Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise His holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all His benefits—
Who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
Who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalms 103:1-5
I am going to go ahead and admit it. I have played the lottery—both scratch-offs and picking the numbers. It’s a temptation that is hard to avoid when I am in certain places—Florida and Georgia. I am not going to lie. It’s especially hard when you live right on the Alabama-Georgia border. Thankfully, due to gas prices, I have a worldly reason to avoid it.
Winning the lottery or winning a prize can make anyone feel elated. That elation only intensifies when you actually obtain the prize. Many kids love to go to Chucky Cheese—not for the pizza—but for the games. Kids play games there to win tickets. And with those tickets, they can redeem prizes from the prize department. Lucky are those who get enough tickets to win the oversized prizes like the big stuffed animal or toy (that you can get at a department store for way cheaper than what you paid in money for the games). Redeeming the prize makes us feel good, but it is only finite. The elation only lasts for so long.
O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
Psalm 130:7
Yet there is a redemption that we can receive that is even better than redeeming a ticket for a prize—the gift of the Cross. Jesus died on the Cross for our sins and transgressions. He gave His own blood to redeem us from the fate of death and burning in the lake of fire at the end of time. He redeemed us from the world because He loved us. Jesus was thinking of us when the guards nailed Him to the Cross. He was thinking of us when He drew His last breath. Jesus was redeeming us when He gave His life to save us from the sentence of death.
We receive this redemption upon welcoming Jesus into our hearts and entering into a relationship with Him. He not only redeems us from death and sin, but He is our Rock and Foundation. Jesus never leaves us and He gives His love unconditionally. He is our Redeemer, Foundation, and so much more.
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Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the redemption that Your Son gives us upon our acceptance of Him. Without Him we would surely not be able to escape the sentence of death at the final judgment. He is our Rock and Foundation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
