Words from Jesus
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“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”—Jeremiah 29:111
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I am your Shepherd. I am leading you to a door and asking you to open it and walk through it. I do not force anyone to walk through the doors I lead them to, because I want My children to make their own choices out of love for Me. But the door is there, and if you walk through it you’ll find a great light, for I am the way, the truth, and the life. You’ll find a whole, complete life of love and fulfillment. I am life, and he who gives his life to Me will live forever, finding happiness not only in this life, but in the life to come.
So do not be afraid to push the door open and walk in. As you open the door by faith and take the first step, I will give you the faith to take another step, even if you can’t see where the path is taking you. If you’re walking down the road that I have for you, there is no mistake, there is no higher calling in life. There is no greater fulfillment than to choose the life that I—the designer of the universe—have called you to.
I have not taken My eyes off you since the day you were born, but have cared for you and planned for you and loved you every moment, from the beginning of time and to the end of time. So trust Me with your life, for I have plans for your future.
Your strength and shield
The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.—Psalm 28:72
I am your strength and shield. I plan out each day and have it ready for you, long before you arise from bed. I also provide the strength you need each step of the way. Instead of assessing your energy level and wondering about what’s on the road ahead, concentrate on staying in touch with Me. My power flows freely into you through our open communication. Refuse to waste energy worrying, and you will have strength to spare.
Whenever you start to feel afraid, remember that I am your Shield. But unlike inanimate armor, I am always alert and active. My Presence watches over you continually, protecting you from both known and unknown dangers. Entrust yourself to My watchcare, which is the best security system available. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.3
Compassed about
Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!—Hebrews 12:1–34
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Wherefore seeing you are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the burdens that burden you, and look to Me, the author and finisher of your faith. I have called you to cast aside the burdens. At this very moment, round about you is a great cloud of witnesses, so great that if I would open your eyes, you would see they fill this room!
Therefore stir up the gifts that are within you; seek Me and call upon Me, and I will be found and I will speak to your heart. If you call upon Me, you will not only hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” but you will hear it on the left and on the right and within your heart.
Not My will
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.—Psalm 37:4–65
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I am the Master Gardener, the Master Landscaper. I have placed in your hand these seeds, and you have planted them and watered them and tended them. But as I look upon your garden, I see that there is an ugly, evil weed that is defiling it. It has been a troublesome, bothersome weed. You have tried to root it out. You have chopped it down and you have burned it. You have so wanted to rid your garden of this ugly weed.
To do so, you must go down deep beneath the surface and the topsoil. You must look much deeper and find the roots, for there is one root deep down that is the source of this weed. If you want your garden plot to be beautiful and free from this evil weed, then dig down deep and cut out the root of unyieldedness. Commit your heart and life into My hands, trust in Me, and say, “Not my will but Thine be done.”
When you are willing to commit your plans to Me, when you are moldable in My hands, when you yield your heart and life to Me and you want with all your heart to be free from these things so that you might have Me and My Spirit more abundantly, you will find deliverance, and your garden plot will be more beautiful than ever before. It will flourish! Your garden plot will glorify Me.
Follow My lead
Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight.—2 Corinthians 5:6–76
Be willing to follow where I lead. Follow Me wholeheartedly, with glad anticipation, quickening your pace. Though you don’t know what lies ahead, I know; and that is enough! Some of My richest blessings are just around the bend: out of sight, but nonetheless very real. To receive these gifts, you must walk by faith—not by sight. This doesn’t mean closing your eyes to what is all around you. It means subordinating the visible world to the invisible Shepherd of your soul.
Sometimes I lead you up a high mountain with only My hand to support you. The higher you climb, the more spectacular the view becomes; also, the more keenly you sense your separation from the world with all its problems. This frees you to experience exuberantly the joyous reality of My presence. Give yourself fully to these Glory moments, awash in dazzling light. I will eventually lead you down the mountain back into community with others. Let My light continue to shine within you as you walk among people again.7
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Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep.
You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.
For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
—Psalm 36:5–98
Originally published in 1997, unless otherwise indicated. Adapted and republished September 2014. Read by Jon Marc.
1 NIV.
2 NLT.
3 Sarah Young, Jesus Calling (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
4 The Message.
5 NLT.
6 NASB.
7 Sarah Young, Jesus Calling (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010).
8 NIV.
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