#SheSharesTruth: Named by God

The book of Ruth reminds me of the blessed Hope I have through my Redeemer. So often our perceptions of ourselves (and who God sees us as) are fueled by our circumstances.

 Failure. Hopeless. Forgotten. Abandoned. Lonely. 

Seeing only the bitter cup in our hand, we lose heart. Begin renaming ourselves. Redefining our own lives based on what we perceive to be the only possible way. There is no hope for change. No hope for healing. No hope for life and joy to possibly enter our reality again. How could it? Don't you see the heartache? Don't you see the very things that made life joyful- that made life worth living- are gone? Injustice and fear seem to be overtaking so we give up. Settling in to this new existence. The new normal. The bitter cup. 

Many circumstances are capable of leaving us feeling like every piece of anything that meant anything is shattered into a million pieces on the floor with no hope of ever being restored. To settle here would be to rob ourselves of the blessings our precious Redeemer came to give. And even though all we may be able to see at the moment is heartache and pain and anger--He is working. The Redeemer is working on our behalf. On YOUR behalf. And the blessings are great because His blessings are always great. 

And I will give you treasures hidden in darkness- secret riches. I will do this so that you will know that I am the Lord God of Israel, the one who calls you by name. 

Isaiah 45:3

Out of brokenness, he creates something more beautiful than we could have imagined. It is true, somethings will leave us forever changed. We can never go back to who we were last year, last month, yesterday... hours, minutes, seconds ago. And we might be broken. Shattered even. The precious thing about our Redeemer is, he doesn't attempt to fasten us back to who we once were. He takes those broken pieces and creates new life. New beginnings. Abundant blessings. He sets us on a path that leads us straight to Him. Straight into his loving, gracious, gentle arms. The arms where peace and rest and joy are found. In this place, circumstances will not define us but truth will.

 Child. Worthy. Justified. Royal. Blessed. Loved. Whole. Redeemed.

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