Daily Hope Devotional

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that … they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady”   (Romans 5:3-4 TLB). When we go through difficulties in life, the first thing we try to do is blame somebody else. But it doesn’t matter where your problem came from — God still has a purpose for it in your life. Even when you do stupid things, God can use it. Even when other people hurt you intentionally, He can use it. Even when the devil plans bad things for your life, God can bring good out of it. God’s purpose is greater than your problems and your pain. God has a plan! You need to look past the temporary pain and look instead at the long-term benefit in your life. Romans 5:3-4 says, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that … they help us learn to be pat...

Trouble is a part of life. You will have difficulties! Jesus told us so in John 16:33 : “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (NIV). In Acts 27, Paul set sail for Rome with other prisoners, and they faced great difficulties on their journey because the winds were against them. Paul warned the men on one leg of their voyage that if they set sail, they would be caught in a major storm and the results would be disastrous. They decided to sail anyway, making three common mistakes that are the same mistakes we tend to make that get us into trouble. We listen to bad advice.  “[They] followed the advice of the pilot” (Acts 27:11b). God had already said not to do it, and Paul warned them not to do it. But because the “expert” said it was OK, they did it. If God tells you to do one thing and all the experts in the world tell you to do something else, don’t listen to the experts. Listen to what God says. We fol...

“Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, He remains faithful to us and will help us … and He will always carry out His promises to us”   (2 Timothy  2:13  TLB). When our dream is delayed, it causes us to forget many things. We tend to forget our dream. We forget what God has done in our lives and His goodness to us in the past. We tend to forget that God is with us. We forget God’s power. This was the fourth mistake that the Israelites made in the wilderness:  “They forgot the many times [God] showed them His love, and they rebelled against the Almighty at the Red Sea. But He saved them, as He had promised, in order to show His great power. But they quickly forgot what He had done and acted without waiting for His advice”   (Psalm 106:7b-8, 13 (GNT). It’s unbelievable how short their memory was! In Egypt, God sent 10 plagues on the Egyptians just to rescue His people, and the children of Israel forget it...

When you go through the delays in life, don’t get discouraged. Don’t lose heart. Don’t give up! The Israelites did, and it kept them out of the Promised Land. Numbers 14:2-4 says,  “All the Israelites grumbled against Moses … ‘If only we had died in Egypt! …. We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt”   (NIV). They gave up on their dream. They had been rescued after 400 years of slavery but then wanted to go back because they were being delayed. Like the Israelites, some people would rather live in slavery than face the fear of freedom. They are not willing to push through and work on the problem until they get it right. They want to give up. They settle for mediocrity in life. Don’t settle for less than God’s best for your life. If that means going through a tunnel of conflict, take the tunnel. In the middle of the tunnel, it will be dark, and you will want to run back to the light. But you’ve got to keep going until you come out on t...

When you pursue God’s dream for your life, you’re going to run into delays. God uses those waiting periods to prepare you and test you so that you can face whatever is coming in the next phase of your faith. Most of us tend to worry when we are delayed. We get stressed out. We complain. We become uptight. The Israelites, when God delayed their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, reacted the same way:  “On the way the people lost their patience and spoke against God and Moses. They complained”   (Numbers 21:4b-5a GNT). The Israelites’ complaining and fretting were the sins that kept them out of the Promised Land. No matter what God did for them, they found something to gripe about. They had no water, so God provided water. Then they had no food, but when God provided food, they complained about the food they got. It’s easy to gripe when we’re forced to wait, isn’t it? We don’t mind waiting if we can complain about it. Proverbs 19:2 says,...

“Do you remember how the Lord led you through the wilderness for all those forty years, humbling you and testing you to find out how you would respond, and whether or not you would really obey Him?”   (Deuteronomy 8:2 TLB) Dreams are never fulfilled immediately. There’s always a waiting period. Abraham had the dream of being the father of a great nation, and he waited 90 years before he was even told he was going to have a son. Noah had the dream of building an ark, but it took him 120 years. The Israelites were brought out of Egypt and then wandered around for 40 years before they went into the Promised Land, yet it’s only about a two-week walk between Egypt and Israel. Just like the Israelites, sometimes we are delayed by design. God uses delays to prepare us. Every dream has difficulties. God uses delays to get us ready for those difficulties. God knew that if the Israelites went to war unprepared, they wouldn’t be able to handle it, so H...

“If you are … unable to make up your mind and undecided in all you do, you must not think that you will receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:7-8 GNT) In Dr. Seuss’ poem, “The Zode in the Road,” a young Zode comes to a fork in the road and spends quite some time trying to decide which place to go to. He thinks about the possibility that one place may be too hot and the other too cool or one too high and the other too low. After scratching his head in indecision, the Zode finally decides to play it safe and “start off for both places at once!” And that meant the Zode got nowhere. What decision do you need to make? I implore you do something great with your life for Jesus’ sake. Don’t be a Zode. Don’t waste your life. Don’t live in mediocrity. Don’t just exist! Make the decisions that will determine your destiny. There are four life-changing decisions that every person has to make: To commit your life to Christ and be...