4:13 Podcast: A Letter From God for Your New Year [Episode 226]

Jennifer Rothschild: Hey, this is Jennifer. I want you to meet somebody. She's my precious girl that I sponsor through Compassion International. She's a little girl from Ecuador who has no dad, but she has a Heavenly Father who is meeting her every need.

If you're like me, you can feel overwhelmed with all the needs of the world. COVID-19 has affected all of us, but it has devastated those who already live in poverty. We can't do everything, but we can do one thing, and that's what Compassion International allows us to do. It's a one-on-one relationship with a child who needs you, and it releases children from poverty in Jesus' name. So go to 413podcast.com/Compassion to meet my precious girl from Ecuador. And while you're there, I invite you, I challenge you, and I encourage you to sponsor a child along with me. That's 413 Podcast.com/Compassion. And now it's time for some practical encouragement and some biblical wisdom on the 4:13.

Hey, 4:13ers, this is Jennifer Rothschild. One year is coming to a close, and another is about to unfold before us, and so K.C. and I just wanted to pop in in the midst of your New Year's festivities and make sure that you hear a gentle, comforting, and truthful word from God.

You're not going to believe this. We have a letter from God. K.C. has a letter from God that he wants to read over your life. So settle in, take a deep breath, and just take a few minutes to pause and hear from the God who loves you.

K.C. Wright: "My child, you may not know me, but I know everything about you. I know when you sit down and when you rise up. I am familiar with all your ways. Even the very hairs on your head are numbered, for you were made in my image. In me you live and move and have your being, for you are my offspring. I knew you before you were conceived. I chose you when I planned creation. You were not a mistake; all your days are written in my book. I determined the exact time of your birth and when and where you would live. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. I knit you together in your mother's womb and brought you forth on the day you were born.

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. I am not distant and angry, but the complete expression of love, and it is my desire to lavish my love on you, simply because you are my child and I am your Father. I offer you more than your earthly father ever could, for I am the perfect Father. Every good and perfect gift comes from my hand, for I am your provider and I meet all your needs. My plan for your future has always been filled with hope, because I love you with an everlasting love.

My thoughts of you are countless as the sand on the seashore, and I rejoice over you with singing. I will never stop doing good to you, for you are my treasured possession. I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul, and I want to show you great and marvelous things. If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me, delight in me, and I will give you the desires of your heart, for it is I who gave you those desires. I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine, for I am your greatest encourager.

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart, and one day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes and I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth.

I am your Father and I love you even as I love my Son, Jesus. For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. He is the exact representation of my being. He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you, and to tell you that I am not counting your sins. Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. If you receive the gift of my Son Jesus, you receive me, and nothing, nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Come home and I'll throw the biggest party Heaven has ever seen. I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Love, Your Dad."

Jennifer Rothschild: Beautiful words skillfully crafted, and they are all based on Scripture. I'm sure you could hear the Scripture woven. And some of you want to be able to hear that again, to read that again, so go to the show notes at 413podcast.com/226 to read a complete transcript of those beautiful words from your Father.

And I pray that those words will wash over you and lead you into the new year knowing that you are loved, you are accepted and you are complete and your Father loves you. And here's one more thing. K.C. and I love you too. Happy New Year!