by Kala Loptien

I am with You

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking the Sound Cloud link.

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”
Isaiah 43:1 English Standard Version

We just wrapped up our week of Vacation Bible School. What a joy to hear the children singing their songs and chanting verses. If they’re anything like me after a week of singing, they’ll have them on repeat in their heads. Better yet, the words will be written upon their hearts. It’s almost hard to send them back out to reality. Which leads me to wonder: how are we continuing to prepare them for what’s ahead? How are we training them up in the way they should go? How are we regularly preparing and training our own hearts to remain steadfast?

All of us face competing/conflicting messages from a broken world that operates on shifting and sinking sand. Our identities are challenged; our beliefs are questioned; our faith is mocked. The world is a big, scary, confused, unstable place. While plenty of people and places claim to be a refuge or the answer to all our “problems,” we know deep within our hearts there is only one place where our soul finds restoration. One of our song verses this week was from Isaiah 43:1. I can hear the children sing-shouting it now: “I have called you by name, you are mine.” Another one they loved to bellow was from Joshua: “The Lord, your God is with you wherever you go.”

These are two key verses we should all commit to memory. While there’s an overwhelming amount of things to fear in this world, these two key truths straight from God (and all of His enduring Word) can quickly combat any threat. I have called you by name, you are mine. The Lord your God is with you wherever you go. With all the reminders of His power, protection and presence, we can persevere and continue to encourage those around us. We’ve got this…because He’s got us.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado