Valentine’s Day is later this week and I was delighted yesterday when my 3 year old granddaughter proudly presented me with the tiniest envelope, maybe 2 by 3 inches, and in it was the tiniest card bearing a Disney ‘Frozen’ image, and in the space on the back of the tiny card was a scribble. I might have missed it if I wasn’t looking closely for it – but I knew, my sweet grand-daughter would make her mark for me somewhere on that card.
Well, these thoughts today are my scribble of love to God – small and insignificant, but coming from my heart. I think of the words from one of my favorite Psalms 103 – “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name..”
This post truly began over five years ago, around the time I began blogging. I happened to be reading Isaiah, my favorite book in the Bible, and I began noticing the theme of what I call –
God’s amazing ‘promises of re—‘.
God has wonderful promises for us, His people, and many of them include a prefix using ‘re’ ( the word re-pent often is a pre-requisite of receiving those promises – it’s used over 100 times in the Bible, another word re-turn is used over 400 times).
I’ll give you a short list of some others: re-deem, re-new, re-form, re-store, re-build, and re-joice. If you start reading your Bible looking for re- words you’ll be amazed how many there are and how often they are a part of a beautiful promise of God to us.
Why am I drawn to the ‘promises of re-‘? It’s because I need re-do’s. Do-overs. Make-overs. I’m in need major restoration – heartside as well as outside (this 59 year old body knows it well!) and this is God’s plan for us – to restore to us all that is broken or lost.
To me, the great ‘promises of re’ are the wonderful plan I’ll call ‘Redemptions Thread’ – God’s mighty purposes and plans to save us. Hallellujah!
For any word people, like me, I looked up the ‘re-‘ prefix for a definition:
Re –
a prefix used with the meaning “again and again”; or return to previous condition
Can you see why I’m drawn to these promises? I need grace again and again, because I wander off from God and I forget Him, so, His willingness to continually bring me back – re-turn me – to His ways and His goodness is essential. God knows us so well – one time saving isn’t enough – we need His grace and redeeming moment by moment, over and over. Re-peatedly!
These days I stop every time I read a ‘promise of re—’ in my Bible and I underline it and I ponder the promise, and I give thanks. I need every bit of every reforming, rebuilding and restoration God has to offer this day and every day!
I’ll admit, this is not the usual love note. I’m not a poet, or much of a writer, but today I come as a grateful child with a small scribble of gratitude. Perhaps you, too, have your own offering of gratitude today (be it a song, a prayer, whatever), you might not want to wait five years like I did.
Today I’ve chosen several ‘promises of re-‘ – promises that I hold on to, meditate on, and am truly thankful for. The best way I can express my heart to God is to read back His own words to me, may these reflections be pleasing to Him….
