My Dear Sisters, just as I was writing this post to you, a family urgency arose and I’m not going to be able to finish it. I’ve erased it and, in its place, put the segment of Scripture that I shared today in staff time before I got news of a serious family need. By faith, I choose to believe that this was what our gracious God wanted you to have today. It is a beautiful segment from Isaiah 41 that spoke very richly to us in staff and I pray will minister to you. (Vv.8-16) In it God is addressing Israel but, as you will see, many of the truths He speaks over them in this chapter concerning His heart toward them and His promise to help are echoed in the New Testament to believers under Christ’s new covenant. If you have a more formal translation like the ESV, consider reading it first then below you’ll find the portion in Eugene Peterson’s translation, The Message. Its vivid language jumped out at me and really tended to my soul. My staff and I printed it out and circled parts of it that the Holy Spirit brought to life in our own hearts and minds and amid our own circumstances. We also wrote notes in the margins and reminders of other coinciding verses and then, in our closing prayer, we let the passages guide our intercessions. You might consider doing the same thing. The two simple words “don’t panic” leapt off the page at me. So did this: “I, God, want to reassure you.” Thank You, thank You, Lord.
Here it is and you’ll find my SSMT entry at the end of the post.
Isaiah 41:8-16 The Message
8â10Â Â Â Â Â Â âBut you, Israel, are my servant.
Youâre Jacob, my first choice,
descendants of my good friend Abraham.
I pulled you in from all over the world,
called you in from every dark corner of the earth,
Telling you, âYouâre my servant, serving on my side.
Iâve picked you. I havenât dropped you.â
Donât panic. Iâm with you.
Thereâs no need to fear for Iâm your God.
Iâll give you strength. Iâll help you.
Iâll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.
11â13Â Â Â Â Â Â âCount on it: Everyone who had it in for you
will end up out in the coldâ
real losers.
Those who worked against you
will end up empty-handedâ
nothing to show for their lives.
When you go out looking for your old adversaries
you wonât find themâ
Not a trace of your old enemies,
not even a memory.
Thatâs right. Because I, your GOD,
have a firm grip on you and Iâm not letting go.
Iâm telling you, âDonât panic.
Iâm right here to help you.â
14â16Â Â Â Â Â Â âDo you feel like a lowly worm, Jacob?
Donât be afraid.
Feel like a fragile insect, Israel?
Iâll help you.
I, GOD, want to reassure you.
The God who buys you back, The Holy of Israel.
Iâm transforming you from worm to harrow,
from insect to iron.
As a sharp-toothed harrow youâll smooth out the mountains,
turn those tough old hills into loamy soil.
Youâll open the rough ground to the weather,
to the blasts of sun and wind and rain.
But youâll be confident and exuberant,
expansive in The Holy of Israel!
Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (Is 41:8â16). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.
For my SSMT selection, this is the portion I have next in my memory work out of the Book of Colossians:
Beth, Houston. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ. Colossians 2:1-2
I love you guys so much. Let’s press on with eyes of faith, Sisters. He who calls us is faithful!
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
Linda – Spring, Texas
And provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of Righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
Isaiah 61:3 – NIV
Christene from London Canada
Ephesians 6:10 NIV
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Above all love each other deeply,
because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)
Melissa Emma, Scarborough, Maine: “You have taken up my cause, O LORD; You have redeemed my life.” Lamentations 3:58 ESV
Ana, Tampa Florida
Isaiah 40:26 (NIV)
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
Patty Laramore, Ada, OK
“For it is by grace your have been saved -through faith-
and this not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God-
not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
LisaT Boonsboro, Md
James 1:25 NIV
But the one who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard but doing it, he will be blessed in what he does.
Lyn Steriti
Littleton NH
Yet I will exult in The Lord.
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength.
Hab. 3:18-19a NASB
So do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Is. 41:10
NIV
Kathy, Danvers
Psalm 33:20 NIV
We wait in hope for the LORD;
He is our help and our shield.
Wynell
Athens, GA
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33 NIV
Liz from Hilliard, OH:
“Because of the Lordâs great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3: 22-23 (NIV)
Amanda, Calgary, Alberta
“He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and He prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.” Psalm 50:23 NIV
Linda from Stanley, WI
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. James 2:10 NIV
Jill from Houma, LA
Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.
Col 4:2 (NLT)
“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Heb. 12:3 (NIV)
Praise the name of God forever and ever, for He alone has all wisdom and power. He determines the course of world events; He removes kings and set others on the throne. HE gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness though He Himself is surrounded by light. Daniel 2:20-22
Laura, Townsend, MA
For in him you have been enriched in every wayâwith all kinds of speech and with all knowledge
1 Corinthians 1:5 (NIV)
Kathy,Austin Jer.29:11
do not panic For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord- plans to prosper you, not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future
Alaina // Tyler, TX
…we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us.
Romans 5:3-5 NIV
Susan B., Chapin SC
Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord? Who can ever praise him enough? Psalm 106:2 NLT
Jamie, Crossett:
“Let no unwholesome(rotten) word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29 NASB
I said to the LORD, You are my LORD, apart from You I have no good thing
Psalm 16 v 2 NIV
Virginia in Elgin, Tx
O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.
Psalm 34:3 NIV
Alice, Chesapeake VA.
Psalm 34:18 ESV
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Heather H. Pflugerville, TX
Romans 11:33
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Do you suppose, O manâyou who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourselfâthat you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that Godâs kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”
Romans 2:3-4, ESV
Amy, Chattanooga, TN. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Matthew 5:7, NKJV.
Patrice in Albuquerque
“Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” 1 COR 15:33 (NIV)
Rosalye, Vicksburg
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says The Lord,” who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Rev. 1:8
NKJV
Kay from Deer Park
2Corinthians 1: 8b-10 NIV
“We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received he sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”
Christine, SLC
Numbers 23:19 NLT
God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?
Paula, OKC, OK: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:5-6 NIV
Isaiah 42:16 NIV
[16] I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
Holly, Colorado Springs
“Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is Godâs energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 (MSG)
Lisa, Andalusia, Alabama
Psalm 16:8
English Standard Version (ESV)
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10. NIV
Emily in Anchorage, AK
” But from everlasting to everlasting the Lordâs love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their childrenâs childrenâwith those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.”
Psalm 103:17-18 NIV
psalm 127:1 hcsb– “unless the Lord builds a house its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain.”
Bethany, Spring, TX
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV
Peg from Naperville, IL
“You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it.” Ps. 65:9 NIV
Vanessa from Calgary, Canada
For I am the Lord your God,the one who takes hold of your right hand,who says to you, âDonât be afraid, I am helping you.â Isaiah 41:13 NET
Edna
O’Fallon, MO
Simon Peter replied, âYou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.â
Matthew 16:16
ESV
Sandy from Vienna, VA
Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence O Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness.
Psalm 89:15-16 (NIV)
Toni, Greer, SC “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easility entangles, and let us run with perseverence the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and set down at the right hand of God.” Hebres 12:1-2 NIV
For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6 NET
Kami, Dallas,Tx: “The LORD said to Joshua, ‘Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.'” Josh. 5:9 NIV
Cindy
Flemingsburg, KY
Donât be afraid, for I am with you!
Donât be frightened, for I am your God!
I strengthen youâ
yes, I help youâ
yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand!
Isaiah 41:10 NET
Leah from Bloomington, IN…Now you can have sincere love for each other as brothers and sisters because you were cleansed from your sins when you accepted the truth of the Good News. So see to it that you really do love each other intensely with all your heats. 1 Peter 1:22 NLT
Belinda from Blacklick, OH
Numbers 23:19
“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (ESV)