A Personal Relationship with God - UV 1182/10,000 | Prateep V Philip | Suresh, PCR

But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine Isaiah 43 v 1

                The Lord has not only created us and formed us in our mothers’ wombs, He continues to be committed to our formation and transformation right through life. Even before we knew Him, He saw us, knew us and even called us by our names.   He is very personal in His relationship with each of us.  We too need to make a personal commitment to Him in order to reciprocate.   The uni-verse calls us “ Jacob” as God recognizes our innate deceitfulness, our desire to get ahead by hook or by crook like Jacob, our fear and insecurity after our sin is discovered.    The Lord is realistic. He sees our hubris but He knows that over a period of life experiences and grooming, we can be purified, cleansed and perfected.

             He has been with us in all our struggles from even before we uttered the first word or took the first stumbling step.  Our guilt and fear might drive us far from Him.  But He calls us to reassuringly to come to Him.  We need not fear His awesome power or His glory. We are created for His glory, to magnify His name, to praise Him for His attributes.  When we yield to this purpose, our struggle ends and we can rest in His everlasting arms of love.   He is Almighty and absolutely holy and righteous but He almost hides His might and holiness so that we can relate to Him as one person with another.  He humbles and gentles Himself.

            For a time our souls have been mortgaged to the enemy of our souls but the Lord redeems us by paying the price with His most precious Son Jesus.   We were once a people who were lost, enslaved, defeated, taken captive and accursed but now He has found us, freed us, made us victorious, broken our chains and blessed us.   He gives us a new name as a sign of our re-birth.  He declares us as His own.     We have nothing to fear now, neither depth nor height, death or defeat, shame or pain, disease or loss.  He has taken away our every limitation.  Having been set free, everything we do, speak or think should bring glory , praise and thanksgiving to our Creator, Transformer and Redeemer.  We can now sing and celebrate, “ My Beloved is mine and I am His and His banner over me is love.”  Our relationship with our Saviour is not marked by pride or resentment or bitterness.     He owns us but does not  possess us. He gives us complete and perfect freedom to choose.  When we err or make mistakes, He does not hold it against us but forgives us freely. He never disowns, forgets or forsakes us. He affirms us as His own.  He is patient and kind with us.  He expects us to reflect these qualities in our relationships with others around us.