April 13, 2023
You are very precious to Me. You are one of My beloved children, and I will pick you up and hold you when you fall. I will nurture you and strengthen you through everything you face in life, because I love you.
So come to Me and cast your burdens at My feet. Leave everything else behind. When you come to Me, you need only bring yourself. Come to Me in humility and meekness and know that I will always receive you with open arms and love and encouragement.
Every situation that concerns you is in My hands, because you have placed them there. Leave them there—don’t pick them up again and try to carry them yourself. Trust that I will take care of any burden or situation that you entrust to My care.
Receive My encouragement; take courage and place your hope in Me! My arm is always outstretched to lift you out of any pit of despair, or discouragement and heaviness of heart. Come to Me, My dear one, and abide under the shadow of My wings.
Dear one, do not believe that something has gone wrong in your life when things don’t turn out as you had hoped. At the moment, you can only see your world as it is now. You see the routine of your daily life. I know that you are thankful for My blessings in your life and for My supply and provision. I know that your heart’s desire is to please Me and to serve Me.
Always remember that you can only see a limited part of My plan for your life. You want to understand what is going to happen and what it will be like in the future. Trust that as you hold on by faith and continue to take one step at a time, holding My hand, one day you will experience the greater things in store for you—things that you cannot even conceive of! For eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things prepared for those who love Me (1 Corinthians 2:9).
I will be with you through thick and thin. I hear your every prayer. I see every tear that falls from your eyes. I will protect you and keep you. So don’t focus on the waves and the conditions or the circumstances that you find yourself in, but determinedly fix your eyes upon Me and follow Me. Trust Me that one day your heart will greatly rejoice, and you will know that every sacrifice, no matter how great, has been worth it.
When you are feeling overwhelmed by your circumstances, take time to listen to Me. Hear Me saying, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Listening to Me when you’re feeling stressed requires discipline and trust. Your racing thoughts make it hard to hear My gentle whisper. Ask the Holy Spirit to calm your mind so that you can hear My voice. Remember that I—the Prince of Peace—am with you at all times.
I am not only with you; I am also in your circumstances. Moreover, I am in control of everything that happens to you. Although I am never the author of evil, I am fully able to use bad things for good. This does not remove your suffering, but it does redeem it—infusing it with meaning. So if you are in a storm of difficulties, I say to you, “Take courage. It is I.”
Search for signs of My abiding Presence in your current situation. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).1
Know that I will complete the good work I began in you until the end of your earthly life and for eternity. You are Mine and we are one, and I rejoice in you and in the way I have created you! I love to see the love that you give to others, and your faithfulness and determination to stay close by My side.
Be My hands that will extend My love to others. Use the love that I have put in your heart to shed My love on others. Use your hands to serve them with My love. Use your tears to understand their tears. Use your longing for love to fulfill another’s loneliness. As you warm others with your love, so will you also be warmed.
Trust Me that I have made you, and that I have allowed incidents, circumstances, and people in your life to help mold you and shape you into what you have become and what you will become. Take courage and trust in Me. Just live for one day at a time. The end result will be glorious, and you will know that I do all things well.
Let My Word fill you to overflowing, so that you exude its love, hope, and truth. When you feel that life is flat and uninspiring, seek out the joy and the peace and truth that is in My Word.
As you fill your heart and life with My Word and pass that love on to others, your identity will become grounded in My Word. You will become one with Me each day, and you will have the strength to love others. As you strive to live according to My Word, and you let it fill your heart and mind, others will partake of its fruits in your life when they are around you.
Look for the answers you seek in My Word and seek to pattern your life according to My Word. As you match your actions and your decisions against My Word, I will continue to do My transformative work in you, and My love will flow through you to others. This is My blessing and reward.
Take time to rest in Me and find strength from My Spirit and My Word. As you spend time in My Word, you will find faith, peace, and rest. This is part of your growth in Me, to walk with Me, talk with Me, listen to Me, be rooted and grounded in Me and My Word, establishing yourself in the faith.
Be careful that the cares and burdens of this present life and world don’t crowd out your special time with Me. As you take the time to receive My strength through reading and absorbing My Word, you will receive the strength that you need and desire to be a doer of the Word in this precious life I have given you.
My love for you is patient and kind; it suffers long. I seek to love you into all truth. I stand by you, to lead and guide you. With great mercy and compassion, I provide a refuge for you in Me where you may rest and find comfort.
I see the deepest yearning and desire of your heart. I see that you seek to please Me and to do that which is right, but within the confines of human frailty, it’s often a task too big, too hard for human hands. Fear not, for this too is part of My plan, that you might lean wholly on Me, and in leaning find your strength.
Faults and failures and shortcomings you have always with you, and I work in and through these to draw you to Me. I understand your limitations and shortcomings, for all have sinned and come short of My glory.
My path is one of mercy and truth. I shower My mercy and truth on those who love Me. I do all things well concerning you, My called and chosen, that I might gather you to Me in that great day when you are home at last, eternally safe in My everlasting arms.
Originally published in 1997, unless otherwise indicated. Adapted and republished April 2023.
Read by Jon Marc. Music by Michael Dooley.
1 Sarah Young, Jesus Today (Thomas Nelson, 2012).
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