“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” —Psalm 23:1
“He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters.” —Psalm 23:2
“He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” —Psalm 23:3
“Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.” —Psalm 23:4
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” —Psalm 23:5
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” —Psalm 23:6
1) I can face the future confidently because God is WATCHING over me.
“The Lord
over all who love Him,” —Psalm 145:20a
“And we KNOW that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” —Romans 8:28
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” —Jesus, Matthew 27:46
2) I can face the future confidently because God’s grace is
in me.
“Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve.”
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive MERCY and find GRACE to help us in our time of need.” —Hebrews 4:16
“Jesus Christ is the SAME yesterday and today and FOREVER.” —Hebrews 13:8
Followers of Jesus move forward into the future not with a
but with an !
3) I can face the future confidently because Heaven is WAITING for me.
“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an ETERNAL house in Heaven, not built by human hands.” —2nd Corinthians 5:1
“Therefore we are always CONFIDENT and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are CONFIDENT, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” —2nd Corinthians 5:6-8
“‘He [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” —Revelation 21:4-5
“‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’ - the things God has prepared for those who love Him.” —1st Corinthians 2:9
“who wants ALL people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” —1st Timothy 2:4
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.” —C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce
“But our citizenship is in HEAVEN. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” —Philippians 3:20
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep KNOW me—My sheep LISTEN to my voice; I know them, and they FOLLOW me.” —Jesus, John 10:14, 27
If you want the LORD to be your
, then you have to make the your LORD.