It was a Sunday Morning. I’m just chilling reading the Bible before church. And you know what? God showed me something pretty cool (He has a habit of doing that, you know). He showed me just how great declarations are (a lady had talked about it on Saturday at our woman’s brunch at church) and which ones are my favorite. The ones straight out of the Bible! I was reading in Isaiah, and He stopped me. He told me to put my name instead of Israel. And what I came up with was pretty amazing.
Isaiah 43:1-4, New Living Version
(Note that because we are under a new covenant, I am replacing Egypt, Ethiopia and Seba with Jesus, since he paid the price)
(1) But now, O (insert your name here), listen to the Lord who created you,
O (insert your name here), the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
(2) When you go through deep waters I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
(3)For I am the Lord, your God.
The Holy One of (insert your name here), your Savior.
I gave Jesus as a ransom for your freedom;
I gave Jesus in your place.
(4)My Son was given in exchange for you.
I traded in His life for yours,
because you are precious to me
You are honored, and I love you.
Pretty powerful stuff I thought I would share. Yet this is not the only one.
Isaiah 42:1-4 New Living Version
(1) Look at my servant, whom I strengthen.
(insert your name here) is my chosen one, who pleases me,
I have put my spirit upon (he/she).
(He/She) will bring justice to the nations.
(2)(He/She) will not shout or raise (his/her) voice in public.
(3)(Insert your name here) will not crush the weakest reed
or put out a flickering candle.
(He/She) will bring justice to all who have been wronged.
(4)(insert name here) will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth.
Awesome and so encouraging.
Isaiah 60:1-3 New Living Version
(1) Arise, (insert name here)! Let your light shine for all to see.
For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.
(2) Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth,
but the but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.
(3) All nations will come to your light;
mighty kings will come to see your radiance.
The Bible is full of encouraging words. Powerful declarations. Uplifting proclamations. We only have to listen to what He is saying about us.
I wrote some of these scriptures and some different ones up and taped them to my bathroom mirror. The only reason why the Evil Queen asked the mirror who was the fairest of them all was because she didn’t know that she was beautiful herself. She didn’t have any self-confidence. She needed to hear the compliment, and be able to truly believe it. If only someone had cherished her, loved her, cared for her, she would have felt beautiful, and not cared who was the “fairest” because she believed in herself because someone had believed in her. See, I think most of us look to a mirror for support and compliments, too, (myself included!) but we will never be satisfied, we will never find what we are seeking there. Unless you are me. Because now instead of looking at my reflection for my own security, I’m looking at these scriptures. The ones that tell me I am beautiful. I am cherished. I am precious. I am honored (see that ending of verse 4 in Isaiah 43! It actually says that! You are honored! As well as YOU ARE LOVED. BY GOD. That’s pretty fantastic. I don’t need to hear it from anyone else (not that isn’t nice, but still. I don’t need it. God tells me, no one can top that.) and we know we can trust and believe it. Both God and His Word are infallible, right? Then obviously He meant it when He said it. He made you. I have another note hanging up in my room that says God cannot make a mistake. And God made you. So it is impossible that you are a mistake.” Keep reminding yourself that you are His Child, and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Take His Word to heart, it is meant for you. It really is. YOU are Israel, you have been grafted into the family (Romans 11).
You are loved!