Daily Devotion - July 25, 2025

It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Pet. 1:18-19 NIV)

Have you ever wanted a special, big-ticket item? Maybe you saved and saved until you had the full amount needed to make you the purchase.

That’s a bit like what God has done for you. He long ago established a plan to redeem you from sinful humanity, building the means of salvation from ancient times until he would purchase your souls for heaven by the precious blood of his own Son! 

Your redemption was not settled with the exchange of precious resources of this earth. No one can buy a place in heaven. Instead, God established a purchase plan that was secured by a binding covenant declared at the dawn of humanity. The covenant was made for us but fulfilled by Christ’s perfect sacrifice. 

Those who rely on his provision have their sins fully paid for. Any other claim on the blessings of God’s covenant is an empty sham of religious ritual or personal conceit. 

Only by trusting that Jesus purchased heaven’s blessings for us by his sacrifice can we claim redemption from a sinful past and a home in heaven forever. When we trust this purchase plan, God declares our salvation “Fully paid.” 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for redeeming me from empty efforts to save myself by providing for your covenant love to be secured by Christ’s blood and to be claimed by faith alone!

Daily Devotion - July 24, 2025

I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do…. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why even the hairs of you hear are numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Luke 12:4-7)

No matter what’s happening in your life, God assures you that he knows and is in charge of every detail. That truth was dramatically proven to a woman named Ashley Smith one dark night.

Ashley’s drug-damaged life was spiraling when Brian Nichols broke into her apartment. He had just killed four people and was running from the police. 

As Brian hid, waiting for the inevitable shootout that would end his life, these two desperate people “chanced” into a conversation about why each was there. They miraculously concluded that God must have a purpose for them. 

God’s truth in the midst of the crisis led to Brian turning himself over to police and to Ashley turning away from drugs. 

Ashley now believes that God caused her and Brian’s paths to intersect. Their encounter not only turned her away from drugs but back to God. Then, God used Ashley to turn Brian to Christ, enabling his reception of eternal forgiveness despite the extreme measure of his sin. Prison will not bar him from heaven.

 Ashley and Brian remind us that God can use anyone, anytime, anywhere to deliver the limitless measures of his grace! Our circumstances are never too small, or too bad, or too desperate for God. 

Prayer: Lord, please help me to believe that you have all the details and my care in your loving control, so that I will trust you and turn to you no matter what.

Daily Devotion - July 23, 2025

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Pet. 2:9)

Our world – even the church – has become celebrity crazy – we follow the actions, antics, and failings of the famous, constantly measuring if their performance still makes them worthy of our attention. 

The consequence is not only measuring their worth by their ability to please us – we tend to look at our family, friends, co-workers, and selves the same way. The question that plagues us all: “So, what have you done lately?” 

Even if we had wonderful beginnings, and early accolades, the pressure to maintain appreciation and adulation becomes crushing. We compare our appearances, our achievements, and our families’ Facebook posts, constantly feeling pressed to stay acceptable. What can release the pressure?

As Christians, we have the privilege of embracing a new, unchanging, and precious status that identifies us as God’s beloved, based not on what we’ve done but on what Jesus Christ has done for us!

When we come to Christ by faith, we become children of God – adopted into his family forever. With this unchanging status, we’re not always looking for somebody’s spotlight on our performance. We have been called into the marvelous light of God’s eternal love. And, if the Creator of the universe loves you, you must really be something!

Prayer: Father, help me to view myself through your eyes, relishing the marvelous status you have given me in Christ. May I not be driven by what others think of me but by my love for the One who has made me eternally precious to you. 

Daily Devotion - July 22, 2025

Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. (Rom. 4:7) 

We have friends who adopted a child from another nation. When they went to the orphanage, they found the child wrapped in red, which in that culture was a sign of favor and love. 

The red cloth signified that although she had been given up by an unknown biological mother, the child was loved. Yet, as these new parents moved the cloth covering the child’s face, they discovered a facial feature that was unacceptable in that culture. That red cloth represented love, but it had also been used to hide a flaw that would cause rejection. 

You and I are children with an even more compassionate covering. God covered our sinful flaws with the blood of Jesus in order to adopt us as his own. Our guilt and shame are forever hidden by Jesus’ love poured out on the cross for all who put their faith in his grace. 

We do not have to project a flawless face to God to know his love; rather, we can trust him to cover all our flaws with his perfect grace to make us his children forever. 

Prayer: Father, thank you for covering my sin with Christ’s blood so that I might know the love and favor that secures me in your family forever. May this grace keep me loving you.

Daily Devotion - July 21, 2025

We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Rom. 8:28)

This astounding promise of God can sometimes become the worst of Christian two-by-four clubs. Those insensitive to others’ pain, can insist it provide an instantaneous end to discouragement or grief:

“You have lost a job?” Don’t worry. God will work it for good.”

“You have lost a spouse? Don’t grieve. He is in a better place.”

“You are in a crises? Don’t fear. God’s got it all under control.”

 As true as the statements may be, such blunt bashing with God’s truth does not reflect the care of the apostle’s words. He never says all things “feel” good – or seem fair or right. He says that God will “work” all things together for good. There is a process in God’s plans that should allow us to work through grief, pain, and questions. 

We work through such difficulties with the assurance that God will never leave or forsake us, nor allow our circumstances to overwhelm his eternal plans. Such grace does not forbid our tears but gives us time to clear them from our eyes. In that space, we can look forward with faith in God’s hand and look backward to the cross for reassurance of his heart.

Yes, everything in creation is being bent toward your eternal good by a sovereign God. That is a powerful truth – so powerful we should handle it with the care God intends.

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for assurance that pain and grief undo your purposes. Help me understand how to share the truth of your sovereign hand with the tenderness of my Savior’s heart.  

Daily Devotion - July 18, 2025

You will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
(Jer. 29:12-13)

In 2014, French atheist turned evangelical theologian, Guillaume Bignon, shared how the light of God’s grace penetrated the dark places of his soul.  

Bignon’s journey began after a whirlwind romance with a girl. Because the girl was a Christian and did not want a deep relationship with someone who did not share her love for Jesus, Bignon began to explore her faith.  

He read the Bible to learn about her beliefs. He discovered that the accounts about Jesus were impressive, but Bignon remained unsure. Then, he thought, I’m a scientist; there’s an experiment I can carry out to test the truth of Jesus. I’ll pray and ask God, “If you’re real, reveal yourself to me.” And God did in a special way! 

Here’s how: Consideration of Jesus’ character revealed to Bignon that his real motive for reading the Bible was to have an affair with the girl. He was willing to sacrifice her faith to satisfy his lust – and that was an evil in Bignon that he had never before faced. Such sin in him revealed not only the truth of why Jesus came but also Bignon’s need of him!

If God has revealed your sin to you, believe that his purpose is to show you the truth of your need and your Savior. Call out to the Lord today and ask him to cover you with the grace that has revealed your sin and your Savior!

Prayer: Lord, I ask you to reveal yourself to me more and more each day. I am willing to ask, knowing that the more you show yourself, the more sin I will see in me. But the more I see my sin, the more I will cherish Christ’s cross. Where sin increases, grace will increase all the more. Praise God!

Daily Devotion - July 17, 2025

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and . . .the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Eph. 6:14,17)

Spiritual warfare is real. We can make two mistakes concerning its nature. The first is to ignore its reality; the second is to exaggerate its power. 

We are ill-equipped to engage struggles against wickedness and injustice without recognizing that evil truly affects our material world. The Apostle Paul said, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12). 

The world available to our physical senses is not the only reality. Spiritual forces are vying for power and influence in every area of our lives. That understanding, however, can twist our perceptions into imagining ghouls behind every bush. Satan is not as silly as that, nor is his influence so pervasive. 

Our Sovereign God yet rules this world, restraining and conquering evil to accomplish his will. We should never doubt his influence or fail to engage it. Already we have an Advocate with the Heavenly Father who has equipped us with the armor and weapons needed for spiritual victory.

The battles may be intense, but we have God’s truth, Christ’s righteousness, and the Spirit’s Word for every fight. Claim them, cling to them, and use them. God will grant the victory of eternity’s purposes. The battle belongs to the Lord, so stand firm with him!

Prayer: Lord, remind me to call upon you in my time of need so that I will face spiritual reality with spiritual weaponry and prevail in your strength. 

Daily Devotion - July 16, 2025

The righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.
(Psalm 112:6)

Elaine Pereira is author of I Will Never Forget, a story about a woman caring for her aging mother through the stages of dementia. The way Pereira describes her mother’s deterioration is not noble or sentimental. The loss of memory creates many embarrassments. 

Yet, as the story unfolds, we ultimately understand that the mother’s dignity is restored, not by a return of her memory but by her daughter’s memories. Pereira remembers her mother for who she was – and still is – a beloved person made in the image of God.

In an even more profound way, God maintains our dignity and preciousness to him by remembering his provision for us. Even when our lives are not as they should be, God treats us with the dignity and care that is reserved for his beloved.

The One who covers our sin with his blood, also covers our shame with his righteousness. The consequence is that God remembers that we are his precious children. The world, our country, our community, even our family may forget us. God will not. He will always say, “You are mine and precious to me. I remember you!” 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you that you will not forget me. May the dignity of the memory you maintain for me also stir me to see others through your memory of them.

Daily Devotion - July 15, 2025

I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:37-39)

The Apostle Paul provides a wonderfully long list of things that will never be able to separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord.

However, some readers fear that there is something missing from that list – sin. Should that worry us? No. We should realize that while it’s true sin is not mentioned in Paul’s list, he has just finished telling us that God will work all things together for the good of those who love him. 

If God knew that there was something in your path – life or death, things present or things to come, evil powers, or anything in creation – that would separate you from Christ, then his perfect plan for you would require him to take you to heaven before that spiritual calamity hit you. He would have to do this in order to work all things for your eternal good. 

God will not allow anything in your life that would cause your separation from his heart. He will not allow you to proceed into sin or unbelief that would destroy his love. That’s why there is nothing that can separate us from him, not even our sin. 

So, when there is sin or failure in your life, do not fear to seek the Savior who has bound himself to you with love that nothing can sever. If it could, he would already have taken you to himself.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, you give me great comfort and hope by promising that nothing can separate me from your love. May that inseparable love make me run to you when I need to repent and run for you in the race to represent Jesus.  

Daily Devotion - July 14, 2025

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:17-19 NIV)

My family enjoys vacationing at a remote cabin. As we prepare to vacate the cabin for winter, we drain all the plumbing. We open valves, releasing all the water to keep pipes from bursting in the coming freeze. 

 In the springtime, we reverse the process, closing valves and turning back on the water. But, there is one valve we leave open until new water fills the system: the valve at the top of the hot-water tank. 

We allow the incoming water to drive out the air in the tank that would otherwise keep it from fulfilling its purpose. 

Similarly, when love for Christ fills our hearts, it drives out the love for sin that is the air in which temptations thrive. What fills our hearts with such love for Christ? Grasping how wide and long and high and deep is his love for us. 

Prayer: Father, help me to grasp the greatness of Christ’s love for me so that I will be filled with the love for him that is power for resisting sin.

Daily Devotion - July 11, 2025

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. (Prov. 3:11-12)

We may create some shock by asserting, “The Lord will never punish his children,” but that is actually the truth. We understand this truth when we see how God’s Word distinguishes discipline and punishment. 

Punishment is designed to inflict a penalty in response for a wrong. God will not punish his children because the penalty for all our past, present, and future sin was placed on Jesus. Jesus paid it all! 

Discipline is a different matter. The goal of discipline is not to inflict a penalty but to promote maturity. Punishment and discipline may feel similar (both hurt) but their goal is very different. Punishment imposes harm for past misdeeds, but discipline intends help for future blessing.

Punishment is for criminals. Discipline is for children. Punishment follows condemnation. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 

Punishment is for those whom society disapproves. Discipline is for those in whom God delights. Punishment is administered with a scowl. Discipline is administered with tears. Punishment pours out wrath for a wrong. God’s discipline comes out of the heart of a Father.

So, even when we are in the throes of the worst discipline heaven can bring, we are loved no less. God only disciplines those he loves to turn us from sin and to him. Let God’s discipline turn you to the One who loves you enough to harm himself to help you.       

Prayer: Father, thank you for the love that disciplines me, so that I turn from the harm of sin and receive the blessings of my Savior. Help my heart to receive this love as you intend.

Daily Devotion - July 10, 2025

The share of the one who goes into battle is to be the same as the share of the one who remains with the supplies. They will share equally.
(1 Sam. 30:24 CSV)

Janette Alexander, wife of the great 19th-century theologian Archibald Alexander, was treasured by her family for her scriptural insights. 

Although she lacked the formal training of her husband, her son – who also became a famous Bible teacher – often sought her insights. He said his mother’s heart, tuned by walking closely with God, granted understanding worth more than all the commentaries in the world.

In this wonderful compliment, we can glimpse God’s perfect perspective that treasures every person according to his purposes. Jannette Alexander was not a seminary professor. But as a wife and mother, she steadied and deepened the faith all family members would need to fulfill God’s plan for their lives that would touch millions. 

The world may only recognize the gifts of “a Billy Graham,” or “a Charles Spurgeon,” or “a John Knox,” but we should understand the honor due the mother, or Sunday school teacher, or camp counselor who nurtured faith in such a person.

Because our lives are so interwoven in God’s divine plan, one who enables another to fight for God is just as important as the one on the battlefield – both are needed for the battle. God uses and treasures both!

Prayer: Lord, help me to serve you with the gifts you have given by believing you treasure my role in your plan. Weave my gifts into the tapestry of your purpose to build up those who are needed for your battles.

Daily Devotion - July 9, 2025

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. (Psalm 27:1-2)

We all face life crises. They may large scale: the result of misguided governments, natural disasters, or even terrorists. Or, they may be very personal: a health scare, a financial hurdle, a career setback, or a difficult relationship. Whatever your circumstances today, remember that God’s purposes for you cannot fail. 

David’s psalm reminds us of that truth with an image all Israel would know. Their “stronghold” was a mountain of rock with steep sides, but also with a level top where God’s people could live in safety. More than once David fled to such a stronghold to find safety from his enemies.

  But what gave David greater confidence than the natural fortress to which he could flee was the supernatural Savior who was always with him. David did not have to flee to find this safety because he knew that this fortress was never far away. Wherever he was and whatever he faced, David was always in the stronghold of God’s protection. 

Crises would still come and enemies would still threaten, but David knew he did not need to be afraid that they could ever overcome God’s purposes for his life. The same is true for us because the same God is for us. You and I can say, “The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I need you in my own crises. Help me to trust that you are my stronghold, that I am eternally secure in your care, and that your purposes cannot fail for me, so that I am not afraid.

Daily Devotion - July 8, 2025

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
(Eph. 6:10-11)

When my daughter was five, she decided to play soccer with her older siblings and cousins at a family gathering. Very quickly in the game, she was accidentally tripped and trampled by the larger kids. 

She ran off in tears, determined never again to enter the family fray. But, once I scooped her up in my arms, hugged her to my chest, and re-entered the game, she begged to play more. 

She shrieked with laughter, as we ran together. And with confidence in her security restored, she became our most zealous team member – held in my arms for the rest of the game.

Similarly, we gain strength and zeal for life’s spiritual battles, when we know we are securely held in the Lord’s arms. Our strength is in his might.

Knowledge that we are secure in the grasp of the One who is Lord over all gives us the will to fight for him – and even to re-enter the fray after taking a fall, because we are in the embrace of great grace.

Prayer: Lord, I know that life is full of spiritual battles. May the power of your might enable me to stand firm and fight for you, knowing I’m secure in your sovereign care.

Daily Devotion - July 7, 2025

“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name forever! (Psalm 34:1b-3) 

Have you ever tried praising God when you are in a trial? It’s not the natural thing to do. It’s also not a fake spirituality that denies real pain. Yet, praise helps us measure and meet trials by reminding us how God sovereignly uses them to help us treasure him. 

When God’s greatness and goodness fill our thoughts, fears drain from our hearts. As others have said, “When our God is small, our troubles are large; but when our God is large, our troubles are small.” 

Praise focuses our minds on the greatness of God, so we sense afresh how wise, powerful, and loving he is – more than a match for any trial. Such praise does not require that we believe our troubles are small, only that we remember our God is greater. 

Praise doesn’t erase trials but equips us for them. Praise does not dry all tears but helps us see beyond them. Praise renews the resources we need to endure. There will be nothing lacking that we need to stand for God when we utter the praises that make him present and powerful in our hearts (Psalm 22:3).

The testing of our faith, when it stirs us to praise God for his greatness and goodness, produces steadfastness in us because we become focused on the One who is steadfast (James 1:2-4). Since he will never fail, our trials cannot prevail. 

Prayer: Father, I don’t enjoy the temporary trials and painful difficulties in my life, but I praise you that they help me to become more steadfast for the One who is always steadfast. Let my praise focus my heart on your greatness.

Daily Devotion - July 4, 2025

Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe. (Heb. 12:28)

Press Secretary Tony Snow was fifty-three when he died. Snow, a Christian, had terminal cancer while in office under President George W. Bush. Despite his affliction, Snow was eloquent about how God works in a fallen world. 

He wrote, “We want our lives to be a simple, smooth trail as far as the eye can see, but God likes to venture off-road. He provokes us with twists and turns, and he places predicaments in our lives that seem to defy our endurance and comprehension. Yet, we do not deny him.”1

Why not? According to Snow, it’s not because God makes life easy. A life of belief teems with thrills, dangers, shocks, reversals, and triumphs. The reason we endure is not that God promises us endless earthly tomorrows; rather, he promises an eternity filled with love and life beyond anything we can comprehend. 

Our God will do (or allow) whatever shaking is needed in our lives on earth for us to clasp the hand that will hold us securely for his eternal kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Prayer: Jesus, when I encounter difficulties and hardships that shake me, help me to cling to the hand that will hold me securely for the unshakable kingdom you promise.

1 Tony Snow, “Cancer’s Unexpected Blessings”, Christianity Today, July 20, 2007, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/july25.30html?paging=off.

2 Andrew Branch, “Winning while losing”, World Magazine, February 7, 2015, https://world.wng.org/2015/01/winning_while_losing

Daily Devotion - July 3, 2025

The Lord of hosts has sworn:
“As I have planned,so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.” (Isaiah 14:24)

The nightly news can discourage us with accounts of violent crime, social injustice, natural calamity, viral disease, global terrorism, and human foolishness.

Evil is real, but it never thwarts God’s ultimate purpose. Despite earthly wrongs, our God reigns. Time and again in Scripture, evil appears to prevail from a human perspective, but God is not dismayed. He is never surprised. He never says, “Oops.”

Never was this more clear than at Christ’s crucifixion. Had you or I stood at the foot of the cross, we would have cried, “God stop this. It is wrong!” It was evil, but it was not wrong. It was God’s intention to offer his Son in sacrifice for our sin (Is. 53:10). 

Evil required the work of Jesus but did not negate it – not even for a moment. Though evil persists, this is still our Father’s world. “Although the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler, yet.” 

He weans us from the temporal with the consequences of evil, even as he woos us to the eternal with the assurances of Jesus. We would desire no rescue without the world’s evil; we would have no rescue without Jesus.

God’s purposes are never derailed. The proof is the cross. Trust the wisdom, power, and love of the heart that gave Jesus there for us, according to plan.

Prayer: Father, help me to have trust in your sovereign plan as I live through a fallen world. When the evil threatens to overwhelm my soul, show me Jesus. When I am losing hope, show me Jesus. Every day and for every trial, show me Jesus. 

Daily Devotion - July 2, 2025

We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Rom. 5:3-5)

When we’re facing a challenge, our tendency is to wonder if God has abandoned us. Why doesn’t God make our lives easy? One reason is that adversity prepares us for spiritual battles that lie ahead. 

The Apostle Paul explains that one reason God allows suffering is to prepare us for future work. He exercises our faith muscles to prepare us for spiritual battles that would otherwise overwhelm.

After a very difficult year in my early ministry, I overheard a godly woman in our church say, “I wonder what the Lord is preparing Bryan to do that requires him to go through so much testing?” 

I wondered, too. But, since that time, I have often considered how strengthened I was by the godly woman’s words. She helped me realize present trials were not purposeless. So, when greater trials came, I believed that God had prepared me. I was strengthened in the immediate trial for the later work.

Our sufferings produce the endurance we need, the character our situations require, the confident hope that our trials will end, and the spiritual dependence that keeps our love strong enough to see it all through for Christ’s sake.

Prayer: Lord, when I’m facing life’s challenges, help me to realize that they help me to grow stronger in Christ and prepare me for greater fruitfulness.

Daily Devotion - July 1, 2025

When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. (Dan. 6:10)

How would you define courage?  According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, courage is “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.”  

Right next to that definition of courage, you might expect to see a picture of Daniel, the prophet who was taken into captivity as a young man, was made to serve pagan kings and, in his old age, was thrown into the lion’s den! 

Despite fearsome struggles, Daniel was the epitome of courage, persevering in his faith through prayer, obedience, and integrity. But there came a time when his visions of the future frightened him to fainting (Dan. 8 & 10). Then, he did not deny his fears but faithfully confessed his and his people’s sin to affirm God’s provision for the battles to come. 

Daniel’s faithfulness to God was rooted in God’s faithfulness to him. Confidence in God’s persevering grace was the fuel for persevering courage – and, even when that grew faint, Daniel humbly prayed and turned to his ever gracious God for more fuel.

Daniel’s story is not so much about how we muster human courage, as about how God’s persevering grace fuels it. May we, like Daniel, grasp the daily power of an ever faithful and forgiving God as we seek courage for our modern-day trials.

Prayer: Father, before I would dare to be a Daniel, take my heart to the gracious God in whom he trusted. Instill confidence in your grace to enable me to persevere in my trials.

Daily Devotion - June 30, 2025

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Rom. 8:31-32)

One of my pastorates was in a rugged coal mining region. There I was taught much of how faith could survive and thrive through the difficulties of life. 

The story was told of an old man made an invalid by a mining injury early in life. A lifetime of struggle did not steal his faith, and a younger man came to ask, “Why?” 

The old man smiled at the question and responded. “Yes, sometimes Satan comes to my bedside. He points out my window to friends with fine homes, growing families, and healthy bodies. Then, he taunts me by asking, “Does God love you?”

The younger man gasped at the honesty of the invalid, and asked, “What do you say to Satan, when he asks you that?” 

Said the old man in the bed, “I take Satan by the hand to a hill called Calvary. There, I point to the thorns on Jesus’ brow and to the nails in hands and feet, and I say to Satan, “Doesn’t God love me!”

If we try to prove God’s love by pointing to our circumstances in a fallen world, we will fail. But, if we point to his character revealed at the Cross, then we need never doubt his eternal love. When God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, he proved for all time and circumstances his love for us.

Prayer: Father, help me not to look to my circumstances but to your character for the assurance of your love that I need every day until Jesus returns to this fallen world for me.