One of my favorite passages in the Old Testament is Isaiah 43. Below, I have written out the first five verses. Please allow these verses to penetrate your soul. In my Bible the notes before this passage say “the Lord comforts the church with is promises.” As you read these verses act as though God is speaking these promises directly to you.
But now, this is what the LORD says-
"He who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
The flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
Nations in exchange for your life.
Do not be afraid for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.
Now re-read this passage and count every time the word “you” is mentioned. Just in case you missed it the first two times, God has redeemed you, called you by name, is with you, is your God, honors you, loves you, and thinks you are precious. You are never allowed to think less of yourself again!
The children of Israel needed to hear in Isaiah that God loved them and he would fight for them. His love in the Old Testament is true even in the New Testament and even in our time today! In the New Testament Christ died for you because he loves you. His death is what ties the Old Testament love to the New Testament love and the love that continues to pour out in our lives today.
2,000 years ago you were bought with a price that only your loving Father by grace could give. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” This “gift” is your inheritance! It was freely given to you so you have the responsibility to own up to that inheritance. An inheritance is typically given when someone dies and you take on what they left for you. My friends that is exactly what happened when Christ died for you! His inheritance became yours. It is your identity if you let it! But the story gets better because He rose again and how much more should we celebrate our inheritance with the one who is living in us daily!
Your inheritance is given all throughout scripture and should give you a holy confidence in God. So many times we allow our confidence to come from how many compliments we get on how we look, or how many times the guy we liked talked to us that day, etc. However, those ways of gaining confidence will not last long and we will become miserable when they pass away because our confidence is in things that are only temporary. But if our confidence is in the one who never changes and who has given us a lavish inheritance then we'll always have confidence. This confidence is called a holy confidence. Pray for it my friend and seek after your inheritance in scripture to empower you with this holy confidence.
The following are additional scriptures that remind you what your inheritance is! Read them and have confidence in your inheritance!
Jeremiah 31:3
Matthew 5:14
1 Corinthians 2:16
1 Corinthians 3:16
Ephesians 2:18
Ephesians 3:12
Colossians 1:13
Colossians 3:12