Isaiah 59:19-21
“So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the West, and His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. ‘The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob. As for me’ Says the Lord, ‘this is my covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of you descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants’ Says the Lord, ‘from this day and forevermore!'”
I keep coming across the word “Redeem” in the Bible, in songs I’ve been listening to, and in other books I’ve been reading. What is God trying to tell me? Why is this word so important that He’s been basically throwing it in my face all weekend? So, I looked it up: Redeem:
- To compensate for the faults or bad aspects of something.
- To atone or make amends for error or evil.
- To save someone from sin, error, or evil.
- To gain or regain possession of something in exchange for payment.
- To fulfill or carry out a pledge or purpose.
- To buy the freedom of something or someone!
Wow!!! And we call our Savior the Great Redeemer…
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we shall live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age; looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might REDEEM us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
We, as human beings, live in the past or look towards the future. We are either looking back or striving forward. BUT if we are still working through our past, then our future will be warped, distorted, or looked at with faulty vision!
The Great Redeemer is like an amazing pair of glasses! When you live in the past, before Christ cleansed you of your sins, you are only stumbling around; you fall and trip over your “stuff”; you easily get caught up in the traps that the enemy has set for you. But when you allow God to absolve, to atone, and to compensate for your lack of vision… when you finally put on the glasses of the Redeemer’s love and forgiveness and see yourself as He sees you… that’s where the beauty comes into play. “Be Thou My Vision, Oh Lord Of My Heart.”
And trust me, I’m writing to the choir!! I have horrible vision when it comes to seeing my own worth. I doubt myself as God has created me to be… Always comparing myself; always finding myself to be lacking… not talented, not smart, and not beautiful.
Well, I recently went to get my eyes examined and found out that my old pair of glasses were waaaaaaay off prescription wise! There was no wonder that I couldn’t see right. So, with a cringe at the cost, I bought a new pair and the change was astounding!!! I cant believe it took me this long to finally make the change!
See, that’s what I also have to do with my heart. We are our own worst critics – but Jesus is our best!! I know my vision is off when it comes to seeing myself, just like I knew my prescription glasses were off. But I didn’t want to change them because of the cost and they were comfortable to me, I was used to them, I knew every scratch, dent and chip. They were my glasses and I would just have to “deal” with all that “stuff”.
That’s just like me with all my stuff… with all my scratches, dents, and chips. Talk about any age and I could probably tell you all my faults and failures that happened that year. I know that all I have to do is change my vision by allowing my Great Redeemer to take me through the process of aligning my vision with His corrective lens. He has better than 20/20 when it comes to all of us. He sees us the way we were meant to be.
And here comes the truth… I don’t want to just “deal” with the way I see myself! I want… no… NEED! to change my way of thinking. Through my Redeemer’s love and with His help, I can do it!! Yea, it’ll cost something… my time, my obedience, my brokenness. And it will probably hurt too. BUT I want to see right-eously… I don’t want to be blind to my own worth!! Do you??
“BE THOU MY VISION, OH LORD OF MY HEART!!!” … at any cost!
Thanks so much for all of your love, support, and prayers,
Carolyn Stoltzfus
