God’s Promise of Redemption
What does redemption mean, and what does it mean to be redeemed by God? Join us below as we discover the answers and learn how God’s promised redemption can change your life!
Promises of the Word:
From one end of the Word to the other, God’s promises are written. Many of them we know—at least partly—yet, by examining the Word closer, we discover that God’s promises are more numerous and more wonderful than we can imagine!
“In Jesus we hear a resounding ‘yes’ to all of God’s many promises. This is the reason we say ‘Amen’ to and through Jesus when giving glory to God.”—2 Corinthians 1:20 (VOICE)
“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”—Numbers 23:19
All of God’s promises are true, and through the mighty Blood of Yeshua—Jesus—we have access to them. Yet, what are these promises, and what do they mean for us?
God’s Promise of Redemption:
Before He formed the world, God knew all that would happen. He knew we would stumble in the Garden, of the covenant He would make with Abraham, of the Promised Land. There was not one thing He did not know…
God understood that it would be necessary to give His Son were He to redeem us. He realized this even before we were created… yet, He still chose to create us. His love deep and wide enough for such a precious sacrifice.
“This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.”—1 John 5:6
There are many ways God redeems us, but the most miraculous of these rests in the hands of our Messiah. Pierced hands, which are a banner of love. Pierced hands, which reach out to save. Pierced hands, which flow with blood. Blood with the power to heal, restore, bring life, and of course, redeem!
Our Messiah suffered, died, and rose to restore us! He imparted wisdom, He defeated hell and the grave, and He continues to make intercession on our behalf! Not only that, but He sent the gift of the Holy Spirit to reside in us as a Teacher… to connect us to the will of Heaven!
There is a word in Hebrew, dayenu. It means, it would have been enough. During Passover, a series of things that God has done are spoken out and at the end of each all present say, “dayenu.” In other words they say, “it would have been enough.”
Our Father owes us nothing. We have done nothing to deserve any good thing from God. In fact, we are the ones who truly ought to be giving to God. After all, He created us. Life would not exist without Him. And yet, He has gone beyond simply giving us life. He has cared for us. Prospered us. Even sent His Son to suffer and die, just so that we might be near Him! It would have been enough for God to love us, but He puts that love into action. Actions allowing us to be redeemed despite all we have done!
To be granted salvation is directly tied to what redemption means to you and me. However, this is not the only act of redemption our God grants, though many hold ties to it.
Our God brings healing. He returns prodigals home. He gives back what the enemy stole. He allows the image we were made in—His—to shine brightly once more. On and on He restores what we have lost. He REDEEMS, causing that which we thought was too broken to be made whole once more!
Redemption is important to God. His love not only prompting Him to redeem but teaching us to redeem. There is a reason that God put into Old Testament texts the ways and reasons to redeem people, places, and things. God made us in His image; we are meant to walk and talk like Him. God redeems, so we are meant to redeem as well.
Before we explore a powerful biblical redemption story, it is important to realize one more thing about redemption; that it matures during the right season. One example of this is found in the biblical year of Jubilee—occurring every 50 years. God set the Year of Jubilee in place, and it serves as a time of great redemption. Property could be redeemed, debts cancelled, and so forth. This could not happen on such a massive scale at any other time because redemption happens in God’s perfect timing.
As Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us, everything has a season. Even redemption. There is a story of one act of redemption—one of many—which demonstrates how God often brings redemption on the heels of a season of shaping and testing. One biblical story of a woman who decided to fix her eyes on God…
Ruth certainly loved her mother-in-law Naomi, but she also loved God.
This love moved Ruth, but she still faced a season of hardship. She lost her husband. Then left all her comforts and family in Moab to follow a poor widow to a land she did not know. Then faced a need—one which caused her to glean for food for herself and Naomi’s sake…
This need to glean brought her to the foot of her promise, her redemption. In the natural, it was certainly a step down from what she had known in Moab. Yet, Ruth continued to be moved by love, even when she did not know of the redemption to come.
Boaz, upon hearing who she was and what she had done for Naomi, granted Ruth favor and made her life far easier than it would have been… but the season for redemption was not yet ripe. It took God’s perfect season before she, listening and obeying instruction, could be redeemed. She had to go and do—not just sit around—to be redeemed. And be redeemed she was! Boaz brought to Naomi redemption through her daughter-in-law Ruth, and in Boaz, Ruth found her redemption.
This story of redemption serves as a lesson. Not only of the ultimate opportunity for redemption that awaits us, but of the understanding that redemption can require love, patience, attentive ears, and ultimately action to be achieved in God’s perfect season.
When Ruth chose a path based on love, hardships entered. Yet, because she continued to follow the path of love, not complaining or becoming impatient… favor caused that season to become lighter. Then, in God’s perfect timing, she listened, before stepping out in faith.
The redemption known as salvation stands ready for each of us. All we have to do to receive it is open our hearts, declare our repentance, choose to walk it out, and of course, accept the blood of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. The redemption of salvation is open at any time with little required of us, but certain forms of redemption occur in special seasons of God. Just as with the redemption of a Jubilee year, or the redemption that Naomi and Ruth found…
No matter when redemption is scheduled to come, we each have a role to play. One which begins by making the choice to follow God’s path of love, and after a few steps between, ending by taking the action God sets before us to find redemption.
Accepting God’s Promises:
No matter which of God’s promises we seek, it is important to not only believe, but accept each one. Not because they will be forever broken if we fail to properly believe and receive them, but because God does nothing against our will! Because He created each promise intentionally, knowing we need them…
A single promise of God holds more power than we can fully understand, yet, the power that comes when we accept one on top of another, on top of another… that changes our nature. For the better. Shaping us into His image. Preparing us for Kingdom purpose!
It is time to activate and believe God’s promises. To accept them and give them a place to reside…
We have to open ourselves. To desire God’s promises if they are to flourish.
Yes, God will never leave nor forsake us, even if we forsake Him… But do we honestly expect Him to move in power if we say, “no”? By opening our hearts, changing our habits and patterns to create an atmosphere for Him, and seeking Him and His Kingdom first, we can say, “yes”!
When we seek God, He comes. He answers. And all of His promises will be ready to rest and flow through us!
If YOU would like to discover more about the redemption story of Ruth, then click HERE!
If YOU would like to uncover how coming together as a threefold cord can release the glory of God on earth, then click HERE!
If YOU would like to find new ways to bring God’s hope and love to others, then click HERE!
If YOU would like to learn more about YOUR Godly strength, then click HERE!