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.

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.

Doubt keeps us from believing things can get better.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days” (Ps. 90:14).

I stand at the foot of the cross, knowing I must lay my body down before You. I want to be willing to become a vessel that You can use through whatever circumstances You allow. Like so many other times before, it’s in my suffering I see and share in Your glory. And isn’t that what I was made for? Like Jesus, I want to be a reflection of Your glory, a representation of who You are. Father, make me a willing vessel to surrender and rest in You no matter what. I pray that You will keep my heart in perfect peace, because my mind is steadfast as I trust in You. No matter what tomorrow brings, may You find me faithfully available to lay it all down before You as a sacrificial offering of praise.

You are a chosen [woman], a royal [priest], a holy [daughter], God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9).

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.

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.

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.

The more you reaffirm who you are in Christ, the more your behavior will begin to reflect your true identity!

An acronym for grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.

When we fail or feel like a failure, we need to ask ourselves some questions: Did I do something wrong or make a bad decision that led to this failure? Am I acting independently of God? Is there anything I am not doing to fulfill a commitment I made? Did I pray about this or just do it because I wanted to? Was I responsible for the outcome? Did I overcommit myself in agreeing to do this? • Is God using this to refine my character?

Even though you may not be quite who you want to be, you are not who you used to be!

Lord, thank You that my failures never get the final say—You do!

Rehearsing your troubles results in experiencing them many times, whereas you are meant to go through them only when they actually occur.

we can be confident we are praying God’s will when we pray God’s Word!

Because God’s Love Is Perfect, I Don’t Have to Be

[If] you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. (Rom. 8:2–4 NLT)

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Cor. 4:6–7)

Second Chronicles 16:9 tells us that “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him

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

The saddest thing about our tendency to compare ourselves with one another is that it makes us compete with each other. Yet God never intended for us to compete. He wants us to complete one another—encouraging each other’s strengths while discovering and embracing our own so we can become who He created us to be.

Jesus did not die on the cross just to get us out of hell and into heaven. He died on the cross to get Himself out of heaven and into us!

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)

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:35–36

Isaiah 49:23, “Then you will know that I am the LORD. Those who hope in me will not be disappointed.

Oftentimes God will use our doubts to build our confidence by calling us to face our fears and do something we would never choose on our own. But when we depend on Him, we experience victory we never thought possible!

Once we become daughters of the King, we have a royal inheritance that determines who we are. Our family of origin reflects our lineage but it does not define our heritage. Whether we had a great family or not, our hearts will only find lasting confidence when we find our complete identity in our inheritance as children of God.

You are a chosen [woman], a royal [priest], a holy [daughter], God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Pet. 2:9)

If you were sitting with Jesus today, what do you think He’d want to talk about?

Turning leads to transforming, as we allow our thoughts to be made new, and transforming leads to believing as God’s thoughts become our truth. Are you ready to start turning?

Remember who God is.

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.

But letting the Light of truth into our hearts turns our winter of doubt into a spring of hope.

Isn’t it amazing that when we take our eyes off our fears, doubts, and struggles to focus on someone else’s needs, we somehow forget our own? In believing the power of God’s promises for others, our confidence in His promises for us increases.

Jesus, Your words give me courage to become who You’ve created me to be—to go to places You’re calling me to and to reach heights that seem out of my reach. Thank You for encouraging my heart. Help me pass that on to someone else today. In Your name I pray, Amen.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. (Josh. 1:9)

What we’ve done doesn’t dictate who we are. The truth is, what He’s done makes us who we are: forgiven, hopeful, and worthy of another chance.

But anytime we bury a hurt alive, it will keep rising from the dead to disturb us.

And although pardoning an offense is not easy, it is possible when we follow God’s plan of being humble, gentle, and patient, and bear with others.

Scripture often draws a parallel between food and our spiritual need for God’s Word. For instance, in Isaiah 55, God asks, “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live” (vv. 2–3).

Lord, I’m tired of feeling paralyzed by insecurity and uncertainty. Help me identify what triggers self-doubt and replace my thoughts with Your thoughts about me. I want to rely on and live in the security of Your promises. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

When relationship failures, job losses, and unexpected life-changes come, our confidence may be shaken—but it doesn’t have to crumble.

Lord, I want to know You for who You really are. I desire to trust and follow You more and more each day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The saddest thing about our tendency to compare ourselves with one another is that it makes us compete with each other.

For [you] are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for [you] to do. (Eph. 2:10)

The only way we’ll have a confident heart is if we move beyond knowing about God to knowing and relying on Him—to depending on His Word with our heart, mind, and soul.

The odds may have been against Gideon, but God was for him! By seeking to know and choosing to trust in his promise-keeping Lord, a wimp became a warrior.

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isa. 43:1–2)

When I say: I don’t like who I am or how I do things. God says: I made you and love you just the way you are! For [you] are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for [you] to do. (Eph. 2:10)

Today if you start feeling like you’re at the bottom of life’s bin, remember Jesus paid as high a price for those of us who are damaged as He did for those who are proudly displayed on the top shelf.

You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. (Isa. 62:3)

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

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.

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).

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

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.