Daily Hope Devotional

“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!”  (Philippians 4:4 NLT) When the Apostle Paul says, “Always be full of joy in the Lord,” he doesn’t say to only be joyful in good times. Even when times are tough, the Bible teaches we can be joyful if we follow this simple strategy: Don’t worry about anything.  Worrying doesn’t change anything. It’s stewing without doing. There are no such things as born-worriers. Worry is a learned response. You learned it from your parents. You learned it from your peers. You learned it from experience. That’s good news: The fact that worry is learned means it can also be unlearned.  How do you unlearn it? Jesus says in Matthew  6:34 ,  “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”  (NIV). He’s saying don’t open your umbrella until it starts raining. Live one day at a time. Pray about everything.  Instead of

“You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion … your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”   2 Corinthians  9:11  (NIV) What an amazing verse! God makes you rich in every way so you can be generous on every occasion, which will result in thanksgiving to God. God doesn’t bless you so you can be greedy; He blesses you so you can be generous. You give away and God gives back to you so you can give more away and He can give more back to you and on and on and on. God doesn’t give you things so you can pile them up. When you let go of what’s in your hand, it’s now empty to receive greater blessings from God. But as I’ve said before, God’s giving to you is based on your attitude. That’s why it’s so important to live with an attitude of gratitude. The Bible says,  “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of

“Sink your roots in Him and build on Him. Be strengthened by the faith that you were taught, and overflow with thanksgiving.”  ( Colossians 2:7 GW) An attitude of radical gratitude is God’s will for you because it develops your faith. How does gratitude develop my faith? It happens when times are tough — when things don’t make sense, when you can’t figure it out, when your prayers are unanswered, when everything is going the way you didn’t want it to go. It happens when you can say in those circumstances, “God, I know you’re in control. I know You love me, and I know You can bring good out of this. I’m thankful that You’re bigger than my problem.”  Anybody can thank God for good things. But if you can thank God even in the bad times, your faith will grow stronger as your roots go deeper.  Habakkuk was going through tough times. He said,  “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the oliv

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  (1 Thessalonians  5:18  NIV) Thanksgiving is not supposed to be a day that we celebrate once a year. It is to be a spiritual habit of the radical believer. The more deeply you understand God’s love, the more grateful you’re going to be.  So what does it mean to be radically grateful?  The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians  5:18 ,  “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”  (NIV). That’s radical gratitude.  In all circumstances  give thanks, because it’s God’s will for you.  You can thank God in every circumstance because God is in control. He can bring good out of evil. He can turn around the stupid mistakes you make. No matter what happens, God isn’t going to stop loving you. There are a hundred things to be thankful for in any circumstance, even when the circumstance stinks. Radical gratitude — being th

“You are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.”  (2 Corinthians 1:11 NLT) To get through what you’re going through, you need to recruit other people to pray for you. This is very easy when you’re in a small group. When you’re going through a tough time and you’re not in a small group, you are unprotected. You don’t have the strength that people in a small group do because you don’t have people praying for you.  The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1:11,  “You are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety”  (NLT). I’ll be honest with you: I don’t know how this works. But there is additional power in group prayer that is not there when you just pray for yourself. There is more power in gr

“God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things.”  (2 Corinthians 1:4, 6 NLT) Your pain often reveals God’s purpose for you. God never wastes a hurt! If you’ve gone through a hurt, He wants you to help other people going through that same hurt. He wants you to share it. God can use the problems in your life to give you a ministry to others. In fact, the very thing you’re most ashamed of in your life and resent the most could become your greatest ministry in helping other people.  Who can better help somebody going through a bankruptcy than somebody who went through a bankruptcy? Who can better help somebody struggling with an addiction than somebody who’s struggled with an addiction? Who can better help parents of a special needs child than pare

“Now that the worst is over, we're pleased we can report that we've come out of this with conscience and faith intact, and can face the world — and even more importantly, face you with our heads held high. But it wasn't by any fancy footwork on our part. It was God Who kept us focused on Him, uncompromised.”  (2 Corinthians 1:12MSG) Regardless of your circumstances and how you feel, hang on to God’s unchanging character. 2 Corinthians  1:12  says,  “Now that the worst is over, we're pleased we can report that we've come out of this with conscience and faith intact, and can face the world — and even more importantly, face you with our heads held high. But it wasn't by any fancy footwork on our part. It was God Who kept us focused on Him, uncompromised.” Your circumstances cannot change the character of God. God’s grace is still in full force; He is still for you, even when you don’t feel it.  Remind yo

“From such terrible dangers of death He saved us, and will save us; and we have placed our hope in Him that He will save us again.”  (2 Corinthians  1:10  TEV)  God is watching over you, so don’t listen to your fears. This is a choice. Trust God, and don’t give in to your fears. 2 Corinthians  1:10  says,  “From such terrible dangers of death He saved us, and will save us; and we have placed our hope in Him that He will save us again”  (TEV).  God’s promise to believers is that, no matter what happens to us, He is working for our good — if we love Him and follow Him. If you're a believer, the Bible says all things are working together for good —  not that all things are good  but that they are  working together  for good.  That means we can stop listening to our fears. There is no difficulty, dilemma, defeat, or disaster in the life of a believer that God can’t ultimately get some good out of. There is no need to f

“We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, Who raises the dead.”  (2 Corinthians 1:8b-9 NLT) Did Jesus suffer? Was He sometimes lonely? Was He tempted to be discouraged? Was He misunderstood, maligned, and criticized unjustly? Of course! None of us are exempt from suffering, loneliness, discouragement, or unjust criticism, because God is developing within us the character of Christ, and, in order to do this, He must take us through all of the circumstances in life through which He took Christ. Does this mean God causes tragedies? No. God is good, and He will not cause evil or do evil. But God can use dark and stressful times for good. He'll use them to teach us to trust Him, to show us how to help others, and to draw us closer to other believers. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1:8b-9,

“At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the evil one.”  (Ephesians 6:16 GNT) As a follower of Jesus, you have fiery darts coming at you all the time. So what kind of fiery darts are coming your way? Satan implants the following thoughts into your mind: Doubt.  You start asking yourself, “Did God really say? Can I really trust God? Isn’t that just your interpretation?” Discouragement.  Satan tells you, “You’re never going to get any better. Your life won’t change. Don’t even try.”  Delay . You ask yourself, “Why is this taking so long?” Something you want to happen hasn’t happened by now.  Difficulty.  You ask yourself, “Why is this so hard? Why is it so hard to make my marriage work? Why is it so hard to get a job?” Depression . You tell yourself, “It’s not worth it.” You don’t even feel like making an effort. All these darts come your way on a regular basis. They create uncertainty in your life. In tim

“ “On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong.”  (Ephesians 6:15 NCV) Conflict makes you an easy target for Satan’s attacks. It doesn’t matter if your conflict is with God, other people, or even yourself; it will open the door for Satan to tear you apart. You’ll become a pushover for his plans. It’ll open up every area of your life to Satan’s attacks.  You don’t want that. It’s why the doomsday scenario for many countries is facing wars on multiple fronts. If you’re fighting yourself, others, or God, you can’t fight against what Satan is doing in the world. You can’t fight a multi-front war effectively. You were never meant to do so.   All levels of conflict leave your flailing for support and searching for a firm footing, as if you’re being sucked into quicksand. That’s why Paul urges believers,  “On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong”  (Ephesians  6:15 NCV). Roman soldiers had hobnails on the bottom of their s

“Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest.” (Ephesians 6:14 HCSB) We don’t have to do anything wrong for Satan to attack us. It’s what he does. It’s who he is. The Bible calls him “the accuser of our brothers and sisters" (Revelation 12:10 NLT). And he wants nothing more than to attack those who love Jesus. Yet often, our own impure lifestyles open up the door of our hearts for his attacks. He knows that if he can slip his foot into the door of our hearts through impurity, we’re goners. He’ll trip us up with all sorts of temptations, from pornography to movies to books to songs — whatever it takes to make us ineffective as a Kingdom influencer. That’s why Paul’s breastplate of righteousness is so important as we battle against whatever Satan throws at us. In Ephesians 6:14, Paul urges believers to “Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest” (HCSB). A Roman

“So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist.” (Ephesians 6:14a GNT) Integrity matters. The Bible says we’re in a war “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world.” And we can’t battle those spiritual forces that threaten to derail our lives if we’re not living with integrity. Essentially, we’re committed to taking the truth of God’s Word and applying it to all areas of our lives, such as our moral, financial, relational, and sexual lives. It’s why Paul tells us we need to put on the Belt of Truth before we go into the spiritual battles that are all around us. He says, “So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist” (Ephesians 6:14a GNT). The Belt of Truth holds up everything. Without truth, your life will fall apart, and spiritual darkness will take over. We put on our Belt of Truth by living with integrity. Integrity comes from the word “integer,” which means “unit of one.” Your life of integrity isn’

“For 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.” (Ephesians 6:12 NIV) You have an enemy — and it’s not who you think it is. It isn’t the person you’re competing against at work. It isn’t the difficult neighbor. It isn’t your ex-spouse. It isn’t the group in your community who are taking unbiblical positions against you. Your enemy isn’t flesh and blood at all. “For 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” (Ephesians 6:12 NIV). Your battle is with Satan. One of the reasons we so often walk around in discouragement and defeat is because we don’t really understand who we’re battling. We don’t understand who our real enemy is. We blame the economy, a political party, a seg

“The One Who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4b NIV) You were born into a battle. You didn’t ask for it. But before you were born and long after you die, a cosmic battle is taking place all throughout the universe. You can’t escape the battle between God and Satan, good and evil — even if you don’t know it exists. Yet it’s important to know God and Satan are not equal enemies. God is far superior in all ways. One day God will completely wipe Satan out. But until then, He allows us to have a choice of whose side we’re on. People are often pawns in this cosmic battle. Satan can’t hurt God. What do you do when you can't hurt someone? You hurt his children. So Satan goes after you. The bad news is, you were born for a battle. But there’s good news. You were born to win the battle. The Bible says, “The One Who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4b NIV). Satan isn’t afraid of you. He is afraid of Who is in you —

“Let us examine our ways and turn back to the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:40 MSG) You can’t change everything. But you can change you. When your life feels like it's falling apart, knowing what you can change — and what you can’t change — can make all the difference. You can’t change your past. You can’t change your parents. You can’t change the gifts and talents God has or hasn’t given you. You can’t change a handicap you’ve been given. You can’t bring back a dead loved one. You might as well accept all of those things. You’ll start to find peace in the midst of troubles when you accept what you can’t change. Otherwise, you’ll make yourself and the people you love miserable. There’s much you can’t change, but there’s something important you can change: you. When Jeremiah’s world was falling apart, he wrote in Lamentations 3:40: “Let us examine our ways and turn back to the Lord” (GNT). What’s going on in your life that doesn’t line up with what God wants? Depending on

“The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in Him, so it is best for us to wait in patience — to wait for Him to save us.” (Lamentations 3:25-26 GNT) When life seems to be falling apart, your most “spiritual” decision may be a surprise: Get alone with God, and wait. The Bible tells us this in Lamentations 3:28, “When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face. The ‘worst’ is never the worst” (Lamentations 3:28 MSG). Most of us don’t know how to “enter the silence.” We’re always anxious. We don’t like to wait on God because it stresses us out. We like to be in control. What does it mean to wait on God? You sit down, close your mouth, and just listen to God. You may read your Bible. You may pray. But most all, you’re quiet in front of God. Anxiety comes when we’re not “waiting for hope to appear,” as Jeremiah tells us. God wants to talk to us. He w

“He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones. He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress. He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead .… And though I cry and shout, He has shut out my prayers.” (Lamentations 3:4-6, 8 NLT) We all go through a time when our lives seem to be falling apart. We lose our job. A relationship falls apart. Someone dies. Our health takes a turn for the worse. In those times, we’re tempted to think God has abandoned us. But He hasn’t. The ancient prophet Jeremiah was in the same boat when he wrote the book of Lamentations. His country, Judah, endured an economic tailspin and was terrorized by a foreign enemy. He witnessed incredible inhumanities committed against his people. People were out of work and starving to death. Where did Jeremiah start? He told God how he felt. In Lamentations 3, Jeremiah says: “He [God] has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones. He has besieged and surrounded

“So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Luke 16:11-13 CEV) Faithful people are generous when they don’t have anything to give. Anybody can be generous when they have a surplus. I can be generous with my time when I’ve got a lot of extra time. I can be generous with my money when I’ve got a lot of extra money. I can be generous with my energy when I’ve got extra energy to spend. It’s when I don’t have enough time for me, I don’t have enough energy for me, I don’t have enough money for me, I don’t have enough talent for me that God says, “This is a test. I’m watching you to see if you are faithful. Will you be faithful, and will you trust me?”

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:15-17 NLT) The difference between faithful people and unfaithful people is unfaithful people give up at the first sign of difficulty. Faithful people keep on keeping on. Faithful people are determined. Faithful people are diligent. Faithful people are persistent. Faithful people don’t know how to quit. You know how a little acorn becomes an oak tree? An oak tree is just an acorn that refused to give up. I’m not that smart, but I do know one thing: It is always too soon to quit. You are never a failure until you quit, and it’s always too soon to quit. God uses tough times to test our persistence. When we started Saddleback, I preached the first sermon to one person: my wife. She thought it was too long. Thirty-one years

“God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another” (1 Peter 4:10 NLT) God uses my talents to test my unselfishness. You have to decide in life for whom or what you’re going to live. You’re either going to live a self-centered, miserly life or you’re going to live for something greater than yourself — the kingdom of God. Faithful people don’t live for themselves. They realize that the talents God gave them are not for their own benefit; they’re to make the world a better place. When God made you, He gave you all kinds of gifts, talents, and abilities. We call it your s.h.a.p.e.: your spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences. These five things make you you. And God made you you. There’s nobody like you in the whole world, and He wants you to be you for His glory. God shaped you to serve Him, and there’s only one way to do that: by serving other people. Faithful people realize that their tale

“Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones; whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest in large ones.” (Luke 16:10 GNT) God uses little things to test your integrity. We think it’s the big things in life that create a leader — no. The big crises in life reveal leadership, but leadership is not built in the big things of life. It’s built in the small things of life. That’s where integrity shows up — in the stuff that nobody sees, in the stuff behind the scenes. In the small, unseen, unspectacular choices of life where you do the right thing even though nobody’s ever going to see it. Faithfulness requires integrity, and God tests your integrity in the little things. In Luke 16:10 Jesus says, “Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones; whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest in large ones” (GNT). He’s saying your public blessing is determined by your private integrity. Every time a politician has a

“The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”  (2 Chronicles 16:9a NLT) The Bible tells us three things about the importance of faith. 1) God is looking for faithful people. God is physically, visibly, actively, taking the initiative to look for faithful people that He can bless. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him” (NLT). This has been one of my life verses, and I’ve learned that if you make yourself usable, God will wear you out. If you get blessable, He will bless your socks off! (That’s why I don’t wear socks.) God is looking for faithful people that He can use. 2) Faithful people are hard to find. The Bible says in Proverbs 20:6, “Everyone talks about how faithful he is, but just try to find someone who really is!” (GNT) A lot of people talk the talk, but they don’t really trust God.

“I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless — like chasing the wind. What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered.” (Ecclesiastes 1:14-15 NLT) The third result of sin is the area of your emotions. Sin causes emotional distress and disappointment. Solomon writes a lot about this in Ecclesiastes: “I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless — like chasing the wind. What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered” (Ecclesiastes 1:14-15 NLT). Solomon is saying that, as a human being, it seems pointless, because we cannot change the past and we cannot control the future. All the stuff that we’ve done wrong, we can’t undo. All the stuff that was done wrong to us, we can’t undo. And, we can’t control the future. Most of the important things in your life you have no control over. The world cannot be fixed by human effort alone. Can we go out and do good in th