Tag: assurance

We Are His

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture4 Comments

Do Not Fear (YouVersion, Daily Refresh, 05-04-25)

In Isaiah 43:1, God speaks to His people with a message of hope and encouragement: 

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” 

These words are not just a reassurance—they are a reminder of who we are, and whose we are.

God is both our Creator and Redeemer. He is the one who formed us, knitting us together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13), and He is the one who redeemed us, bringing us back into relationship with Himself through Jesus. 

We can rest in peace and confidence knowing are not forgotten or abandoned, but intimately known and cared for by the God of the universe.

When God says, “Do not fear,” He is not ignoring the challenges you face. He is acknowledging the reality of fear and offering comfort in His presence. Fear often arises from feeling alone or uncertain, but God’s promise is clear: He has called us by name, and we belong to Him. We are His, no matter what we face.

Whether you are walking through a season of uncertainty, facing personal challenges, or carrying burdens that weigh heavy on your heart, this verse invites you to rest in the truth that you are redeemed, known, and loved. 

God’s call on your life is unshakeable. Today, stand in that assurance and walk forward with courage, knowing you are never alone and always held in His loving care.

My Thoughts

What a great follow up devotional from the previous one about worrying! My greatest takeaway is that God doesn’t say there is no fear. He acknowledges that fear exists, it’s real, but we can overcome it by realizing that He knows who we are and what we fear. We can be courageous in whatever we face because we don’t face anything alone.

As we prepare for our long trip, I am thankful that God continues to reach out to me with assurance that no matter what happens, He will be there. I am not confident in my body being strong or our car being reliable. But I am confident that God is able and He will love me through this adventure that has me tied up in knots. I am trying to focus on positives, the pleasure of seeing grandchildren graduate and visiting with family. I am working on thinking on the good things just as God encourages me to do in His Word. I appreciate your prayers as I fight this battle with my mind.

May God bless and keep you.

Hope for Now and for Eternity

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

I am thankful for the hope that I have living in me that helps me to get through each challenge of each day. This morning when I awakened before six, I thought to myself that I would get up, go to the bathroom, take care of the cat’s needs and go back to bed. After all, I did not fall asleep until after midnight and knew that I needed more rest. All good intentions aside, that is not how things happened for me. I did get up and to all of the aforementioned tasks, but I could not fall back to sleep. My mind, restless thing that it is sometimes, decided to remind me that I had to post my book review that would not load yesterday. And it reminded me that today is my laundry day. And it reminded me that I have a library book out that I have not seen since my husband carried it into the house from the library two weeks ago. And…and…and. The end result was that I got up, put the laundry in the wash, made my morning beverage of flavored water and got my book review posted. The satellite decided to work today, so that was a blessing in itself. Now, I am pondering what I am particularly thankful for today and I am thankful for hope. As long as I have breath, there is always hope. (I may even find that library book once my husband awakens and we think of where he may have put it.)

My mind may be galloping away with me at times, but my soul remains at rest. I know that I can totally count on God because He has never failed me yet. Sometimes my hope is stalwart, standing like a child on Christmas morning, absolutely sure that good things are coming. But most days, my hope is just a calm assurance from deep within me that everything will be okay, that God is working on me to rest in Him and put my hope in Him.

Over five decades ago, I was walking around without the hope that lives in me today. I had no idea that Jesus loves me or that God has a plan for my life. Now, I know for absolute certainty that God’s plan is one that I can count on working out because He is in the center of it and His great love for me means that I can fully trust Him. The hope that I have is not something that I can easily explain. After all, I am older and have a lot of aches and pains (some days, more than others), and I have retired so some friends tell me that I have finished my days of being useful so I should just enjoy the rest of my life quietly waiting to pass on to eternity. Well, that “friendly” advice is not for me! I don’t mind dying when God calls me home, but I am occupying this space and time until He does and all of my hope is in Him, that He will continue to mold me and use me, just as He has been doing for the last fifty years. I will ACTIVELY hope for as long as I am alive and my desire is to spread the reason for my hope to others.

Today, I am thankful for hope. I am grateful for God who is with me today and every day and who gives me hope for today, tomorrow and all of the tomorrows that are to come.

May you have a day blessed with hope that springs from within and that waters your soul with peace and the assurance of God’s great love for you.

God Works Things Out

On By vickleaIn Scripture8 Comments

I know that I know that God is working things out, but like other humans, I have a tendency to keep pestering Him and asking that old question, “When, God? How long is this going to take?” I have learned that what I should be asking is “What lesson can I learn from this?”

As some of you on the prayer team know, our grandson was severely injured in an accident on his one-wheeler last week. He was rushed unconscious to the ER, underwent numerous tests and is banged up pretty good. His diagnosis is concussion, fractured clavicle and ruptured ear drum. I was blessed to hear that he had no brain damage and was happy that he could go home, be watched by his mom and go see specialists this week. Well, yesterday, he went to the ENT and it seems to be a “hurry up and wait” scenario since he was sent home to wash out his ear with hydrogen peroxide since there is too much blood present for the specialist to see well inside his ear. He goes back next week for another exam. Meanwhile, he is wearing a sling for his broken clavicle and has an appointment with Ortho on Thursday. Tempted to ask how long my beloved grandson must suffer before the healing comes, God has slowed me down and reminded me to ask what I can learn from this situation. For one, I am learning to pray and trust and to know how quickly things can change. I am learning that God knew what happened long before I did, had His hand on Tyler and is continuing to heal him, even if I don’t see much progress. Finally, I am learning that not all healing that has to be done is happening in Tyler. All of the family was affected by this accident that suddenly disrupted our lives, so I am learning to pray for each family member to get the takeaway that they need from it.

The Lord was not caught unaware or surprised by this event. He is always the same and continued on in His calming and loving way. He embraced us in our panic, gave us Scriptures to quote, friends to pray with and an overwhelming sense of peace because He is in control. Always in control and always working. That’s my God!

May your day be blessed with the assurance of God’s love and His always acting on your behalf to work things out in a way that glorifies Him.