Faith Food Devotional: Wednesday, 22^nd May 2013

Knowing You Belong to Him
by Dudley Anderson

“Don’t be afraid. I have rescued you. I have called you by name; now you belong to me."(C.E.V)

I have discovered that the Bible is jam-packed with amazing verses that I call, Look-up Verses. These are scriptures that place two fingers under our chins and lift our heads up off of our difficulties and disappointments. One such verse is found in Isaiah 43:1 which says, “Don’t be afraid. I have rescued you. I have called you by name; now you belong to me."
Like so many of us these days, I was made redundant from my job several years back. I was among 15 people who lost their jobs; all of us left out in the open. I'd been working for this company for 7 years and, to say the least, I was very disappointed that all my effort had all come to a full stop. The company was gracious enough to give us all a severance package but this helped nothing toward that feeling of despair. I was very afraid that Monday morning when I woke up and realized that I was unemployed. I was afraid that I'd not get another job, afraid that I'd use up all my savings and afraid of what other people may think of me. I called on Jesus.
To this day I'm not sure how God provided but he did. Eventually he opened a new opportunity for me in ministry, which has grown to what I am doing for him today. My Lord rescued me. He called me by name and reminded me that I was his. Our God is faithful.
Perhaps you face some difficulties today. It could be that you have been disappointed or discouraged and feel afraid of the future, as I was. If so then know this, God himself will watch over his word to you to make it happen. There is nothing you can do to cause God's promises or his purposes to occur in your life, except to acknowledge him in everything and have faith that he will direct your paths. God's Word to you will never return to him without producing the results that he has intended for your life. You are his dear child and he will rescue you from all harm; no one can snatch you from his hand.

Get encouragement from knowing you belong to him. "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord (Jeremiah 29:11). Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
Pray:
"O Lord, I'm feeling very despondent today. I feel as though I have been rejected and don't know where else to turn so I turn to you. Be my strength as I cast my cares on you. Forgive me if I have taken my life into my own hands and help me to surrender it all to you. Dear Lord, I know you love me and that have a plan for my life, so I call on you for help and strength to face my problems. Thank you because you have called me by name and will rescue me from this situation. I love you Jesus. Amen."
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“We can be certain that God will give us the strength and resources we need to live through any situation in life that he ordains. The will of God will never take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us”. Billy Graham

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Dudley began writing for radio. He currently presents for UCB UK and writes a weekly devotional called, trACker. trACker reaches hundreds of people and is published online. Dudley also pastors a church in the UK. More at: www.godtracker.co.uk
trACker and GodTracker copyrighted to Dudley Ande
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS