The following devotionals are intended to be a daily source of inspiration and encouragement to you during this challenging time in your life. Each devotional can be viewed online or downloaded and printed – simply choose the one that you prefer. If you have questions about the devotionals or wish to order a printed devotional booklet, please use our CONTACT form and we’d be happy to help.
SEEKING GOD
I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4 Why do we try everything and everyone else before turning to God? Why would we choose to go to someone or something else that does not even begin to have the power or ability that the Maker of the universe possesses? It is amazing to me how I can see clearly in situations where others need to seek God first, but when faced with my own crises or just the daily decisions of life, I often tend to ask the opinion of others or read what the “experts” have to say...
read moreGOD IS THE STRENGTH OF MY HEART
And the Lord is the One Who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8 Do you ever feel like you just cannot go on? Like you don’t even have the strength to breathe or even exist any more? Do you know what it feels like when your body is literally torn up inside by grief and despair? Do you ever want to scream at everyone around you that you just want to give up and not even try to survive anymore? Do you feel like a spectator in life…just watching everyone around...
read moreGOD IS PREPARING THE WAY FOR YOU
And the Lord is the One Who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8 Have you ever dreaded getting up in the morning because you knew all that needed to happen that day, or because a confrontation that had been brewing for a while with a difficult person was inevitable? Sometimes we would do almost anything to avoid that kind of day and yet, there is nothing to be done but “face the music” and go ahead into the day, dreading the confrontations and the outcomes....
read moreGOD’S NEVER ENDING COMPASSION
This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:21-23 If you read through the Old Testament in the Bible, you can see that God constantly had to remind the Israelites of all that He had done for them in the past. I used to be pretty critical of the Jewish people because they seemed to constantly be complaining and forgetting all that God had already done for them. One day God spoke to my heart...
read moreSHARING COMFORT
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, Who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. II Corinthians 1:3-4 God is the source of so many good things. He created us and because He did, He understands all of our needs…physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. As our Heavenly Parent, He promised to “provide all of our needs through His riches in Christ Jesus.”...
read moreSTRENGTH IN THE MIDST OF GRIEF
My soul weeps because of grief. Strengthen me according to Your Word. Psalm 119:28 When you read the phrase “my soul weeps”, what picture comes into your mind? Have you ever wept to the depths of your soul? The soul has been defined by Oxford Dictionary as “the spiritual part of a human being regarded as immortal.” When we use the word ‘soul’ in conversation, we are usually referring to the very deepest convictions we have. When I read this verse, I identify with the first phrase because, after our 17-year-old son died suddenly in a car...
read moreGAINING NEW STRENGTH
Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weary. Isaiah 40:31 The key to gaining the strength that we need is to “wait for the Lord.” Sometimes we “hit the ground running” for the day as soon as we get out of bed. We think that we don’t have time to have our Quiet Time when actually, we won’t make it if we do not stop and spend time with the Lord first. We tend to do the Urgent instead of the Important. Whatever or whoever...
read moreTHE SOURCE OF OUR STRENGTH
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might, He increases power. Isaiah 40:28-29 Sometimes we forget what we know. If we have any church background or if we have studied anything about God in Scripture, one of the basic truths we learned first was that God is all powerful. Sometimes in the midst of trials in our lives, we tend to allow Satan to cause us to...
read moreTHE BLESSING OF PEACE
The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace. Psalm 29:11 Scripture is full of so many gifts that God wants to give us. James 1:7 (NIV) says “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, Who does not change like shifting shadows.” Anything that is good in our lives is truly a gift from our loving Heavenly Father. In the midst of a stressful and chaotic world, what gifts do we need more on a daily basis than strength and peace? We need physical...
read moreSTEADFAST
Therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. I Corinthians 15:58 Lord, I long to be steadfast and immoveable, but I don’t really know how to do that? In the midst of this trial, I feel more like II Corinthians 4, where the waves of life have knocked my feet out from under me and I am floundering, trying to find a place to stand that is not shifting sand! Help me to stand upon You, the Rock of My Salvation. Help me to cling to You, my Rock...
read moreGOD’S TIMING
All the days ordained for me were writen in Your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16b For the first few months after Calvin died, I used to think that I wanted to know that he would not live beyond 17 years and 8 days. As time passed, I realized that, had I known he was going to die young, I would have dreaded his death every day of his life. That would have taken away all of the joy and the good times we had. What a strong indication of the sovereignty of God is contained in this verse! God knows even before every single person...
read moreWAITING
I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay. And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:1-3 Normally the Psalms encourage me when I am discouraged, but the phrase “I waited patiently” seems rather intimidating. Lord, I confess to you that I have not been waiting patiently! I don’t want to wait at all! I want you to...
read moreGOD WANTS TO HELP YOU
I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 In my everyday life, God has proven this verse time and time again. When I thought I could not even make it through one day at work because my grief was so intense and I could not concentrate, God helped me one task at a time, one day at a time. When I could not face the conflicts in relationships, God gave me strength and even grace to work through those conflicts, and I saw relationships deepened instead of exploding. When I was so depressed, I just wanted to hide under...
read moreGOD IS OUR REFUGE
In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be ashamed; in Your righteousness deliver me. Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly; be to me a rock of strength, a stronghold to save me. For you are my rock and my fortress; for Your name’s sake, You will lead me and guide me. Psalm 31:1-3 Do you ever wish you could just run and hide? You can! Right into the waiting arms of Jesus, our Refuge. He waits to deliver you from evil, from temptation, from daily making the wrong decisions. He is the Solid Rock we can cling to in times of...
read moreGOD’S PLAN GIVES US HOPE
For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me,when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13 God knows the plans He has for us. God already has those plans formed…He has thought them out to completion…He knows them. They are plans for our welfare…for our good. He longs to give us hope for our future. He promises to listen to us...
read moreNOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM GOD’S LOVE
For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 When we look at this list, it is incredibly complete! God started with death as something that cannot separate us from Him. Nothing could seem to be a stronger separator than death itself? But Paul goes on to list spiritual beings (angels), governmental...
read moreGOD’S ENDLESS SUPPLY
For my God shall supply all your needs through His riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 This verse is amazingly full of God’s mercy and grace. “My God”…He is a personal God. He wants to belong to each one of us, and to know us intimately and personally. “Shall”…this is not a question, this is a statement that God will do it! It is an emphatic statement. “Supply”…one of God’s names in Hebrew is Jehovah Jireh “My Provider.” “All”…not some, not a few, not only when you are desperate, but ALL…that is an incredible promise! “Your needs”…not...
read moreSEEKING A HEAVENLY PERSPECTIVE
“For my ways are not your ways, and My thoughts are not your thoughts,” declares the Lord. “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are My ways above your ways and My thought above your thoughts.” Isaiah 55: 8-9 This has become one of my favorite verses since our son Calvin died. I was praying one day, asking God to please just tell me the reasons that He took Calvin home to Heaven at the age of 17? I felt that if I knew all the reasons God took him, it would be easier for me to let him go? God spoke clearly, not in an audible...
read moreSATISFACTION
For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry soul with good. Psalm 107:9 Satisfaction. It is something that we seek and so rarely find. The world tells us that satisfaction is found in things that we own…where we live…what we drive…what we wear. Or sometimes people tell us that satisfaction is found in relationships or in our appearance or our careers. But as we grow more mature, we realize that only God can satisfy! We have a God-shaped hole that only God can fill with Himself. Notice the conditions of this verse though… “He satisfies...
read moreNO NEED TO WORRY OR FEAR
Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not look anxiously about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 What powerful statements of support from our Heavenly Father, Who not only has the power to be everything we need but also has the desire to be there for us in our time of need. When we look at the reasons for his imperative statements, we understand why He commanded us to not fear or look anxiously around us. We have no need to fear when we...
read moreTHE GIFT OF GOD’S PEACE
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27 Jesus spoke these words to His disciples. Peace is one of His gifts to us. Even though He was getting ready to physically leave this world, He had the supernatural ability to give us peace, even if He is not physically present in human form that we can see. This is His peace…real genuine peace. This is the “perfect peace” from Isaiah 26:3 and the “peace that passes understanding” from...
read morePERFECT PEACE
He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in Him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord. Isaiah 26:3 Perfect Peace…that is something that everyone in the world would like to have! When we look at this verse, this amazing promise holds many components. God is the One Who does it. Not He “might” or He “could” but He will keep us in perfect peace. It doesn’t have to be temporary or transitional…He will keep us…constantly and consistently. The peace is just like everything else God does…it is perfect. It is complete and exactly what we...
read moreFREEDOM TO ASK
This is the confidence which we have from 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 which we have asked from Him. I John 5:14-15 The world is so negative and people can be so unkind, and some-times even cruel. Often we are afraid to ask someone for help or even encouragement because we have been hurt in the past by the negative responses of others. If we are not careful, we can begin to put God into our “human box” and not realize that...
read moreGOD MEANT TO MAKE YOU THIS WAY
For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully & wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Your eyes say my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:13-16 This passage was one that I had to repeat to myself out loud daily for a Bible Study I was teaching. I was surprised...
read moreARE YOU TAKING GOD’S GRACE FOR GRANTED?
For by grace are you saved, through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast. And you are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for you to do. Ephesians 2:8-10 These verses are very familiar to most Christians. And because of that, we tend to just gloss over them and go on to less familiar verses. We take God’s grace for granted. We have become so used to the atoning death of Jesus Christ that it no longer holds the overwhelming...
read moreOUR HOPE IS ETERNAL
These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever! So we do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.II Corinthians 4:17-18 In the midst of hard times, it is often incredibly difficult to maintain an eternal perspective. Our trials are huge to...
read moreFINDING PURPOSE IN YOUR TRIAL
These sufferings of ours are for your benefit. And the more of you who are won to Christ, the more there are to thank Him for His great kindness, and the more the Lord is glorified. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our inner strength in the Lord is growing every day. II Corinthians 4:15-16 When our son Calvin died at age 17, and I asked God for a verse to help me get through the times of despair that I knew would come, He gave me verse 15. He assured me through that verse that I could find a purpose in Calvin’s...
read moreOVERWHELMED
We are pressed on every side by troubles but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going…” II Corinthians 4:8-9 Have you ever felt overwhelmed by your circumstances? As if life has gotten out of hand and you will never recover? These verses express that type of desperation. When you feel as if your very life is being squeezed out of you as you are caught in...
read moreTO REJOICE IS A CHOICE!
“This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (NKJV) I’ve heard this verse all my life. In the church where I grew up, for many years, the choir used to sing a song based on this verse to open every Sunday morning service and when I read this verse, that song runs through my head. However, when I read the verse in context, it takes on an entirely new meaning. The 23 verses that precede this verse in Psalm 118 are all about being persecuted and falsely accused, but learning to trust God anyway. This verse...
read moreYOU CAN CONQUER THROUGH CHRIST
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him Who loved us. Romans 8:37 How can I “overwhelmingly conquer” when I don’t feel like I can breathe in one more breath, or take one more step down the road of life? When life has knocked you down over and over again, the idea of conquering doesn’t seem real. But as we read the rest of that verse, we find the key. It is “through Him Who loved us.” It is ONLY through Him that we can conquer. Only in His strength…in His might…with His power can we become victorious, especially during...
read moreGOD’S WILLING SACRIFICE
“He Who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32 There are people who believe that the Christian life is all about our giving up things. They really do not begin to understand what God Himself has given up?!He gave us His only Son…the One who was holy and without any sin, Who did not even begin to deserve death, much less the horrible torture He went through before the crucifixion?! God willingly chose to give His Son for me and you. I’m not...
read moreGOD IS NOT THROUGH WITH YOU YET!
“For I am confident of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 At times when I am despondent, I feel like my life should be over? There are times when I feel that God could not possibly use me…I make the same mistakes over and over again. There are so many other people more talented, more committed, smarter, and more capable than I am. But God’s word tells me that” He Who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it.” He will complete...
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