MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!ScriptureIsaiah 44:2This is what the Lord says—he who made you, who formed you in the womb,and who will help you:Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant,Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.Observation - What does it say?
Despite just declaring to Israel that they had grown tired of God and had been unfaithful, God still proceeds to call them his servant and his chosen people. He also calls them by the name Jeshurun, which means the upright one.
Understanding - What does it mean?It doesn’t make sense to call unfaithful and sinful people upright. Even so, God calls them upright though they had been sinful and the very opposite.
Yet, this is what God does. Not only here but all throughout scripture he declares over his people their identity before they’re walking in it. Following his command to forget the past and look ahead (see
yesterday’s post), it’s as though he’s saying, “Your unfaithfulness in the past has been forgiven. So look ahead! From this moment forward you are Jeshurun, you are upright, you are my servant and chosen people. Walk in that identity!”
God continually offers us a clean slate and the power to walk out the identity he's given us. Scripture says his mercies are new each morning. Each morning we have the opportunity to forget the failures of the past and to choose to walk out who God says we are – to live holy, as his children, his ambassadors, disciple makers, pure, lovers of God and people, temples of the Holy Spirit, etc.God’s people aren’t defined by their past, but by what God says about them.Life ApplicationLet go of past failures and choose to walk in my God-given identity. Today, each time a past failure comes to mind, I will dismiss it and remind myself of who God says I am.
For example, when I remember how I’ve hesitated obeying God in the past and missed opportunities, rather than dwelling on that I will remind myself that now I am a man who always responds in obedience when God speaks to me.
God, thank you that you give us the power to change! We don’t have to be the way we’ve always been! We don’t have to be stuck in patterns of sin or unfaithfulness! Any morning we can choose to change and, by your power, walk out our God-given identity! Wash your people clean of shame and guilt and beliefs about themselves that are inconsistent with what you say about them. We can’t afford to believe something about ourselves that you don’t believe about us. Give us the strength to let go and to walk in our identity today as disciples who are consumed with loving you and loving others. Today I declare that I am righteous, I am faithful to you and I seek to love you and love others in everything I say and do. Amen.
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