You Are Ransomed
Do you live like you’ve been saved?
Verse of the Day
‘But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.’
Today’s Devotional
I have never been kidnapped, nor do I make light of that horrific tragedy. But I want you to imagine that you have been taken captive and your captor has demanded a very high ransom for your release. When you hear the amount being demanded for your release, your spirits plummet and you think there is no hope of escape. No one you know has access to that kind of money.
Miraculously, someone you are not even aware of makes the ransom payment in full. Your captors have no choice but to set you free. But…you decide to remain captive.
That would be crazy, right?
Do we do that same thing?
As I am reading these verses that speak to our identity, I picture God taking my face between His very gentle hands and saying, “Please listen to me. I need you to know that you have nothing to fear. Jesus paid your ransom. You are free. And more importantly, you are MINE.”
I love that this verse is from the Old Testament. For all of time God has been calling us to Him. He is calling you today. God wants each of us to know how dearly He loves us. If we could understand even a fraction of God’s love for us, it would change everything.
My response to this generous gift of being ransomed, to being dearly loved by God, to His declaration that I am HIS, is my choice. I can be flippant about it. I can choose to believe it’s too good to be true. I can choose to reject it. I can accept it but not allow it to sink deep into my heart. Or…I can take the time and action to ruminate in the beauty of the truth long enough until my heart truly accepts that God loves me, Jesus has ransomed me, and that God says I am HIS.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How is God trying to get your attention?
How good are you at accepting God’s love for you?
How can you live today as someone about whom God says, “You are mine”?