Psalm 130:7-8 Israel, wait for the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy and with Him is abundant redemption. And He will redeem Israel from All His guilty deeds.

    It’s not hard to find people that feel beat down. Either by others or ourselves (or both). Mean Girls may make for an entertaining movie, but most of us could do without meanness in our lives! One way of dealing with this is a steady stream of “You are enough.” “You are won-derful just the way you are.”  It’s good to be affirming, but I can’t help but think that in some cases these sentiments amount to saying, “Lower your expectations.” Because deep down we may know that we aren’t enough.

    But “Lower your expectations” is certainly not aspirational advice. That is too much like giving up. Or it may indeed be the kind of advice that a ‘mean girl’ would give. 

    What a contrast is found in the Scriptures! In my moments of self-doubt or depression I don’t really need a hype man more than anything else. I need to wait on the Lord! Telling me I’m enough when things are terrible, may be done with an attitude of mercy, but if my greatest hope lies in myself, I’m in trouble! With the Lord is mercy and in Him I can find ‘abundant redemption!’ In fact, He wants to redeem us. He wants to take us from where we are and make us more fit for His service. 

    That is indeed good news! I know that I have made mistakes. Worse - I know that I have sinned. But the Holy God of the Universe is so interested in having a relationship with me that He is willing to take me on as a project! He is willing to redeem me and make me more than I ever dreamed I could be. 

    The message of hope is not ‘I am enough.’ The true message of hope is that He is enough! Whatever I have done He is enough. He is merciful. He will redeem me. In fact He has abundant (more than enough) redemption! 

    It almost sounds too good to be true. There must be a catch. There is. We must wait on the Lord. 

Blessings, 

Pastor Russ