Redemption Groups :: Week Seven

This week Pastor Ryan taught us about our lasting hope for change. Ultimately, the answer is placing your hope in God and God alone. By repenting and having faith in God, we are covered in grace. Grace is redemption initiated by Christ’s death, redemption accomplished by His resurrection, and redemption applied by the Holy Spirit giving us a new lifePastor Ryan said in the teaching, “If you do not see the bitterness of your own life, you will not see the sweetness of the gospel.” The perfect part about this paradox is that we are incapable of keeping our side of the covenant. God keeps our side of the covenant and pursues us even in our rebellion. Our lasting hope for change is God’s character.Pastor Ryan also gave us a list of things that can trick us and skew our relationship with God if we place our hope in them: Denial, morbid introspection, accountability, rock bottom, a new season of life, success against insecurities, and knowledge about God. Each of these things can hinder heart change. I am guilty of morbid introspection. I was guilty of this literally the day before Redemption Groups. I was struggling and started looking at my heart in order to figure out what was wrong. Our book calls it “hurt hunting.” I was convinced there was something I missed and something else I needed to confess, when in the end I just ended up confessing that I was ripping myself apart. 

The perfect part about this paradox is that we are incapable of keeping our side of the covenant. God keeps our side of the covenant and pursues us even in our rebellion.

 My group all resonated with the new season of life trick as well. It’s an idea that once “this” happens, “that” will be better. Most of the people in my group are young and we still have so much to look forward to, so it’s tempting for us to just hope for graduation, marriage, and getting a job. Everyone is still in different places and we are all working on our psalms for the celebration. I see my desperate need for God and I wake up thirsty daily. I am doing everything I can to starve my pride, and I praise God for calling me His, despite my own selfishness. Pastor Ryan said, “We are not hoping for God to love us, He already has.” Those words hit me to the core, that even when I’m just looking at myself or looking at my past, He is looking at me waiting for my gaze. My prayer is that we continue to grow and that God continues to guard our delicate hearts.For more information on Redemption Groups go here.