This is the eleventh article in the “New Life” series, written to address the needs of those seeking or those new to their faith in Jesus. This series may also be helpful to anyone who suspects that something is missing from their faith walk. Photo credited to: Malerapaso

In the 45 years that I have walked with Yeshua (Jesus), I have made some discoveries that have helped me to mature spiritually and emotionally. These gems, as I call them, have given me comfort, strength, and guidance through my sojourn in a fallen world. I want to share some of these gems with you. I hope they will bless you.

You are never alone, no matter your circumstances. You may not feel His presence, but Yeshua is always with you. The Holy Spirit is also always with you to comfort you and guide you. You can talk to your Heavenly Father any time, day or night. You are loved and valued more than you can imagine.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you (John 14:18-20).

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you (John 14:16-17).

What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows (Matthew 10:29).

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is [Yehovah] your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Your real identity comes from Yehovah. The adversary (Satan) and his followers work very hard to confuse you about who you really are. They will try to convince you that you are not good enough, that you do not belong, that you are beyond help, that Yehovah does not really love you. Yeshua called hasatan the father of lies. Yehovah created you, loves you, and He determines who you really are.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27).

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well (Psalm 139:14).

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

Yeshua heals not only our bodies, but our souls. In your walk with Yeshua, you may remember painful things from the past. Do not be frightened by this. Yeshua is bringing these memories to mind so that He can work with you to heal them. Although it is distressing at the time, the process will not only heal the bad memory, but will also draw you closer to Yeshua. You will have a stronger sense of His love and commitment to you, and you will trust Him more. Some soul wounds are so deep that you will need to go through several sessions with Yeshua. The memories will return at another time when Yeshua deems that you are ready, but each time you will get better and stronger.

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise (Jeremiah 17:14).

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people (Matthew 4:23).

[Yehovah] is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).

Yeshua is our protector and provider. Yeshua is our shepherd who will see to our needs. He did not desert us when faced with cruel punishment and death. He gave His life to ransom us and restore us to His Father. He conquered death and rose from the grave. He continues to watch over us. One day soon, He will return to us and live among us once again. Call on Yeshua whenever you feel afraid, lonely, betrayed, threatened, or sad. Yeshua will help you. He understands your suffering.

My servant grew up in [Yehovah’s] presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. (Isaiah 53:2-4).

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is [Yehovah] your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him (1 John 5:14-15).

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold (Psalm 18:2).

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance (Psalm 32:7).

Yehovah keeps His promises. We can trust Him because He is always true to His word. He expects the same of us. If you promise something to Yehovah or to another, be sure to keep your promise. We must be like Yehovah so that we reflect His glory.

I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips (Psalm 89:34).

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? (Numbers 23:19).

Yehovah is long-suffering and forgiving. In the Bible accounts of Israel and the other nations, Yehovah often waited hundreds of years, during which time He would send prophets to the people and warning signs to encourage them to repent and to seek His forgiveness. Yehovah is patient with us in the same way. When any person or nation sincerely turns back to Yehovah and asks for forgiveness, He does not hesitate to forgive us and welcome us back.

We must be patient with others and ready to forgive them as our Father forgives us. In the eighth article in this series, entitled “Our Hidden Past Revealed,” we found that early Gentile and Jewish followers of Jesus (Yeshua) did not forgive each other, but held on to anger and bitterness, which eventually turned to hatred. The hatred led to a total separation about two hundred years after Yeshua’s return to His Father. The separation has only recently started to mend, but it is still far from complete.

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust Psalm 103:10-14).

If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14-15).

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working (James 5:16).

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results (James 5:16).

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

If we seek Yehovah, He will reveal Himself to us. Our Father wants us to know Him and love Him as He knows and loves us. He wants to share His wisdom with us and teach us. Yehovah is always available to us.

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known (Jeremiah 33:3).

If you lose everyone and everything in your life but still have Yehovah, you will be rich beyond measure. I speak from my own experience. Cling to Yehovah in good times and bad times. He will never let you down.

“I call on heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have presented you with life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, choose life, so that you will live, you and your descendants, loving [Yehovah] your God, paying attention to what he says and clinging to him — for that is the purpose of your life! (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need (Matthew 6:33).

The more you seek Yehovah, the more gems you collect. You will begin to see things as He sees them. He will share His wisdom with you. You are forever loved and cherished.

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If [Yehovah] is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?³ Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:31-39).