How many of us struggle with our identity?
Ez 16 describes a women that has grownup in a rather grotesque environment - Her own Blood!
How many of us have made some pretty bad choices in life somewhere along the way...Christian or not! How many of us continued in the shame and guilt of those choices?
Often I refer back to this scripture because starting in verse 6, here is a young woman that the Lord has taken notice of who is wallowing in her own blood! And she has grown up in it...What a horrible past this young lady has - despised, rejected, neglected unloved and YET God's tender mercy takes her, covers her, swears Himself to her, cleans her, washes her, places beautiful ornaments of His splendor and glory on Her and raises her up to a position of royalty!
A true Rags to riches Love story! Unfortunately, she gets a bit prideful and boastful as if she has secured these things in her self and she falls away from the one that Loved her, redeemed and glorified her... Just so you know eventually she is restored, not because of Her goodness but because Of HIS!!!!
I love sharing this message of Hope and Restoration! I often get together with women who are needing this kind of encouragement. I try to further show them the story of the 4 outrageous displays of mercy in Matthew 1.
There were 4 women mentioned in the Lineage of Jesus Christ - Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba - all 4 of these women had sorted pasts! YET God in his love for them and their willingness to submit and walk in faith brought them into a place of receiving God's abundant love for them.... Tamar was refused, neglected and uncared for by her family members, Rahab was a prostitute and a pagan, Ruth was a descendant of Moab, which was a tribe started in incest and considered an enemy of God's people, and Bathsheba was raped, her husband killed and a child died - YET GOD intervened in their lives and re set their course to HIS coordinates! They found in the God of Israel - Hope, and life! -- They could have stayed in where they were and remained in their life of despair, but chose God regardless of the cost!
In doing so, He REDEFINED who they were and what fruit they would bring forth in their lives. If they had allowed their past, their families history to define them, they never would have changed!!!! Instead they believed the promises of God, not just in mental ascent, but in their walk day to day - in their submission to His kingdom, His authority and correction for their lives...
He inturn made them NEW, fully embraced and accepted into the promises that He pours out on those that obey Him out of their love and devotion to Him!
Phil 3:14 says that we are to forget those things which lie behind us and press forward into the high call of God which is found in Christ Jesus
Remember what 2 Cor 2:15 says - that is ANYONE is found IN Christ - [S]HE is a new Creation, all things have passed away, Behold all things become New!!!
I pray you will all find yourselves Hidden in Him - aside from that, we will never find out who we are.
Check out the website www.GraciousVine.com or www.JoannaFruhauf.com
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