Heart Tracks - Who Do You Belong To?

"But now O Israel, the Lord who created you says: 'Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name. You are Mine.' " Isaiah 43:1

Not long ago, while wrestling with something that was causing much stress, frustration and anxiety, I heard His voice whisper to me and say, "Who do you belong to? Me, or this problem and all the destructive power it brings against you?" In essence, who owned me? Was it the problem, and all the forms it might take, or was it my Father God? That question is really at the heart of everything we deal with in life as followers of the King. Who do we belong to? Our problems, needs, situations, and circumstances.....or Him? Who do you, I, really belong to? Who has ownership over us? The "Taskmasters" of life, or the Freedom Giver?

One of the great problems for the Israelites in their journey out of Egypt to the land the Father had given them was that they continued to see themselves as slaves and captives. They were no longer under the power, or needed to be in fear of, the Egyptians, but they were. God called them His own, but they still lived like they were Egypt's. How true is that of you and me? How much "ownership" do our circumstances, worries, and fears exercise in our day to day lives? What does the lack of peace, joy, and assurance in our lives and hearts really show? To belong to Christ, to be covered by His blood, is to be free. But somehow, the devil continues to "forge" ownership papers and convince us to live, think and respond as if he still had control over us. Thus we continue to live like captives, prisoners, behind bars that no one but us can see. Bars that are composed of fear, worry, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, discouragement and despair. Though the bars may be invisible to everyone else, we see them. And they are all we see....and they keep us from seeing Him. We may be regularly in church, or our Bible study group, but we bring the bars with us. Even in the places that are meant to be for those who are His, the one who tyrannizes us through all of the above continues to oppress us, convince us that we are his. The thief has broken into the fold....again.

It's all a lie, perpetrated by the father of lies. If we are in Christ, then we are truly new creations. His creations. No one but Him has claim to us. No one but Him can own us. The enemy and his "claims" are fraudulent. The "bars" he has placed around us are powerless in His Presence. When we truly realize Whose we are, than we can realize what we are.....free. Free to be completely His. Captive to Christ, free from all that is not Christ. Is this you....is it me?.......So, who do we belong to? What is it that we're seeing? Imaginary bars placed around us by a powerless, defeated enemy....or the face of the Father in Jesus Christ? Today, every day, whose are we?

Blessings,
Pastor O