“I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.” Isaiah 44:22

We are mid-September and along with turning, falling leaves, it’s the season of returns. Schools and universities are back in full swing. Pumpkin lattes are back on the menu and thankfully, temperatures are returning to cool enough I can light a fire of an evening. 

Here at the Royal Military Academy, officer cadets and staff are returning to their duties for the winter term. And I am returning to a quiet house and more regular schedule as one daughter returns to University and the other to a junior college. 

After a busy and unpredictable summer there are other things I should be putting back into my day. I need to add in dedicated exercise time, ideally outside. Set parts of the day for writing and others for family duties. And I need more focused time in the word and in prayer. I’m a wife and mom and lead a ministry with those aforementioned officer cadets. Young men and women who often feel more like adult children. Such is the way of God. It’s my heart to serve those areas well – my Lord, my family, my health, and my people.

What’s Your Intention?

But none of that will happen by accident. It takes intentionality and discipline. I have buckets of one and only a smidge of the other. Thankfully I can cheat. I have the Lord in my corner, and He doesn’t quite when I want to, and He doesn’t leave when I fail. Instead, He redeems. 

In the verse that spoke to me today, the nation of Israel has been held in captivity by the Babylonians. We’ve seen them question if the false gods of their captors are more powerful. And in this verse, God is reminding them that no, He alone holds the keys to redemption. Like us today, they just need to choose Him. 

What’s your Answer?

If God has blotted out your sins and redeemed you, what do you need to put aside in order to choose and return to a closer walk with Him? Let me know if we can be praying for you in that endeavor. He’s waiting.