a lifeline

Since 2003, I asked God to give me a verse to hang on to as I went through the year.

Sometimes it's been 1 verse. Some years it's be a few.

In the last couple of months of last year (2015) I felt like He gave me these verses for 2016.

Here's the primary one for 2016:

Give all your worries & cares to God,

for He cares about what happens to you.

1 Peter 5:7

Here's some of the others:

The Lord Himself will fight for you.

Just stay calm.

Exodus 14:14

After you have suffered a little while

He (God) will restore,

support,

& strengthen you,

& He will place you on a firm foundation.

1 Peter 5:10b

...the grace of God is with you,

no matter what happens.

1 Peter 5:12b

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,

& have made the Lord their hope & confidence.

They are like trees planted along the riverbank,

with roots that reach deep into the water.

Such trees are not bothered by the heat,

or worried by long months of drought.

Their leaves stay green,

& they go right on producing delicious fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8

...don't worry about your life...

Matthew 6:25

These are Jesus' opening words in that section where He talks about the lilies of the fields & the birds of the air.

Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.

If you live for Him & make the Kingdom of God your primary concern,

He will give you all you need from day to day.

Matthew 6:32b-33

Don't worry about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will bring its own worries.

Today's trouble is enough for today.

Matthew 6:34

When you are old, I will still be there,

carrying you.

When your limbs grow tired,

you eyes are weak,

& your hair is silvery gray,

I will carry you as I always have.

I will carry you & save you.

Isaiah 46:4 (The Voice translation)

Let's just say that those verses this morning are like a life line with life vest attached to the end thrown out to me, adrift in the ocean during a hurricane.

It's all about trust.

It always is.