One day as I was asking God what to say to the women I was to Coach, the lyrics, “I have redeemed you I have called you by name, Child you are mine” from a song popped into my mind. I knew it was a scripture, so I looked it up and read;
But now, this is what the Lord says, He who is your Creator, Jacob,
And He who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine! (Isaiah 43:1 NASB)
The WORD came alive inside of me, as I shouted, "Yes!" This was the confirming Word for the direction I was to go.
Later that very evening, my husband and I decided to watch The Chosen, from the beginning and “surprisingly”, the very same scripture was the theme for the first episode. Another confirmation that what I heard was God's word. As I watched the show, I was overcome by the compassion of Jesus as he looked into Mary Magdalene’s eyes speaking directly into her heart, redemption and healing.
Jesus SAW Mary
He saw her pain, her brokenness, and He came to her. As He looked into her eyes He spoke the words, “I have redeemed you, you are mine.” (paraphrased)
Did you know, God SEES you?
He sees your heart. He see your motives, He sees your vulnerability, and your pain and still no matter what He sees, He still loves you and says to you,
“I have redeemed you, you are mine!”
Hagar, a servant of Sarai, was chosen by Sarai to be the answer to the promise of God. It wasn’t God’s idea, but Sarai felt desperate because the promise she and Abram had waited for was not being fulfilled. The result was; Hagar conceived a child, who would be Ishmael. In Hagar’s brokenness and pain she ran away from Sarai into the desert where she was met by an angel of the Lord. The angel gave her words of hope over her future. Her response was:
“You are a God who sees me”; for she said, “Have I even seen Him here and lived after He saw me?” (Gen 16:13 NASB)
God SAW Hagar, He saw her in her desperation, and pain.
Maybe you are feeling lost, disappointed, vulnerable, broken, insignificant, unknown, unloved, misunderstood or overwhelmed.
Maybe the promises you thought were true have been a long time coming, the seeds of prayer and intercession have seemingly gone unnoticed.
Maybe you have given up, or tried to fulfill your dreams in your own ability, but ended up reaping the fruitlessness of striving.
God SEES YOU
"Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord."
(Jer 23:24 NLT)
In the place of the unknown, we look for the familiar or at least try to find peace and a sense of security. To find it, our tendency is to look back or hold back. We go into a place of hiddenness, a cave of obscurity.
Again, as I was praying, God showed me a picture of someone coming out of a cave where they had been hiding. This is what I wrote as the picture was unfolding in my minds eye:
I see you peeking out of the cave - as you look you are wondering , "Is it safe to come out?" The sun is shining. You look up into the sky, hesitant - yet hopeful. You take one step, and begin to realize how much the cave had been confining you. As you stretch and start to smile something begins to happen on the inside of you. It's a spark of life. You feel alive again!
God wants you to know - you don’t have to ever run back to that cave !
Is this you? You cannot hide. You are seen. God is calling you, and pulling you out of the hiddenness into His light - a place of fruitfulness, and hope, a place of abundance and life!
He sees all of you and he loves you. He sees into the depth of your heart, the dreams, the desires, the failures, the pain, the hopefulness, and fear.
ALL of it. The good and not so good.
When no one else sees, HE sees, and still in every way God loves you.
He is calling you OUT of the hiddenness, because He also knows you....He knows the call, the plans and the book written about you.
Come out, come out into the light!
There is a purpose and dream on the heart of God for you. Wherever you are right now, He has never lost sight of you. You are written on His heart, with love.
Receive God’s love and affirmation - in faith - even if you don’t feel it at this moment. As you do, you will step out of the desperation, and LIVE.
BUT HOW?
You may say to yourself, "That all sounds good, but how?" OR "I've tried, and don't know how to keep going." There is an answer.
1. Keep your gaze on God - He is your source of hope
"I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken."
(Psalm 16:8 NIV)
"Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose, looking straight ahead, ignore life's distractions. Watch where you're going! Stick to the path of truth, and the road will be safe and smooth before you." (Prov 4:25-26 TPT)
2. Keep focused on the dream - He put it in your heart
"Fix your heart on the promises of God, and you will dwell in the land, feasting on his faithfulness. Find your delight and true pleasure in Yahweh, and he will give you what you desire the most. Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust him along the way, you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly! He will appear as your righteousness, as sure as the dawning of a new day. He will manifest as your justice, as sure and strong as the noonday sun. Quiet your heart in his presence and wait patiently for Yahweh." (Psalm 37:3 - 7a TPT)
3. Come out of Hiddenness, and RUN! Run in the Light, the hope of your calling
"I admit that I have’t yet acquired the absolute fullness that I’m pursuing, but I run with passion into his abundance so that I may reach the purpose that Jesus Christ has called me to fulfill and wants me to discover. I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this, however I do have one compelling focus; I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to future instead. I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus. So let all who are fully mature have this same passion, and if anyone is not yet gripped by these desires, God will reveal to them. And let us all advance together to reach this victory-prize, following one path with one passion." (Phil 3:12-16 TPT)
by Kiwanda Redner
Breakthrough Coaching: Finding Your Purpose and Call, www.breakinglimits.ca/resources
Author: Immersed, Creating a Culture of Holy Spirit in Everyday Living www.kiwandaredner.com
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