Promises, Promises

I make a lot of promises, mostly to myself. One promise I make is every night as I am lying down, I promise tomorrow I'll work harder. I'll do better. Another frequent promise I've been making to myself is to talk kinder to ME! Yesterday, I was encouraging Chris as I was transfering him from bed to chair. I wondered if I could say those things to myself. 

• Good job!
• Way to try!
• I've got you!

Negative self-talk is so destructive, but it seems to go with the territory. I don't know why. Perhaps because we are in a constant state of overwhelm. Maybe because we feel inadequate. Or maybe it's because no matter how much we do, we never feel we've accomplished it all. Who knows?

So, this morning I was looking for some positives to speak to my soul. I found a whole list of things in Isaiah 49. I think sometime last year I did a series of sorts on these points. But this morning, I wanted to string them all together to encourage myself and you, too!

This seems to be part of the prophet Isaiah's commission. I don't know if God was leveling him up or what, since Isaiah was commissioned in Isaiah 6. But I pulled out the 6 things God told Isaiah. Some of them were spoken through Isaiah to the children of Israel, some seem to be directly to him. Either way, they are God's character, and we can take these promises to the proverbial bank. (smile!)

Here's what God told Isaiah:

• Verse 2: He will hide us in the shadow of His hand (KJV says hallow).
• Verse 5: God has given us strength.
• Verse 8: God responds to us - to our cries.
• Verse 4b-5a: God's mercy leads us to cool (refreshing) waters and makes the mountains into level paths.
• Verse 13: God comforts us and has compassion for us in our sorrow.
• Verse 15b: He will not forget us.

I found these verses that I'd underlined a long time ago so refreshing and sustaining this morning. I have to remind myself often that God is with me. He's got me, and He doesn't turn a deaf ear or blind eye to the sorrows of caregiving. He gets us because He wants to! He is with us by choice.

Today, I'll read and reread these verses to remind myself that He sees it all. My despair. The sorrow. Our grief. He sees the unseen and chooses to walk this journey with us. I will meditate on His constant, purposeful presence in my day-to-day, and I will make it a point to be grateful today. When crazy thoughts and self-condemning thoughts come my way, I will replace them with these verses. Why? We are worth it to Him. He won't abandon. He won't look the other way. He is present. And I know I can trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?

Check out my latest release. Command Your Morning, Part 2. This 31-day devotional is the second one in my series Command Your Morning. (Yes, I already started on part 3 - and you're gonna love it!) Take a 31-day journey through Psalm 119 as you practice setting your intention to point your heart at God each day. It's available on Kindle and Print. Check it out!