Embedded Messages

You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the LORD delights in you, And your land shall be married. And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD; And you shall be called Sought Out, City Not Forsaken. Isaiah 62:4, 12 (New King James Version)

Two phrases stand out in this passage that are incredible for me to read and necessary for me to believe. They are “The Lord delights in you” and “You shall be called Sought Out.” For most of my Christian life I would have read this passage and thought of the words as only being spoken to and about the nation of Israel. Originally it was, but on this side of the cross any who are redeemed of the Lord can and should accept the words for themselves.

Some of us struggle with the concept of such acceptance because we limit our view of God to what we have experienced with people. We are stuck with a mindset that says we are undesirable, unwanted, unnoticed, forgotten, forsaken, and alone. We matter to no one. Lies? Yes. Believed anyway? Absolutely. We weren’t created with that message but it was written on our heart and mind at some point or at many points.

Yesterday was a day of connecting a present emotion with the same emotion from my past. Two things showed me the connection….identical emotion and identical reaction to the emotion. After spending the day battling feelings, God helped me to see that my primary emotion driven belief was one of not mattering to people. He then helped me to remember it was the way I felt in childhood when my parents would drink or be in bars. I remember having a sadness I never shared with others. I never talked about it. I didn’t tell my parents how I felt. I didn’t tell friends how I felt. I simply withdrew until a more pleasant experience happened. Now as an adult, when I experience that belief and sadness I default to withdrawal. It is natural for me but harmful for relationships. It prevents the very closeness for which I hunger.

As I see this pattern, my hope for freedom and change has to begin with what God says. As I learn to trust His words and allow them to take up residence in me, the aspects of my relationships with others will be effected for the good.

Father, may Your words speak louder than the lies embedded in me. Amen.

Your Love (Psalm 139) - Oslo Gospel Choir
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAZrV1pS2Ek&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.