God's Promises to a Woman's Heart Devotion

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Read by Dr. Jane Fryar, Author
Has anyone ever said to you, "Don't take it to heart"? Usually, they say that when an unkind comment or thoughtless action on the part of someone else has hurt us deeply—or has the potential to do that. When we take insults, snide comments, or criticisms "to heart," we let them influence our thinking and maybe even the way we act. We may walk on eggshells around our critic. We may stew over the comment, entertaining the possibility that the accusation is true and deserved. We may let ourselves fall into a funk, growing more miserable by the minute. Sometimes taking things "to heart" can hurt us!

Some things, though, we want (and need) to take "to heart." Good things! Like God's promises, for example. Who wouldn't want to take promises like these to heart? (Read several scriptural promises like Philippians 4:19; Matthew 28:20; 2 Thessalonians 3:16; Exodus 33:14; and Psalm 72:12.)
Scripture has literally dozens and dozens of promises just like these, and our Lord Jesus wants us to take all of them—every single one of them—"to heart"!

We will look at one specific promise in more detail later, but for now, think about this: why should a holy, righteous God make any promises to us? Why would he keep them? If we were holy, righteous people maybe. Even then, though, we might wonder why he would bother himself to care for us. But we are far from holy and righteous! Whether we feel guilty or not, we are in fact guilty. Scripture says so.

If we take these words to heart, it's pretty scary, terrifying even! We have, in our words and actions (and often in our failures to speak and act), disobeyed and insulted our holy, all-powerful Creator. Should he decide to right all wrongs, giving us what we have deserved, we would find ourselves in a world of hurt—fast and forever!

Think about that for a moment. Take it to heart!

What's amazing and amazingly wonderful is that God understood our predicament—and he loved us in it, despite our sins. You see, he had taken us "to heart," to his heart, and he didn't want to let us go. From all eternity, the holy, all-powerful God purposed to save us. He righted all our wrongs in the person of Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life in our place. Jesus obeyed where we have not, and now Jesus' righteousness has become ours. It's credited to our account.

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