Day 1996 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Isaiah 44:22 NIV

Redemption: To compensate for the faults or bad aspects of something; to gain or regain possession of something in exchange for payment; or to fulfill or carry out a pledge or promise. Our God is so big that He fits every definition of the word! We've been talking about how we don't have to be lost in doing things our own way forever and how He will welcome us back whenever we finally realize we need Him more than anything else. Redemption is why.

All of our mistakes, all our weaknesses, all our excuses have been washed away. There is literally nothing left between us and God except for us. We are all that remains in the way of the healing and forgiveness that we need. Seriously, all that stands in our way of the peaceful and joyous freedom we're looking for is our choice to turn back to Him. That's it!

I think that one of the biggest hurdles we face in making that choice is that it truly seems impossible. Whether we openly admit them or not, we all know deep down that we've gotten a lot of things wrong in life. We all know the truth of our mistakes. We can lie or try to cover them up. We can paint on these pretty smiles and pretend that we're just fine. We can tell others these masterfully written lies we've come up with to convince them that we're saints. But nothing changes the fact that we know the truth.

So it just seems impossible that all of those wrongs could be made right. It goes against all logic and understanding that we've been taught. How could this perfect God see all my imperfections and sins and still want to forgive me? How could He possibly see something in me worth saving? Well, that's the cool thing about our faith: it just doesn't have to make sense. We don't have to understand it in order to receive it. We just have to trust and believe.

It's basically human nature to see our flaws. We look in the mirror and the first things we see are the things we don't like. We look back at things we've said and done and remember all that we got wrong. We're so used to seeing all that is broken and dirty that we can't wrap our minds around this idea that we could be anything else. We just can't understand how we could ever be considered good enough. So we doubt. We allow ourselves to stay stranded on these little islands of shame and regret because we just can't fathom this idea of forgiveness.

It's all true folks. It's crazy. It's unreal. It's impossible. It's beyond what we could ever deserve or earn. It's just mind-blowing. But it's real. Despite our mistakes and weaknesses, God lovingly paid the price to get us back from the grip of sin because He promised to love us and save us if we would humble ourselves and turn back to Him. You see, all three definitions of the word redemption! God really is bigger than our understanding. He's bigger than our abilities. He's bigger than our mistakes. He's bigger than our excuses.

As I've been saying, we don't have to stay lost forever. Yes, we've all been there. We're all still working on things that are trying to keep us there. But we do have a better option thanks to the grace and mercy of God. We can turn around and leave all of our brokenness and sins behind us. We can simply get up, brush ourselves off, and get back to Him. Why in the world would you not want to return to the God who willingly chooses to love you and care for you even though you don't deserve it? What could possibly be any better?

Friends, take Him up on this life-saving gift. Don't try to figure it out. Don't try to understand the why's of it. Don't wait until you think you're more worthy of it. Never gonna happen. Just realize that He loves you more than you can understand and let Him bring you back to life. Let Him bring you back to Him, because folks, that's exactly where we belong!