LIVING WITH PURPOSE

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10) When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with one of my most often-used promises: Isaiah 41:10. The day I left for three years to study in Germany, my father called me long distance in New York and gave me the promise of this verse on the telephone. For three years, I must have quoted it to myself hundreds of times to get me through periods of tremendous stress. When the motor of my mind is in neutral, the hum of the gears is the sound of Isaiah 41:10. I love this verse. Of course, it’s not the only dagger in the arsenal my faith. When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise of Isaiah 55:11. “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and

 be utterly God-conscious and God-exalting, and God-saturated in all your observation and admiration of the wonders of the world.