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 ...

“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 m...

“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 vin...

“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...

“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 y...

“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 ...

“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.  Remi...