YOU ARE THE BELOVED OF GOD

Saturday, October 10, 2009

One of the most beautiful passages in Scripture is found in Isaiah 43.God is speaking to his people, and although the words are addressed to Israel they are yours and mine as well.

"I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you, (for God is a great big God, though you can't see him or hear him, he is always with you. He never takes his eye off you). For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior... Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you."

Perhaps you could write down that last phrase on a card and carry it with you: "For you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you."

You are the beloved of God. What more do you need to achieve or prove or acquire? You are the beloved of God. Who else do you need to impress? What other ladder do you need to climb?

You are the beloved of God. What are you going to add to your resume' that is going to top that?

(From John Ortberg's excellent book, Love Beyond Reason)

24 comments:

rcubes said...

I need to hear this today bro. Clif. Thank you for sharing with us that beautiful Scripture and His wonderful promise to His children. Have a great weekend and God bless you and sister Charlotte.

Mary said...

Great post, Clif! To be precious and honored by God..what more could we possibly hope for?

God bless,
Mary

Warren Baldwin said...

Clif,
Unfortunately we don't spend as much time in some of the OT passasges as we should. I love this verse. I'm also reading my first Ortberg book; he is an excellent writer. One more thing - I really like this song you have up.

Good post.

Karen said...

I want to say those words back to Jesus today. You are precious and worthy of honor and I love you, Lord.
Thank you, Clif, for another awesome devotional and lovely background music!

Loren said...

Just let those WORDS wash over you.....I am His Beloveds and HE IS MINE
He takes delight in me :) and you

Thanks Clif for this Precious post

Elizabeth Mahlou said...

What a beautiful picture to go with those beautiful words! Great post!

Robin said...

Clif you thought was needed today. I have been struggling today with being up front and all the stuff that goes off in my head but in reality, the only one that I need to impress is my Father in heaven. Thank you for the reminder that I am precious to God. I have been hanging out in the OT lots lately--Isaiah is so rich for the thoughts.
Thank you for your encouragement today. I am trying to keep the post short but when you have lots to say it is hard. IT Takes work to go slim line! LOL

Ms.Daisy said...

Clif,
"Beautiful words, wonderful words of life..."I couldn't help but be reminded of that old hymn. Thanks for this reminder of how much God loves his children. In today's scary world we need this more than ever.

~Jean

Saleslady371 said...

What a loving Father we have to speak so tenderly toward us.

Cathy said...

Thank God for His wonderful Words to us, and that we are precious in His sight. We love Him because He first loved us.

Cheptoek said...

Clif, thank you so much for this post. It made me cry and lifted my spirits. Thank you for reminding me whose I am! I will definitely write that sentence down. I need a constant reminder of that, things have been tough but when I know Who loves me that should be enough to let me know Who is in charge!

Denise said...

Such sweet, comforting words, blessings to you.

kymber said...

Such beautiful reassuring words! I wish I could write this on my heart and remember it daily! So many times in the midst of lifes ups and downs it is so easy to lose sight of these words of comfort - that even in the MIDST of trials - the Lord is right there with us?
Thank you Clif for your gentle reminder today - I felt like this message was meant just for me :)
Blessings to you,
Kymber

Debbie said...

I LOVE this passage of scripture!! What better comfort is there in this troubled world that we live in then this?? This really blessed me this morning and I LOVE this music too. Thanks for sharing this. Blessings to you, Debbie

Lisa said...

What a powerful scripture! It is mind boggling to know that we are beloved of God!

Renee said...

Thank you for reminding us of what a wonderful loving Father we have. As unworthy as we are He finds us precious...

aspiritofsimplicity said...

Belonging to God is the single greatest ting we can hope for. Remembering that we belong to God and acting accordingly is the hard part.

Ginger~~Enchanting Cottage said...

Thank-you Clif for reminded us of this important scripture. I may just do what you suggested and write it on a card and put it in my purse. I sing this to my grandchildren all the time.
Ginger

Anonymous said...

Hi Clif-
Your message and the song from "Dances with Wolves" really feel the Lords presence! I just visited old friends for honey spinning season and borrowed the dvd of "Dances With Wolves" to see Two Socks that my friends dog is named after! Just very coincidental that the music is playing on your blog! :) The Lord works in mysterious ways! Have a great Sunday!
Karyl (Carol)

LivingforGod said...

Thank you for this wonderful & encouraging post! We are so loved by the King of Kings, the Lord of lords, the Creator of the universe! What more can we ever ask for?

Thank you for visiting my blog and for your kind words!

Heather said...

Ooooooh's!! Oh, thank you...once a Minister, always a Minister...of His Love for us :)

SmilingSally said...

Thanks, Clif; there's nothing else to add. I hope you had a good Sunday.

Regina, Philippines said...

Amen. Wonderful message. Thank you for sharing

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

A wonderful message, Clif! You always manage to lift everyone's spirits with your post! Thank you and have a wonderful and blessed week.

Blessings,
Sandi