Renee Swope Quotes

Until our hearts find complete security and significance in God's unconditional love, we will never be satisfied.

God’s plans for us are found when we surrender ours and seek His each day.

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. Harold Thurman Whitman

Take me beyond the shadows of my doubts and teach me how to rely on the power of Your promises. When doubt overshadows my thoughts, help me shift my focus back to You, remembering that the mind fixed on the flesh is death, but the mind fixed on the Spirit is life and peace.

When I choose to dwell in the assurance of Whose I am and who I am in Him, I have a confident heart.

Every time I compare myself with someone else, I can never measure up because I am comparing my insides with their outsides.

If you want to know your purpose, pursue the heart of God and you’ll have a head-on collision with your calling.

Faith looks back and draws courage; hope looks ahead and keeps desire alive. John Eldredge and Brent Curtis

Satan intends to deceive us by getting us to take our eyes off of who we are in Christ and focus on our flaws—and then spend our days figuring out how we can hide them.

Hope is at the core of our faith in Christ. As we allow His hope to flow into us, it will flow through us even in the most difficult circumstances. If you are struggling today, take heart.

If we want to be free from fear so we can walk in faith, we have to hold on to what God is teaching us, replacing our natural ways with His. We will only overcome our fears by walking through them, holding God’s hand, and trusting His heart to lead, protect, and preserve us.

Doubt keeps us from believing things can get better.

God will call you beyond your limitations to do something that requires faith. It’s not so much about what He wants you to do as what He wants to do in you, as you depend on Him.

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

You and I have the choice to either let doubt beat us up or let God’s truth build us up. If we have Christ in us, we have full access to God’s power and His promises to live with a confident heart.

You can only see the shadow because you have turned away from the light. Turn back toward the light.

Forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves when we offer it to others.

Your past has not come full circle to its complete redemption until you allow Christ to not only defuse it, but also to use it.

God has put a divine magnet within each of us that is intended to attract us to the people, function or causes where he intends us to minister. This is not an afterthought on God’s part. Our passion is built in to us so that we will conform ourselves to His purpose for our lives.

Could we take off the mask that we live the “fairy tale,” especially as Christians? We are certainly blessed, in every circumstance guarded by the Father, but honestly, in the deepest parts, sometimes we aren’t fine.

I used to feel so far from God, like I had to work my way back to Him after periods of inconsistency...it's not about trying harder. it's about turning sooner. It's about confessing sin and turning back to God's gift of grace. Grace is God's "undeserved favor." We don't have to earn it, and we cannot lose it when we act undeserving.

When we allow Jesus to search our hearts and bring His perspective into our pain, redemption comes. Whether it is the pain from our yesterdays or hurts from our todays, when we give Jesus time to pour His truth into our wounds, His love flows

Sometimes God answers our prayers by calling us to be part of the solution to our problems. Instead of changing our circumstances, often God uses our circumstances to change us by bringing us closer to Him, making us more like Him, and helping us find our confidence in Him.

men are developed the same way gold is mined. When gold is mined, several tons of dirt must be moved to get an ounce of gold, but one doesn’t go into the mine looking for dirt, one goes in looking for gold, and the more he looks for the more he finds.”[9] Zig Ziglar used this story as an illustration,

Our broken cisterns leak because the wells of our hearts were created to be filled by God alone. The deepest thirst of our souls can only be quenched by Him. Although the people and things I’ve listed are gifts, so many times we look to the gifts instead of the Giver to fill us and fulfill us with lasting contentment and significance.

A simple offering from a willing heart is capable of restoring hope. Be still; listen; administer mercy.

Confidence in ourselves has very limited potential, but confidence in Christ brings limitless possibilities.

Salvation is a one-time decision, but finding satisfaction in Christ and living in the security of His promises is a daily process.

How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 36:7

When we pray God’s words out loud, and hear them, the Holy Spirit engraves them on our hearts and writes them in our thoughts. We internalize God’s truth as our faith grows and we are transformed from the inside out!

As you courageously trust God’s heart, ask Him to reveal Himself to you and then let Him reveal Himself through you. Hold your dreams and plans up to Jesus in surrender, and watch your life become a display of His splendor.

A shadow of self-doubt had been cast over my thoughts and emotions when I turned my attention away from God’s perspective and promises. By taking my eyes off the light of God’s truth, I ended up paralyzed by the darkness of defeat.

When we turn our focus away from feelings of inadequacy and uncertainty and intentionally turn our thoughts toward God’s promises of all-sufficiency, we create a turning point and we begin to replace our wavering self-confidence with lasting God-confidence.

Shadows are created all around us whenever something blocks the light. And so it is with the shadow of doubt. When we focus on how inadequate we feel, or what others are thinking about us, we cast a shadow of doubt in our minds by blocking the light of God’s truth in our hearts.

When I say: Everything is going wrong in my life. God says: Focus on Me instead of your circumstances, and remember how I’ve taken care of you before. Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (Ps. 103:1–2)

The only way we’ll break free from the comparison trap is by embracing who we are instead of trying to be who we’re not. So how do we start? First, trust that God made you just as He wanted you to be, and then be the best YOU. Discover and offer the unique personality traits God gave you to impact those around you.

Dear Lord, please forgive me for harboring anger. Equip me with a supernatural ability to forgive those who have hurt me. Guard my heart when old emotions threaten to surface. Strip my heart of anger and replace it with joy. In Jesus’ name, Amen. REMEMBER Anger only worsens any situation, but selfless forgiveness brings freedom. We are all called to forgive even when wronged, just as God forgives us.

God understands what we’re going through. His Word promises He will help us in times of trouble. When adversity strikes, God offers Himself as our refuge and His strength to weather life’s storms. No matter the problems tossing us about, we don’t have to feel like we’re simply hanging on. Instead, we can trust the One who offers us peace and carries us through until we get to calmer shores. Dear Lord, I feel beaten down by the storms of life, drowning in a sea of adversity and stress. I commit to depend on You as my refuge and I place my trust in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Imagine sitting down at a table with two cups of flour, three eggs, a tablespoon of vanilla, one cup of sugar, one teaspoon of baking powder and a few other ingredients. You taste the sugar and it is good, but when you taste the baking powder it is bitter. You continue to taste the ingredients, some tasty and some downright gross. This is like life. Some of the events in your life are sweet like the sugar, others dry like the flour, and others still that you do not like at all. However, using Jesus’ perfect recipe, all of the events of your life will be mixed together and put through some intense heat—and then you will rise. Just as a cake would not be the same if you left out some of the ingredients, so Jesus wants to use all of your life experiences to make you complete and able to be used for His glory.

Lord, I pray that You would guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior. I want to learn how to put my hope in You all day, every day. Please help me stop searching for fulfillment in anything or anyone but You. My soul thirsts for You; my body longs for You in this dry and weary land where there is no water. Satisfy me each morning with Your unfailing love so I can sing for joy all the days of my life. I want to be rooted and established in Your love. I want to have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is. I want to know this love that surpasses knowledge that I may be filled to the measure of the fullness of God. Thank You that Your love never fails, even when I do. Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You and praise You as long as I live. In Your name I will lift up my hands, Amen.

Lord, I pray that You would give me a confident heart in Christ. Take me beyond believing in You to truly believing You. Help me rely on the power of Your promises and live like they are true. You say blessed is the one who trusts in You and whose hope and confidence are found in You. Those who hope in You will not be disappointed, because You work all things together for good for those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. When self-doubt tells me I can’t overcome my insecurities, I will believe Your promise that all things are possible to whoever believes. I will not throw away my confidence, because You say it will be richly rewarded. I will persevere so that when I have done the will of God, I will receive what You have promised. My confidence is in Christ and I am no longer one who shrinks back and is destroyed, but one who believes and is saved! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 2 Corinthians 3:4–5

the loneliest parts of her day, He is there in the midst of your sometimes lonely, imperfect life. He is there when your disappointments and failures leave you empty and make you doubt your worth and purpose. He is there when you’re going through the motions, aware of what needs to be done but unaware of how you’re going to do it all.

are the one Jesus loves, friend. You are invited to His inner circle of close friendship—today. And the only thing that can hold you back is you, and any faulty definitions you have of yourself.

When I say: I’m beyond hurt. God says: But you are not beyond My reach. Let Me walk with you through these troubles and help you today. Though [you] walk in the midst of trouble, [I] preserve [your] life; [I] stretch out [My] hand against the anger of [your] foes, with [My] right hand [I] save [you]. (Ps. 138:7)

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (vv. 6–7 NLT, emphasis mine)

Have you prayed for a loved one’s salvation? Or sought God’s favor to restore your child, parent, spouse, or sibling to Him? Maybe you’ve planted every seed you can think of. Gotten on your knees. Shared verses. Given a Bible. Yet no sprout is appearing from the hard ground of your loved one’s heart.

If you are living and breathing, your purpose has not yet been fulfilled. No matter what you have done or what has been done to you, God has a plan for your life.

There are times when our strength isn’t enough, when our wings feel heavy. In those times God invites us to rely on Him. God’s promise through the prophet Isaiah is that when we are weary, we can soar like eagles. It’s not our strength that causes us to soar, but God’s strength as He lifts us up and out of our weary places—in His might.

Integrity is the glue that holds our way of life together. We must constantly strive to keep our integrity intact. When wealth is lost, nothing is lost. When health is lost, something is lost. When character is lost, all is lost.

One of the strategic ways Satan initiates a separation is by luring us into a place of complaining. If he can get us to focus on what is aggravating and negative in life, little cracks of distance start forming in our relationships. The grass starts looking greener everywhere except where we are standing.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). The key to balance is seeking God’s will for me in this season, and not spending time on assignments meant for other people. Overcommitting myself is always a temptation. But with God’s wisdom and an updated list of all my commitments, I get ongoing reality checks that help me make wise decisions. And although I’m not really good at math, I know that a cup and a half of something will never fit in a one-cup container.

Whenever you feel frustrated, weak, and alone this week, reassure yourself of God’s promised presence. Apply these truths—”I can’t, God can” and “I’m going to let Him”—to every situation you face.

As we process the pain of our yesterdays, learn through the disappointments of our todays, and face some fears in our tomorrows, doubts will still creep up and threaten to steal our hope. But each time that happens, we can stop and seek God’s perspective in that place.

Satan’s goal is to cast something between two people in order to cause a separation. Satan wants to separate us with conflict, hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and frustration of all kinds. He wants to separate us from our neighbors, our friends, our coworkers, our parents, our spouses, our kids. He wants to separate us from God’s heart.

I’ll continue to look for His goodness because, truly, the most beautiful thing in the midst of pain is a faithful God. One who stands by. One who redeems—all things. One who creates masterpieces out of muck. A God who took the most hopeless situation and the ultimate death and resurrected hope. Resurrected our hope: Jesus.

When we worship something or someone, we give them great worth in our lives and oftentimes we find our worth in them. We also set our focus on them and eventually they become the very thing we look toward to fill us. For instance, if we focus on our job (or our marriage) all the time, thinking about how we are doing at work (or home) and what our boss (or husband) thinks about us, we start to find our worth in our performance, and our job (or marriage) can become something we worship. If we are doing well, we feel fulfilled. If we are not doing well, we feel empty and like we have less worth.

You and I have the choice to either let doubt beat us up or let God’s truth build us up.

He knows our past and our pain can actually lead us to His plans and hope for our future.

The pain of our past makes it hard to believe God’s promise of hope for our future. It’s easy to lose confidence in Him and in ourselves. My prayer for you right now is that God would open the eyes of your heart so that “you may know the hope to which he has called you . . . and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Eph. 1:18–19).

Hope comes when we allow Jesus to search our hearts and bring truth into our wounded places, like Sam did. He wants us to “trust in Him, so that [we will] overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13).

God showed me I needed to forgive my father and release my feelings of bitterness, abandonment, disappointment, and hurt. I also needed to confess the sin of my unrealistic expectations and let go of what I thought was my right to a “happily-ever-after.” God also showed me I needed to find my security and hope in Him alone by letting Him be the Father I longed for. I needed to grieve some of the things I wanted that I would never have. I also needed to invite God into those hurting places so He could bind up my broken heart and set me free from captivity to my fear that I would never have a happy ending.

Over a period of eighteen months He walked me through a season of looking back so I could move forward.

It took me the longest time to understand and believe God could use my mistakes and hurts for His greatest purposes if I would allow Him to change me through them.

Forgiving those who have hurt us is hard. Often we are afraid to forgive because it might open us up to be hurt again. We hesitate to ask others for forgiveness because they might think we’re the only one who did something wrong—and they won’t think they need to change. Or we’re afraid if we bring something up again we’re going to unearth bitterness we don’t want to deal with, so we just leave it buried. But any time we bury a hurt that’s still alive, it just rises from the dead to haunt us.

You can’t go back and change the circumstances or relationships that have wounded you, but you can go back and process the pain with Jesus. In fact, you won’t move forward with God until you do. And left unresolved, the pain from yesterday can keep you from having confident hope for tomorrow.

Until our hearts find complete security and significance in God’s unconditional love, we will never be satisfied.

Our hearts leak and will always end up empty when we find our worth in anything but who we are in Christ.

Our schedules are full, our minds are full, our stomachs are full, our refrigerators are full, our closets are full, our lives are full. Yet we find ourselves with so many empty places. Why? Because the wells of our hearts were created to be filled by God alone. The deepest thirst of our soul can only be quenched by Him.

By recognizing and replacing our emptiness with the fullness of God’s promises, we drink the gift of living water.

A confident heart is found in a woman who knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that she is loved no matter what. Lasting security comes when we bring the empty well of our hearts to Jesus and ask Him to fill and fulfill us with the security of His unfailing love.

We find ourselves in the shadow of doubt many times because our thoughts are mostly about ourselves: how we’re performing and what others are thinking about us.

It’s not that these thoughts are bad. It’s just that when we focus our attention on ourselves, we turn our attention away from God.

Whether we had a great family or not, our hearts will only find lasting confidence when we find our identity as children of God.

When I come to the Lord after I’ve blown it, I come with only one appeal: His mercy. I’ve no other defense. I can’t escape my biggest problem: me! So I leave the courtroom of my own defense. Because of what Jesus has done, God looks on me with mercy. It’s my only appeal, it’s the source of my hope, it’s my life. Paul David

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14 NASB).

Paul says “the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace” (Rom. 8:6 NASB).

Do you ever doubt God could use you because of your limitations or weaknesses?

Often God will call you beyond your limitations to do something that requires faith. It’s not so much about what He wants you to do as what He wants to do in you, as you depend on Him.

Are there negative things from your childhood or family history that have cast a shadow of doubt over your destiny?

The insecurities from your past are not the truth in your life either. As we look at our doubts and develop confident hearts, it’s going to be important to recognize negative emotions from our past that keep us from living confidently in our present and future.

For the first time, Sam realized that her Messiah knew her: all she had done and all that had been done to her. He knew her failures and her shame, and He loved her completely. He had chosen to come to her, of all people. When He spoke truth into the most wounded places in her heart, He poured out His healing power. And she received it. His love seeped into her pain and released Sam from her past. She knew then that she didn’t have to hide or run from it anymore.

Do you ever feel like someone is telling you that you can’t measure up? That something is wrong with you? It’s because sometimes that is what is happening. Sadly, we often believe Satan’s lies and live like they are true. Rarely do we stop to ask, “Who is saying these things? Who is causing me to doubt myself? Is it me? Is there something from my past that led me to believe this? Or is it the enemy of my soul disguising his voice as my own?” Satan’s plot is the same for you and me as it was for Eve, but we don’t have to go along with him. Instead we can refute his lies and temptations with truth. If we have put our trust in Christ as our Savior, we can stand on the promises of who we are in Him—chosen, holy, and dearly loved (Col. 3:12). In his book, Victory Over the Darkness, Dr. Neil T. Anderson says, “The more you reaffirm who you are in Christ, the more your behavior will begin to reflect your true identity!”[5] Here is a compilation of Scriptures Dr. Anderson’s ministry created to remind us of who we are in Christ.

Who I Am in Christ I am accepted . . . John 1:12 I am God’s child. John 15:15 I am a friend of Jesus Christ, as His disciple. Romans 5:1 I have been justified. 1 Corinthians 6:17 I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 I have been bought with a price and I belong to God. 1 Corinthians 12:27 I am a member of Christ’s body. Ephesians 1:3–8 I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child. Hebrews 4:14–16 I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ. I am secure . . . Romans 8:1–2 I am free from condemnation. Romans 8:28 I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances. Romans 8:31–39 I am free from condemnation. I cannot be separated from God’s love. 2 Corinthians 1:21–22 I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God. Philippians 1:6 I am confident God will complete the good work He started in me. Philippians 3:20 I am a citizen of heaven. Colossians 3:1–4 I am hidden with Christ in God. 2 Timothy 1:7 I have been given a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. 1 John 5:18 I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me. I am significant . . . John 15:5 I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life. John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. 1 Corinthians 3:16 I am God’s temple. 2 Corinthians 5:17–21 I am a minister of reconciliation for God. Ephesians 2:6 I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm. Ephesians 2:10 I am God’s workmanship. Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence. Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

One day I was reading 1 John 5:14 and noticed how the Bible says we can pray with certainty when we ask God for what is already part of His will: “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (NASB).

Never stop praying, especially for others. Always pray by the power of the Spirit. Stay alert and keep praying for God’s people. Ephesians 6:18 CEV

Regarding the things about which we fret: 40 percent never happen 30 percent are in regard to unchangeable deeds of the past 12 percent focus on the opinions of others that cannot be controlled 10 percent center on personal health, which only worsens when we worry about it 8 percent concern real problems that we can influence.[16]

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love . . . forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Eph. 4:2, 32).

Lord, I am honored that You want to spend time with me! Help me to seek You as much as (or more than) I serve You. I want to slow down so You can give me Your perspective and fill my heart with confidence in Your presence each day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

God works all things together for good. You were created for a purpose. God has a plan for your life.

When I say: I am afraid to trust God. God says: Spend time with Me and get to know My heart by depending on Me a little more each day.

When someone speaks encouragement into our hearts, the course of our lives can be changed forever. And when we believe in someone else, God uses us to build confidence and security in a heart that may have otherwise been paralyzed by doubt and insecurity.

We are certainly blessed, in every circumstance guarded by the Father, but honestly, in the deepest parts, sometimes we aren’t fine.

For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. (Zeph. 3:17 NLT)

Let’s look for ways to encourage and help someone else today, knowing we may just help ourselves in the process.

When I say: I’m afraid to do what God is calling me to do. God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Tim. 1:7 NLT)

Shadows are created all around us whenever something blocks the light. And so it is with the shadow of doubt. When we focus on how inadequate we feel, or what others are thinking about us, we cast a shadow of doubt in our minds by blocking the light of God’s truth in our hearts. Yet we were not designed to block the light or to be the light. We were created to live in the light, by finding our confidence in what God thinks about us.

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that I may know Him better. I want to know and rely on the love You have for me, Jesus, and live in that love. You say that whoever lives in love lives in You, and You in him. In this way, love is made complete in me, so that I can have confidence today and forever. I want an up close and personal relationship with You, one where I don’t have to pretend or hide. When I feel insecure, insignificant, or unloved, remind me of Your perfect love that has the power to cast out my fear. Thank You for Your love that is patient, is kind, and keeps no record of my wrongs. I trust that because Your love is perfect, I don’t have to be. I will remain in Your love and be confident of this: that He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. Romans 15:4

Failure produces wisdom when we ask for it and maturity when we learn from it. And although it seems contradictory, failure can help us become the confident women God created us to be by making us stronger and better—if we fail forward and go to God for help.