that trust is a choice which you can make. Don’t let doubts discourage you. Let My strength encourage your fearful heart.
January Eleventh
Do you not know that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Romans 2:4b
Vain regret is not repentance. Yes, you have made many wrong choices through the course of your life. But I have no pleasure in the self-pity of remorse. Since My grace has never been lacking and My mercy has never been withdrawn from you, your life has been a redeemed life. It does not mean that the wrong choices brought no harm—they did and do. But My grace has been and is greater, and those choices did not overrule it.
My gift of repentance, unlike vain regret, is a forward-looking attitude. It enables you to lay hold of My future, cleansed and freed from paralyzing guilt and shame. Claim it, My child, and let your tears be tears of joy and gratitude.
January Twelfth
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Matthew 5:7
I am the Lord your God. I am with you in your present condition and will be with you always. Let your feeble faith be strengthened and enlarged to rejoice in My sure love. I am the same yesterday, today and forever. I change not, and never forsake those whom I love. Be at peace and drive away foolish fantasies and fears.
January Thirteenth
And I am sure that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
My dear child, I have missed these quiet meetings with you. You see, I know how much you need Me, how much you need the reassurance of My love, and how dark your way becomes when you neglect your relationship with Me. I am your light. I am your hope. I am your strength and defense. You can never face the enemy with his wiles and deceptions on your own. Remember that.
In addition, remember too that My love calls you to a fellowship of love. This is a “two-way street”—and you greatly misjudge the reality of it when you think your neglect has no effect on Me. I hope you will not forget this.
January Fourteenth
Therefore, my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
Philippians 4:1
My dear child, do not be dismayed at the various trials you are experiencing. They are being used for purposes you cannot see nor understand at this point in your life. Only trust My unfailing goodness. When the waters overwhelm you, remember then My past faithfulness and flee inwardly to Me. Your pattern is still to withdraw into yourself—isolated and cut off from Me and from others. The fear and feeling of panic have driven you to admit your need and seek others. That is a good result, even though you are humiliated by it.
January Fifteenth
Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves.
Philippians 2:3
My dear child, I have given you, out of My tender mercies, many of your heart’s desires. You should recollect and give thanks for the manifold display of My great goodness to you. I know your weaknesses and failings. I am acquainted with all your imperfections and sin. But I see you, in My beloved Son, as you will one day be by My grace.
The sufferings through which you pass are as much expressions of My mercy as the heart’s desires that I have granted you. Bless Me in them all and be blessed.
January Sixteenth
And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Mark 11:25
This is My word to you today, My child. Be forthright in what you say and take care in the way you walk. Trust Me in every uncertainty, for in trusting your soul is further healed.
Forgive the wrongs done or said against you, for in forgiving you rob them of their power to hurt.
You are My care, and I have not forgotten to be gracious. Do not forget to be thankful!
January Seventeenth
We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
The storms of life are necessary for the clearing of the soul. The debris of sin beclouds your vision and hinders the ongoing progress of My purpose. The present storm is but a small one which I am allowing for this purpose. Let the clearer air clarify your thoughts. Let the power of My purposes override the paucity of yours, and produce the fruit of My purposes. Then you will see how necessary was this storm.
January Eighteenth
They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
John 12:43
My dear child, I have waited these many years for you to come to this place. You, like the Jewish rulers who believed on Me, loved the praises of men more than the praise of God. How often I would have led you in another way. The inklings you felt—the momentary shafts of light and longing that penetrated your soul—were not accidental. They were gentle invitations for you to “Come away, My beloved….”
I want you to grow in this new dimension—this inward listening to My still, small voice. I have supplied you with healthy balances to keep you from veering off in unsafe paths. Trust Me, My child—and keep on trusting—because without trust, you will flounder and fail.
January Nineteenth
And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and obey them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
Ezekiel 11:19–20
Yes, My son, My Spirit is sent forth to unite you with Me. Through this miracle, I extend My life and My very nature into the lives of My people. So then, you are participating in My life even when you know it not. Christ in you, the hope of glory. This is a mystery which you can believe without understanding and attempting to analyze. Rejoice, My dear child, in what you have been given. Rejoice in what you have been denied. Both are from Me, and are expressions of My love and goodness to you. That love will never run out, and the streams of My mercy will never run dry.
January Twentieth
Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land;
