independent. Sometimes I lose sight of the fact I am redeemed, bought back with the painful price of Christ on the Cross. My total allegiance belongs to the one who paid the price for my freedom!
That is the same One who knows every one of us and He calls us by name.
Nellie Belle is my new Springerdoodle puppy. I prayed for weeks before I chose that name. I did not want to offend anyone I know by using their name. Nellie Belle, was the name I began to settle on. It seemed to fit even though I had only seen a photo of the tiny puppy. Just before she arrived I took a moment to look up the meaning of the name. I already knew that Belle means beautiful. Nellie means Shining light, or most beautiful woman. Now that I have Nellie Belle with me her name is being confirmed. God even knows the names of our pets!
We are not our own! I belong to the one who made me, fearfully and wonderfully in my mothers womb! Nothing about me is a mistake. Nothing about you is a mistake! Everything you and I have suffered, for any reason, is within God’s permissive will and is being used to make us more like Christ.
We belong! All humans have a longing for belonging. God says we belong to Him! There is something about reading “You are mine” that went deep in my being. That is when I relaxed, a little like Nellie Belle at my feet.
We are all so precious that He redeemed us. We all have significance because God calls us. We all belong to the Maker of Heaven and earth and to the universal body of Christ. We are not alone.
Abba, I pray we all let these facts sink in a little deeper. Our intimacy with you begins with us belonging to you, following your call in our lives and living like people redeemed at an incredible cost. You have made us valuable and significant no matter our place in this world because we are Yours! Thank You!
