“I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.”
Is 42:6-7
Have you ever had someone who believed in you more than you believed in yourself?
I can honestly say that in my own life having people believe in me is one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received. Seeing my potential through another person’s eyes has pushed me forward through many of the hardest periods of my life and has given me the courage to jump into new opportunities that I never would have taken without the encouragement. There are things that people said about me decades ago that I still think about regularly and which affirm the work and direction of my life to this day.
God seems to have known about the power of words of affirmation. In today’s passage, he offers some powerful words to the Jewish people. The thing that really strikes me is that God simultaneously affirms his people as having purpose and also assures them that they are not alone.
Their destiny will be brought about because of God’s strength.
God will hold their hand, God has set them as a covenant of the people and a light to the nations. The people hear that through this they will be participants in amazing things. They will be a part of opening the eyes of the blind and setting captives free.
We can learn from this.
God continues to work through people like you and me. God’s call is indeed great for you. Your whole life is called to be connected to God. Just as the Jewish people were empowered to be light-bearers to those in darkness and freedom-winners for those in captivity God calls to each of us to join with Jesus as agents of reconciliation. Just as God promised to take the Jewish people by the hand and put his light in them; we too are empowered by God for everything we are called to.
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Question of the Day:
In what ways have you limited what God is able to do in you by imagining you have to accomplish it by yourself?
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