Sep 12, 2017

Encouragement from our Savior




Dear Friend,

This month my calendar has a picture of a pink and violet sunset overlooking towering mountains.  A gentle meadow is surrounded by silhouetted pine trees.  In the grass, a deer is gazing into the expanse behind him.

But I noticed the tiny black letters that marked today, September 12, 2017.

National Day of Encouragement.

You all have been a wonderful source of encouragement to me.  From comments to emails,  shares and more, my day has been brightened by you.  Now it's my turn.  Imagine yourself in my calendar picture.  Feel the grass wisp against your ankles and smell the fresh, mountain breeze.  Watch as the deer turns his deep, brown eyes to stare into yours.

And read God's beautiful promises.  This encouragement is from Him to you.  These are His words as He declares His everlasting love for you, His child.


~♥~


Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death...
 - Song of Solomon 8:6


He will swallow up death forever,
And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people
He will take away from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken. 
And it will be said in that day:
"Behold, this is our God;
We have waited for Him, and He will save us.
This is the Lord;
We have waited for Him;
We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." 
 - Isaiah 25:8-9

You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the Lord forever,
For in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.  
- Isaiah 26:3-4

In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.
 - Isaiah 30:15


You shall weep no more.
He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry;
When He hears it, He will answer you.  
- Isaiah 30:19


...in the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of His people
And heals the stroke of their wound.  
- Isaiah 30:26


And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 
- Isaiah 35:10


I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears...  - Isaiah 38:5


He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young. 
- Isaiah 40:11

Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
  - Isaiah 40:28-31


Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. 
 - Isaiah 41:10


When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior...
And I have loved you.  
- Isaiah 43:2-4


"For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,"
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you...
No weapon formed against you shall prosper. 
- Isaiah 54:10,17


...as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So shall your God rejoice over you.  
- Isaiah 62:5

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. - Jeremiah 29:11-13

...yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with loving-kindness I have drawn you. 
- Jeremiah 31:3


The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
- Zephaniah 3:17


...He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; - Philippians 1:6


...for He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." - Hebrews 13:5







I encourage you to grab your own Bible and read 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 139.  Both chapters are beautiful reminders of how great His love is for us, and they have been a blessing to me time and time again.  I hope these verses bring warmth to your heart today.

Dear one, you are beautiful, treasured, and loved.  Don't forget that.  Jesus said,

As the Father loved me, I also have loved you; abide in my love.  - John 15:9

Are there other verses that have touched your heart recently?  Please share them below; I would love to read them with you!

During this day of encouragement, step out.  Love others.  And make a difference.

23 comments:

  1. This post is great initiative. Thank you, dear friend. <3

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    1. I love you, Jordy. You've been encouraging to me so many times. ♥

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    2. I love you, too, dear friend.

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  2. How did I not know about the day of encouragement?! Maybe because it's only national. Thanks for using it as an opportunity to share all those wonderful promises. It was good to let them soak in.. it makes me want to reread Isaiah again. I think it might be my favourite book of the Bible.

    Thanks for the recommendations as well - I might read those chapters tonight. Recently I've been reading in James, and it's so encouraging as well. I'm only a few verses into the first chapter (because it's so packed), but it's amazing to get a glimpse of God's purpose through trials, how He uses them to make us perfect, and if we lack all we have to do is ask 'and it shall be given to you.' Thanks again for this post, Hosanna. Praying you're blessed as you give encouragement to others!

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    1. Jessica, I've never heard of it either. But shouldn't every day be a day of encouragement? Jesus never stops loving us, so why should we?

      Yes! I miss Isaiah already. It's so beautiful and full of His promises. Many underlined verses in my Bible. =) Please go and reread it!!

      Actually, I read James 1 recently too! Some friends read it with me, and we discussed it. =) It's good...we can learn so much from trials. They make us grow, stretch us. Strange as it is, I'm thankful for the trials I've gone through. They've been some of the strongest times of my spiritual life. Have you experienced the same thing?

      Thank you, Jess. I'm so thankful for you. =)

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    2. Yes! Imagine if Jesus' 'love sinners day' only came around once a year!

      Thanks for the encouragement - I started reading Isaiah again this morning. It shows such a vivid picture of God's heart!

      Yes, trials have worked to draw me closer to God too. It's crazy how these things can sometimes only be seen in hindsight though. It reminds me of some advice I was reading earlier today: journal, journal, journal. Because sometimes we don't see it until we see where we were. Journaling's done that for me, but unfortunately I've been doing it less and less these days. :( Do you journal?

      So thankful for you too, friend! Blessings on your day! :)

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    3. Wow...we would be in a lot of trouble, wouldn't we? Jesus' forgiveness is truly incredible. I wish it was easy for me to show the same love to others...

      Yayyyy! Enjoy Isaiah, Jessica. =) I moved on to Lamentations, but there are treasures in every book of the Bible. I'm looking forward to discovering more through Jeremiah's words. =)

      I do journal! I try to do it every night, but it's more of a prayer/recap. I summarize my day and share it with Jesus. Sometimes it feels like me rambling to myself, but it helps me focus. Even on bad days, I'm reminded of the blessings. So yes, I encourage you to do the same. =) Even if not for the growth, it's wonderful to look back and remember the little blessings in life.

      I hope you're having a lovely morning. =) My prayers are with you as you start a brand new day.

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  3. I didn't know it was the day of encouragement... though I usually don't know if it is a national day of something (there are so many). Thanks for the encouraging post! I like 1 Peter 1:8, "you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy." :)

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    1. That's a beautiful verse, Sarah! I forget that often. We should be rejoicing in the Lord constantly...our smiles should be our witness to His glory. =) Wouldn't it be wonderful if Christians stood out because of how happy we were? Inexpressible and glorious joy... ♥ LOVE that term!

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  4. Lovely post, Hosanna! What a great time to reach out and encourage others, especially with all that's going on in the world right now.
    I've been reading through the book of Ephesians lately, and it is jam-packed with encouragement and promises from God.
    Thank you for sharing this! xx

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    1. Emily, you don't know how true that is. I've been realizing how dark our world is...the enemy is fighting so hard. And he's doing a good job. There are too many broken lives around us.

      But Jesus will win. He always does. Reading Psalms, Isaiah, and (as you said) Ephesians is like a breath of cool air. His promises are everlasting. I'm so glad we're not on our own. I'm so weak. But He is strong. ♥

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  5. Needed these. <3 I have clung to those verses from Jeremiah many times in the past few months. :)

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    1. Those verses from Jeremiah keep coming up again and again in my life. That word "all." We will find Him when we search for Him with all. It seems impossible, but I want to do that. I want to be willing to push everything aside for Him.

      I'm so glad these verses were encouraging to you, Faith! Isn't He so very good?

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  6. Beautiful! Thanks for sharing these, Hosanna :) I needed the encouragement <3 Even when it seems like the whole world is against us, God never is.

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    1. Your summary is perfect: Even when it seems like the whole world is against us, God never is. I need that reminder. It's so beautiful. Thank you, Lila. ♥

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  7. WELL I HAD NO CLUE THAT THIS WAS A THING. That's pretty neat! Annnnd I'm a day late but who cares minor inconveniences, right?! xD
    But seriously girl, you have blessed me SO much. You are encouraging, convicting, and so good at urging people to reach out to others and to grow closer to the Lord! You are completely amazing and I know God has put you into the world for a specific reason, and you are impacting this world for His glory, and I JUST LOVE YOU OKAY?? <333
    I hope you are enjoying this glorious September day, my friend!
    -Ariel

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    1. Ariel, every day is encouragement day! And you're always a blessing. Remember that.

      I want to hug you. *hugs through the computer* Your words are so sweet. Responding to these comments brightens my day. Sometimes I think I'm here to encourage you, and then you go and brighten my day. I was feeling tired and overwhelmed, but now I can't help but smile. God is so beautiful. Actually, I think He just used your words to give me a hug. =)

      I love you more! ♥

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    2. EXACTLY. ^_^ Thank you, sweetheart!!!
      *hugs back* (I wish there could be a glorious day where it wouldn't have to be virtual--if not here, then in heaven!! =)) Isn't it awesome when God blesses us like that? One time, I was having a rough day, but then we went to our friends' house and spent some time worshiping with them--I wrote in my journal 'It felt like a hug from God.' <333 He's awesome like that, isn't He?! God knows exactly what we need when we need it, and I am glad He used my words as that moment to touch your heart!
      And whenever you are feeling tired, stressed, overwhelmed, or are just having a rough day--I'm here. <333 Is there anything I can pray for for you?
      -Ariel

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    3. It'll be a wonderful day when we get to hug in person. =) I LOVE that you have felt those "God hugs" too! Those are amazing moments - when you can almost feel His arms around you. I feel that way sometimes when I look up at the stars. Their beauty and intricate design make me stand in awe and just say, "Wow, God. You're amazing."

      Aww, I appreciate that, Ariel. Life has been so busy recently, and I've gotten behind several things. I would appreciate prayer that I could honor God through the busyness and have His joy. =) He's been so faithful through everything. And how can I be praying for you, sweet girl?

      Have a lovely weekend... ♥

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  8. Thanks for sharing these! Isaiah has lots of great verses! :)

    https://tizziestidbits.wordpress.com

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    1. Isaiah is full of sweet promises. They're very encouraging to me. =) What verses or chapters has God used to bring encouragement to your life recently, Grace?

      Today I read over some of your blog series about thriving in college. I'm taking a college class this semester that has been challenging for me. There's so much darkness in the world, and, at times, I've gotten overwhelmed. As you pointed out, we need to be focused on God and remember that He is with us in everything. That is what's gotten me through the discouraging times. He has a plan, and He's got this. Keep shining for Jesus, even in the midst of the dark world. Grace, I know that He can use you to make a difference. =) *hugs* Praying for you, my friend.

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  9. Thanks for sharing all of these verses, Hosanna! I love how the Bible is always so encouraging! <3

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    1. God's amazing like that, isn't He? I'm glad that you were encouraged by these verses, Rebekah. ♥

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