“But now thus says Yahweh who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel: “Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine.”

Isaiah 43:1, WEB

You may have started life caught in a snare.

You may have been bound by things, ideas, and sentiments that have caused you to hold yourself back from greatness.

I am here to tell you that you are not finished.

There is more to be done, and that there is more good to be enjoyed.

You are not finished yet, and you are not bound forever.

You are redeemed.

Here is the thing though.

We can be free, yet live like we are still slaves to something.

The door can be wide open but we stay where we were taught to stay, or where we taught ourselves to remain.

So many of us think we need someone else to do what only we can do for ourselves.

We think that we need to have all the prerequisites for excellence before their needed time in order to strive for the moon.

That leaves no place for the power and magic of trust I have learned.

I am slowly learning to open up to this and trust it though I have already seen that it is true in big ways….

That when the character of his presence is in us… it speaks far more to his own than any other thing can.

We share in a power that most barely understand.

We share in something that is a practical magic of sorts.

What is it, and is it redeeming?

Yes… I’d say so.

Prayer.

Prayers are spells if they spell out love. So to speak.

Prayer from the place of vulnerable accessible love is what moves the heart of God in truth, and I have seen it personally move things in life that I thought were immovable, or intractable.

Literal answers to prayer.

Provision of a place.

Freedom from fear.

The healing of a relationship that means more than the world to me.

And I know that I will see more coming my way.

As schmaltzy as it may sound (I somewhat can’t believe that I am saying it)… fervent prayers from the place of vulnerable (yet wise) love are what moves the heart of the omnipotent loving redeemer creator God to move and act in incredible ways.

But now faith, hope, and love remain–these three. The greatest of these is love.

1st Corinthians 13:13, WEB

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28, WEB

What can separate us from the love of God?

Paul said nothing that can be imagined or experienced. Whether they be things from the powers above and below; whether they are things that transcend the boundary of the comprehendible.

There is nothing that can separate us from the love of our redeemer… Jesus Christ.

There is nothing that can stop his power from doing what he wills.

Whatever he wills… he also can DO.

He is ever for our good. With the chaos life brings, with the uncertainty that life brings, with all that is and will be known, felt, and sensed — He remains good. He remains forever for us. He is always there to redeem and deliver us. He is active over the long stretch of time. He is there in the instant.

He is our Redeemer, our Lover, our Friend, and so many other beautiful things that defy expression.

Shall we let him redeem us?

Blessings.