A Glimpse of Me

“‘Listen to me, descendants of Jacob,
all you who remain in Israel.
I have cared for you since you were born.
Yes, I carried you before you were born.
I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
I will carry you along and save you.’”

Isaiah 46:3–4

encouragement for today
Here is yet another place where God speaks of carrying his people. According to these verses, God had you in mind before you were even born! He planned you, he loved the thought of you before you were born, he made you exactly the way he imagined you in his love. And he pledges himself in these verses to carry you every day of your life until you die and he takes you back again. A passage worth memorizing—live as if this were true, trust as if this were true. (It is!)

—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions

“You sent abundant rain, O God,
to refresh the weary land.
There your people finally settled,
and with a bountiful harvest, O God,
you provided for your needy people.”

Psalm 68:9–10

encouragement for today
Do you feel needy today? (If you do, you’re in touch with your true spiritual condition.) God knows our needs, and he delights in meeting them. Not just spiritual needs, either, though those are the source needs. Here we see God refreshing the land, providing a bountiful harvest—in other words, working in the physical realm. Whatever you need, God knows it and stands ready to provide it. Trust in him, and go out and do whatever reaping of the harvest you need to lay hold of what God has given.

—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions

“See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.”
“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.”

Isaiah 40:10b; Ephesians 1:5, 7

encouragement for today
Earlier we saw from Isaiah 40 that the Messiah will “bring his reward as he comes.” What is his reward? We are—the children he has redeemed by his blood. The Father’s desire was to adopt us into his own family, and it gave him great pleasure to have Jesus, his Son, do this for him. This plan was born of love from beginning to end—love from the Father to the Son and to his adopted children, love from the Son to the Father as he comes with his reward and presents us to the Father.

—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions

“Hezekiah was delighted with the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
“Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Listen to this message from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: “The time is coming when everything in your palace—all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left,” says the LORD. “Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king.”‘
“Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘This message you have given me from the LORD is good.’ For the king was thinking, ‘At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.’”

Isaiah 39: 2, 5–8

encouragement for today
God in his mercy spared Hezekiah’s life, but because Hezekiah’s pride continued, the consequences of his showing the Babylonian visitors his treasures would mean disaster for his descendants. Notice Hezekiah’s response to Isaiah’s message: outward assent but inward selfishness. He didn’t care about his descendants but cared only for his personal peace and security. This attitude permeates our world too. It’s the perfect example of how the sinful nature works: I only care abut myself and my own personal peace and security and do not care about the consequences of my actions or decisions for those who come after me.

—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions

“It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.”

Galatians 6:15–16

encouragement for today
This is the bottom line in the Christian faith: Are we being changed into new and different people? Mercy and peace characterize people who truly trust Christ alone and are being transformed to be like Jesus. This is the measure of your spiritual growth: Are you continually being changed from the inside out?

—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions