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“Surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”  (Isaiah 41:10b, NIV).

The store was crowded. It was Saturday and people pushed through to get to where they were going with an occasional grunt meant to be an “excuse me” gesture. Noises, organized chaos.  Ahead of me was a mother and her child, maybe three or four years old.

The little girl was trying to match her four steps to each of her mother’s hurried strides. Suddenly she reached up a small stubby hand, opening and closing it in fast succession. The mother, without missing a beat, smiled down, slowed her pace just a bit, and extended her hand to meet the anxious fingers and clasp them. Their stride matched and the look on the child’s face softened.

It made me think of one of my favorite verses in Isaiah: “Do not fear for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you for I am your God. I will strengthen you; surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” vs. 41:10 (NIV).

There are times even us grown-ups feel like that little girl. Lost in the confusion, the din, the hurriedness of life, it all seems unsettling. We cannot match out steps to the stride of the world. Our legs are tired from trying. So, we reach up to God for comfort, reassurance and protection. He smiles down and grabs our hand. Then we walk together.

Secure in His grasp, the world doesn’t seem so chaotic and scary. We can handle it because He is handling us. We feel safe knowing He won’t leave us and if it gets too much, He will reach down, pick us up and carry us a while. Then, when the chaos has lessened or we wiggle, He calmly set us back down, still holding onto our tiny hand.

That is until something attracts our attention. With new courage, we drop His hand and veer off to check it out. That happens, doesn’t it? Then, like a parent in a crowded department store, He watches, never taking His eyes off of us until we once again return to His side and reach up our little hand for Him to grasp once more.

Question: Do you feel in your walk with God that He is holding onto your hand or not? Who let go? Why?

About the Author Julie Cosgrove

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Am I growing or eroding in who I am becoming?

A wise woman grows in understanding who she really is. A woman who knows how God sees her is confident in her identity. She knows God made her just the way she is and for specific tasks.

She does not compare the inside of herself with other women. She makes the effort to grow in her knowledge of the truth of what God says about her.

A woman who understands who she is in God’s sight knows she is:

Accepted (Ephesians 1:5)
Secure (Philippians 1:6)
Significant (John 15:16)

Her identity is not bound up in what she has, how she looks, or what she wears. Her identity is secured in who she is as a beloved child of God.

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”  (Ephesians 2:10).

Read Psalm 139 and ask God to fill your heart with the knowledge of just how treasured you are to Him. Ask Him to help you grow in your understanding of who you really are!

Father God,
Sometimes it’s hard for me to think of myself as a piece of Your artwork – created to be just who I am. Help me to embrace the knowledge of who You say I am! I know all too well the weaknesses in me. I invite You to use these very things that I dislike in me to be the entry points of Your strength and power in my Iife. I know You have things for me to do that go beyond this “to do” list of mine. Help me to be ready to give a kind word or a hug to someone today. Show me who You want to touch through me. Help me to live as an accepted, secure and significant child of the Almighty God today by the power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Questions: What is your identity bound up with? Read Psalm 139 and ask God to help you grow in your understanding of who you really are!

About the Author Gail Rodgers

As she addressed women in leadership, the speaker used the word “flourish” rather than finding balance in life.  The word got my attention.  Balance does not always seem attainable but to “flourish” in the midst of circumstances is possible with the Lord’s enabling.

To “flourish” means “to grow vigorously or thrive” or “to be at the peak of development.”  Although you will not find the word in Scripture, you will find the concept.

It reminded me of John 15:1-17.  Jesus compares Himself to a grapevine and our Father to a gardener.  We are the branches and it is to our Father’s glory that we bear much fruit.   We can only bear fruit as we remain in the vine.  As we allow the Lord to prune our lives, He removes the things that are choking out life.

He loves us and wants us to remain in His love.  He knows our joy will be complete in Him and living life His way.  Knowing that we are absolutely secure in His love for us, He calls us to lay down our lives for others.  We are His friends and He has chosen us and appointed us to go and produce everlasting fruit.

Finding balance may be just another word for trying to gain better control over life or having all areas of my outward circumstances in order.

Flourishing begins with the inner life.  We need to allow the Lord to work in and through us so that we can flourish and bear much fruit for His glory regardless of our circumstances.  That is to our Father’s glory and that is my prayer for you and me.

Lord, will you enable each of us to “flourish” even if all of our circumstances are adverse.  Lord, at times, life can be chaotic and feel out of balance or control.  May we flourish in the midst, bearing much fruit for Your glory. In Jesus’ powerful and precious Name we pray. Amen.

Questions: Invite the Lord to search your heart and life and show you anything that needs to be adjusted (heart and attitude, practical changes) in order for you to “flourish” in the midst.  Obey what He says.  You may be surprised with the result!

About the Author Donna Mitchell

** What are the benefits of recognizing your significance to God and others? In this Online Bible Study you will learn the answer.

It’s important to accept what God says about who we are. All too often we live with feelings of deep inadequacy. We may regret the past or fear the future. In life’s crazy pace it’s easy to forget to schedule in time with our Lord and to ask ourselves, “Am I growing or eroding in who I am becoming?”

A wise person grows in understanding who he is.

One who knows how God sees him is confident in his identity. He knows God made him just the way he is and for specific tasks. He does not compare the inside of himself with the outside of another.

He makes the effort to grow in his knowledge of the truth of what God says about him. One who understands who he is in God’s sight knows he is:

* Accepted (Ephesians 1:5)

* Secure (Philippians 1:6)

* Significant (John 15:16)

His identity is not bound up in what he has, how he looks or what he wears. His identity is secured in who he is as a beloved child of God.

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

Read Psalm 139 and ask God to fill your heart with the knowledge of just how esteemed you are in God’s sight. Ask Him to help you grow in your understanding of who you really are!

~ Father God, Sometimes it’s hard for me to think of myself as a piece of Your artwork, created to be just who I am. Help me to embrace the knowledge of who You say I am! I know all too well the weaknesses in me. I invite You to use these very things that I dislike about myself to be the entry point of Your strength and power in my Iife. I know You have things for me to do that go beyond this “to do” list of mine.  Show me who You want to touch through me. Help me to live as an accepted, secure and significant child of the Almighty God today by the power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Permanent devotional link

Questions: Do you know that you are significant in God’s eyes? What difference does that make in your daily walk?

About the Author: Gail Rodgers

My Spiritual Journey:

>Throughout high school, I relied on myself and my friends to be happy, believing that if I fulfilled my life goals by pursuing success in all things and surrounded myself with enough people, I would be happy and secure.

>As a child I’d hear people say, "God loves you", never understanding the significance of it. At best I thought of Jesus as the person who "saved" me, but I didn’t know exactly what he had saved me from.

>I was familiar with Jesus’ death on the cross but the one question I always asked was "How does someone dying on a cross two thousand years ago save me today?"

>I was watching TV one night when I came across a man named Charles Stanley who was talking about Jesus. He said that although God is perfect, humans aren’t. We do a lot of wrong things that offend him and eventually result in death — a spiritual death, which is our souls being separated from him.

>Yet because God is so loving he created a way for us to have life — eternal life, which is to know and trust God personally, to have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus.

>I understood that when Jesus died on the cross he took my place in death — my separation from God. He made it possible for me to have a relationship with God and I began to see that it was what I needed to have true life.

>Having faith in God is a process that can sometimes be difficult, but it is rewarding. God continues to show me his goodness in each and every trial and I rest assured knowing that he has only the best planned out for me.

>He has given my life meaning that is beyond words. Knowing him personally gives me the joy and strength to live each day and the assurance of life with Him in heaven after death.

>My faith in God enables me to know that my life is in the care of the only perfect person: Jesus. No matter what situation may come along, his presence is my comfort. Now I find my security not in myself or in my friends, but in a God who never changes.

>I believe that students are searching for truth in a corrupt world and so much of what we’re taught in university only takes us around in circles. I have found that a relationship with Jesus can satisfy all a person’s needs.

>People make a lot of decisions that affect their destiny on earth. A conscious decision to have a relationship with God through Jesus is the most important decision anyone could make. This kind of decision is one that changes your life forever, for the better!

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• The meaning of life
• Questions about spirituality? Read our spirituality articles
• What’s your Spiritual Interest Quotient? Take our SIQ quiz and find out
• How you can know God personally
• Back to Student Profiles

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