Your Daily Prayer

Election Day carries a weight that can feel overwhelming — especially when discouragement over past elections, concern about outside influence on outcomes, and the sheer volume of political messaging make it tempting to disengage entirely. But for Christians, withdrawing our voice only creates space for outcomes that grieve the heart of God. Our votes are one of the ways we can let our convictions as believers shape the direction of the nation and its future generations.

Proverbs 16:33 anchors the whole conversation in an important truth: the lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. That does not remove our responsibility to vote thoughtfully and faithfully — it grounds our participation in the confidence that God is sovereign over every outcome. President Calvin Coolidge once wrote that voters should approach the ballot box in the spirit they would approach a sacrament, making their choices solely in the light of their own conscience. That is the invitation of this episode: to approach voting not as a partisan exercise or a reaction to political advertising and peer pressure, but as an act of worship and faithfulness. Five biblical principles provide a framework for that preparation — studying God’s Word to discern His voice, honoring God in every decision, supporting the value of life, seeking justice for all, and standing for the freedom that God gives to every person. When we prepare our hearts this way, the voting booth becomes less about political allegiance and more about faithfully reflecting what God has already spoken.

Bible Verse

“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”
— Proverbs 16:33, NIV

Ponder Today

• God is sovereign over every election outcome — and that is both a comfort and a call to faithfulness. Our responsibility is to vote thoughtfully, grounded in Scripture and conscience. The results belong to Him.
• Withdrawing our voice does not protect us from outcomes — it contributes to them. Discouragement over past election issues is understandable, but withholding our votes only creates space for what we do not support. Faithful participation matters.
• Studying God’s Word is the most important preparation for voting well. When our hearts and minds are tuned to Scripture, we are better equipped to discern what is right and true — and to recognize the difference between God’s voice and political persuasion.
• Voting in the light of conscience, not pressure, is a sacred act. Calvin Coolidge’s counsel to approach the ballot box as a sacrament remains worth considering. Our votes should reflect our deepest convictions, not the most recent advertisement or social pressure.
• Biblical principles — life, justice, freedom, honoring God — provide a framework for faithful voting. When we filter the issues before us through these lenses, the choices become less about party and more about reflecting God’s heart for people and nations.

A Prayer for You Today

Dear Father, as I go to vote on Election Day, lead and guide me in choosing which individuals to vote for and how to vote on the various issues and policies presented to me. Help me to study and know Your Word so that I know Your voice when I hear it and it directs my voting. Embolden me to honor You with my votes, choosing in ways that please You. Strengthen my heart to uphold the importance of valuing life. Give me a heart that seeks justice for all — both the weak and the strong — and open my eyes to see what is right and wrong, true and false, good and evil. Help me to stand for righteousness and the freedom You give to each life on earth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Most of us know what it is to have a mind worn out from turning an issue over a million times — praying and weighing options, making lists, brainstorming, and still finding only closed doors. Proverbs 3:5-6 is a passage many of us learn early, but its weight tends to land differently in adulthood when the stakes are real. Solomon wrote it as a father to his son, knowing his son would be walking into an unpredictable future. The word “lean” carries particular weight: lean not on your own understanding means do not put even a little of your weight on it — not the way you rest a hand lightly on a surface, but the way you would lean on a stair rail expecting it to hold you. Our own understanding simply will not hold when the path ahead is foggy and the news is hard. What God is asking of us in those moments is not that we know the way. He is asking us to know Him. He rarely reveals the whole path in advance — perhaps because we could not handle even the knowledge of what lies ahead. But He promises to make the path straight. That is what we can lean on fully.

If you could use some words to pray through closed doors, I wrote Praying Through Life's Battles: 90 Days to Strengthen Your Faith for you. You can order it now at https://battleprayers.com/. Until next time, remember, God sees you, hears you, and He knows your needs.

Bible Verse

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
— Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV

Ponder Today

• Knowing what is coming does not always make it easier to receive. Preparation softens some things, but it cannot remove the weight of sitting through a hard moment and hearing the news made real. God meets us in that exact place.
• “Lean not on your own understanding” means not even a little. The image is not of lightly resting a hand on something uncertain. It is of not putting any weight on it at all — because our own understanding will not hold us when the path ahead is unclear.
• God is not asking us to know the way — He is asking us to know Him. When the fog rolls in and the path disappears, the invitation is not to figure it out faster or try harder. It is to deepen our relationship with the One who does know the way and has promised to make it straight.
• God rarely reveals the whole path in advance — and that may be a mercy. We are often not equipped to handle the full knowledge of what lies ahead. He reveals what we need, when we need it, and that is enough.
• Our own understanding will not hold us up when the hard moment comes — only God can do that. All the calculations and determinations we make in advance have their limits. Leaning fully on God is not a last resort. It is the only foundation that actually holds.

A Prayer for You Today

Heavenly Father, I have turned this issue over in my mind a million times, and I am tired of trying to figure out what comes next. I confess that I have been leaning on my own understanding, and it is wearing me out. Thank You for not requiring me to figure it all out. You have asked me to trust You with all my heart, and I want to do that today. Even when the news does not surprise me, it still hurts. Thank You that I can grieve the pain of an ending and yet trust You for the road ahead. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Family gatherings are some of the richest places for hearing stories — and when multiple generations come together, those stories become a living testimony to the faithfulness of God across time. A grandparent’s prayer answered after many years. A teenager met with exactly the encouragement needed in a crisis. A family member who broke a long cycle of unhealthy behavior through God’s restoring work. A reconciliation that seemed impossible. These are not small things. They are the mighty acts, wonderful works, and glorious splendor that Psalm 145 calls every generation to tell the next.

God’s faithfulness does not begin with us and it does not end with us. He was present and at work long before we arrived, and He will continue long after our earthly lives are over. When we listen to the stories of those who came before us, we discover a God who was just as close and just as faithful to them as He is to us today. And when we share our own stories with the generation coming after us, we build bridges for them to find hope in the same God. The holiday season and family gatherings offer a particular and valuable opportunity for exactly this kind of storytelling — not just as a pleasant tradition, but as an act of faithful worship. One generation commending God’s works to another, together telling a story too large for any one life to contain, weaving individual threads into a masterpiece that spans all of history.

Bible Verse

“One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.”
— Psalm 145:4, NIV

Ponder Today

• God’s story is bigger than any one generation’s experience of it. His faithfulness before we were born and after we are gone is part of the same continuous work. Hearing the stories of those who came before us expands our understanding of who He is.
• Family storytelling is an act of worship. When we share how God came through for us, we are doing exactly what Psalm 145 calls the generations to do — commending His works so that others can find hope and inspiration in the same God.
• Every generation has a unique angle on God’s faithfulness. Seniors carry lessons learned over decades. Younger adults carry fresh evidence of answered prayer. Children carry the simple, uncluttered experience of God’s love. Together, the picture is richer than any one perspective alone.
• God is big enough to rule the universe and close enough to care about the details. The same God who parted the Red Sea is the One who met a teenager with exactly the encouragement needed in a crisis. Both are worthy of telling, and both belong in the family story.
• We are called to be faithful storytellers for the generations coming after us. The people who told us about God’s goodness helped us find our way to Him. The stories we share now are building the same bridge for someone else.

A Prayer for You Today

Dear God, I am in awe of how big Your story really is, across generations and throughout history. Sometimes I get so caught up in my own little corner of the world that I forget You have been faithful for many years before I was born and will be faithful for many years after my earthly life is over. Thank You for the wonderful ways You never stop showing up in our lives to guide us, encourage us, and meet our needs. Help me discover Your wonderful work every day — in my own life and in the lives of my family members. Help me to be a faithful storyteller. Give me the words to share Your mighty acts, glorious splendor, and wonderful works with the people in my life. Let them see through my stories that You are just as powerful and loving today as You have always been. Thank You for weaving our lives together into a masterpiece that spans all of time. Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Martin Luther understood darkness before he understood light. A thunderstorm in 1505 drove him to his knees with a desperate bargain to God, and that crisis became a conversion. But even after committing his life to serving God, Luther felt perpetually undeserving. No amount of effort, confession, or self-affliction seemed adequate to justify him before a holy God — until Romans 1:17 broke open everything. The just shall live by faith.

That single revelation, received through the study of God’s Word, unlocked what no amount of striving could produce. And what Luther did with that light is one of history’s most remarkable stories of one person’s obedience changing the world — translating the Bible into German, making God’s Word accessible to ordinary people, helping usher in the Reformation and the birth of the Protestant Church. He was only one man. But he let the light shine, and countless lives were transformed as a result. Reformation Day is a reminder that the same calling belongs to each of us — not to be remarkable in the world’s eyes, but to be courageous enough to let God’s light shine through us into whatever darkness surrounds us.

Bible Verse

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
— Matthew 5:16, NIV

Ponder Today

• We are called to let God’s light shine through us — not to generate our own. The source is God. Our role is not to manufacture brightness but to remove whatever is blocking His light from shining through us into the world around us.
• Salvation comes through faith, not through the accumulation of enough righteous deeds. Luther’s breakthrough in Romans 1:17 is the same truth that sets every striving, self-afflicting believer free. The just shall live by faith — not by performance, not by effort, not by doing enough.
• One person, fully surrendered to God’s light, can change the world. Luther was one man who translated a Bible and nailed a document to a door. The Reformation followed. Our sphere may be smaller, but the principle is the same — faithfulness to the light we carry has ripple effects we cannot see.
• Courage to let the light shine sometimes means risking reputation. Luther stood before emperors and princes and refused to recant. Most of us will not face that kind of test, but every believer faces smaller versions of it — moments where shining God’s light costs us something.
• God’s Word is the instrument through which light breaks through darkness. It was Scripture that opened Luther’s eyes. It is still Scripture that transforms lives today. Making God’s Word accessible and sharing it faithfully is one of the most powerful things we can do.

A Prayer for You Today

Dear Father, help me today on Reformation Day and every day to let Your glorious light shine through me into a dark world. Strengthen and embolden me as You did Martin Luther, to be courageous enough to risk my reputation if necessary to share Your gracious gift of salvation with a lost world. Remove all hindrances that keep me from proclaiming that the just shall live by faith. Fill me with the power and fullness of Your Holy Spirit so that I might go out into a lost world as a beacon shining brightly to all I meet. Shine Your light through me from this very moment on, in everything I do, so that You, O Lord, might be glorified. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

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Sign up for our free newsletter, The Good Word, for weekly biblical wisdom and encouragement delivered right to your inbox. Join our community today: https://www.lifeaudio.com/thegoodword/

Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Four months out from scoliosis surgery, one month before a son’s wedding, and nowhere near where recovery was supposed to be by now. The vision of dancing the night away in joyful celebration had quietly given way to the reality of significant physical limitation. And the question that settled in underneath the disappointment was a familiar and honest one: what good could possibly come from this?

Joseph’s answer to that question, spoken to the brothers who had sold him into slavery and left him for dead, is one of the most stunning declarations of God’s sovereignty in all of Scripture. After years in a pit, in prison, falsely accused, and forgotten — he looked at the people who had meant him harm and said: you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish the saving of many lives. And then he asked the question that reframes everything: am I in the place of God? He was not asking rhetorically. He was acknowledging something profound — that every place he had been, including the pit and the prison, was precisely where God had him. He was always in the place of God. That perspective did not make the suffering lighter while it was happening. But it produced a peace in the process that would have been impossible without it. That same perspective is available in every disappointing, uncomfortable, and confusing season — not because we can always see the purpose, but because we know the One who holds it. Whether the good is for us now, for us later, or for someone else entirely, it is always good. We are always in the place of God.

If you enjoy this episode, check out Keri's latest book,Win Over Worry: Conquer What Shakes You and Soar With the One Who Overcomes. You can find it on Amazon or your favorite online retail site.

Bible Verse

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
— Genesis 50:20, NIV

Ponder Today

• We are always in the place of God — in the pit, in the prison, and in the unexpected limitation. Joseph’s declaration was not that his suffering was good, but that God had purposeful placement in every single location his life took him. That same truth extends to every season we find ourselves in.
• God’s good purpose does not always reveal itself in the moment. Joseph could not have seen from the pit what God was building toward. The good was real, but it was not yet visible. The same is likely true of circumstances that currently feel purposeless or disappointing.
• Holding onto truth written down and kept in plain sight is a practical act of faith. In a long season of recovery and disappointment, having Joseph’s words visible daily made a tangible difference. What we keep before our eyes shapes what we are able to believe in hard moments.
• Whether the good is for us now, for us later, or for someone else entirely, it is all for good. Romans 8:28 and Genesis 50:20 together paint a picture of a God whose redemptive purposes extend beyond our individual timeline and touch lives we may never know about.
• Godly perspective in suffering produces peace in the process. Joseph did not wait until the reunion with his brothers to find peace. The perspective that God had good purposes shaped how he endured every season before the resolution came.

A Prayer for You Today

Lord God, You are the author of all good things, and everything You are doing in my life is leading toward Your good and perfect plan. But the truth is, it does not always seem good in the moment. My current circumstances often feel really uncomfortable, and I cannot imagine how they could be purposeful. But Your Word promises and reveals that You have a great purpose no matter where You have me — including this very moment, in my very situation, just as it is. Help me trust You in this season. Help me see Your goodness and light in the shadows of life. I know You never stop shining in and through each of my days, and I praise You for that. You are so faithful, so good, and I love You so much. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Standing in a kitchen on a normal Thursday morning, cordless phone in hand, ready to dial a familiar number — and then realizing, mid-reach, that Mom would not be picking up. She no longer lived on this planet. The sorrow of it washed over again, fresh and heavy. Heaven was certain, the reunion was coming, but time stood as a strong enemy between that moment and the promise. The distance between what had been and what would be felt like a thick darkness with no way to see through it.

Romans 8:24-25 holds something that is counterintuitive but deeply true: hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? We often think that if we could just catch a glimpse of God’s good plan, just see something on the horizon, then we would finally have hope. Paul tells us it works the other way around. Real hope is exactly the kind that cannot be seen yet. It is the kind that sits with you in the dark, in the ordinary breaks of everyday life, when what you are waiting for is something you cannot hurry or fix. And the sense we need most in that darkness is not a glimpse of the timeline. It is the sense of His presence. Jesus does not wait at the other end of the darkness with hope in hand. He stands right next to us in the kitchen, in the middle of the moment, reminding us that we are never alone. Waiting is not a sign that He has forgotten. Waiting is the very place where He shows up so we can come to know Him more deeply.

If you could use a boost to help your heart through challenges, pick up a copy of Praying Through Life's Battles: 90 Days to Strengthen Your Faith. Order it now at https://battleprayers.com/.

Bible Verse

“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
— Romans 8:25, NIV

Ponder Today

• Real hope is defined by what cannot yet be seen — not by what can. Paul’s logic is clear: if you already have it, you do not need hope. The kind of hope that carries us through darkness is the kind that holds on to what has not yet arrived.
• Waiting is not a sign that God has forgotten — it is where He shows up most deeply. The gap between what was and what will be is not empty. It is the very place where God meets us and makes Himself known in ways that easier seasons cannot produce.
• The sense we need most in the dark is the sense of His presence. Not a timeline, not proof of what lies ahead, not a glimpse of resolution — just the deep, settled knowing that Jesus is here and will never leave or forsake us.
• Hope is not off in the distance — it stands right next to us in the ordinary moments. It is not waiting at the end of the tunnel. It is present in the kitchen, in the break in the day, in the moment when grief arrives unexpectedly and reminds us of what we are still waiting for.
• Darkness does not mean hope has failed — it means hope is doing exactly what it was designed to do. Hope that only functions in the light is not the biblical kind. The hope Paul describes in Romans 8 is specifically made for the dark.

A Prayer for You Today

Heavenly Father, You understand the weight of this moment I am holding. Though heaven feels far away, You are with me in the everyday moments of life. I confess that in the darkness, all I want is to see — light on a timeline, proof of what lies ahead. When I cannot see that, I think hope has failed. But waiting is not a sign that You have forgotten me. Waiting is the very place where You have shown up so I can come to know You more deeply. Help me, Lord, to sense that You are here. I do not need all the answers today. I simply need to trust You in the dark and hold on to the hope You alone can offer. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Twenty years of motherhood brings a lot of reflection — on the laundry done and the meals prepared and the clean dishes and the fridge kept full, none of which earned applause. On the truths about Jesus taught, the prayers prayed over specific situations, the devotionals sometimes squeezed in and sometimes missed. On the quiet, persistent work of raising children that happens largely without an audience and without anyone keeping score. The role of serving a family can feel unseen, unnoticed, and unimportant — and yet it is some of the most significant work a person can do.

John 13 offers one of the most striking pictures of what this kind of service looks like in the kingdom of God. Jesus, knowing His time on earth was ending, got up from the table during the last meal with His disciples, wrapped a towel around His waist, and washed their feet — one of the lowest jobs a servant could perform. He was their teacher and their Lord. No one expected this of Him. He did it anyway. Then He explained: I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. He saw a need and filled a need, without waiting for someone else to do it and without using His status as a reason to opt out. That is the picture of how families can function in the kingdom of God — noticing the unseen needs, meeting them without being asked, serving when no one is watching, and understanding that when we do it with our whole hearts, even the most mundane household task becomes an act of worship offered to the Lord.

Bible Verse

“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
— Joshua 24:15, NIV

Ponder Today

• Serving the unseen needs of a home is some of the most significant work available to us. No one may keep track of the laundry or the clean dishes or the patient teaching, but God sees every act of faithful service offered within the walls of a home.
• Jesus modeled servant leadership by doing the lowest job in the room without being asked. He did not use His status as a reason to opt out. He saw a need, He filled it, and then He told His disciples to do the same. That example belongs in our homes.
• Serving when no one is watching is one of the most formative things we can teach our children. Recognizing a need and meeting it before being asked, doing a job that is not technically yours, putting someone else first — these habits are shaped by what children observe, not just what they are told.
• Even mundane household chores can become acts of worship. Colossians 3:23 does not limit wholehearted work to impressive or visible tasks. Whatever we do — for our families, in our homes — can be done as if doing it for the Lord.
• When we fall short, God fills the gaps. Perfect parenting and perfect service are not the standard. Faithful showing up, honest repentance when we get it wrong, and trusting God to work in the spaces where we fell short — that is the grace available to every imperfect servant in every imperfect home.

A Prayer for You Today

Lord, thank You for our home and for every soul who lives in it. We long to honor You, serve You, and shine Your light within our walls. Help each member of our family to recognize the needs around them — the ones easily seen and the ones hidden — and to take ownership of their responsibilities while also striving to help one another. Help us to serve in love, valuing others above ourselves and not looking to our own interests first. Help us recognize that even mundane household chores can be acts of worship that glorify Your name. Help us notice what needs to be done and do it, even when no one is watching. And when we act selfishly or put our own interests above everything else, humble us. I long for my home to be one of grace and humility. Teach us to serve one another joyfully, knowing that when we serve our family, we are also serving You. Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Just days before a son’s wedding, tears finally broke through and with them an honest cry to God: I do not want to let go. The son had found his person, and that was genuinely good. But the home that had been built and loved and found comfort in was changing — and knowing something is right does not always make it feel easy. The heart was broken even while the mind knew it should be full of joy.

That tension is one most of us recognize. We acknowledge, somewhere beneath the pain, that if we could only trust God more — if we could truly believe that His goodness is real and His plan is genuinely good — the peace and joy we are grasping for might actually arrive. Jeremiah 17:7 holds the promise plainly: blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. But how do we get there? How do we actually deepen trust that feels thin in the middle of something hard? The answer is not a single breakthrough moment. It is daily dependence — morning declarations of surrender and gratitude, seeking God’s presence one day at a time, watching His faithfulness surface in the seeking. As trust deepens, so does peace. As trust deepens, so does joy. God does not require us to negotiate or bargain before His goodness shows up. He will come through. Surely goodness and love will follow us all the days of our lives — not because we performed well enough to earn it, but because He is who He says He is.

If you like today's devotional, you will love Keri's latest book,Win Over Worry: Conquer What Shakes You and Soar With the One Who Overcomes. Get it wherever books are sold.

Bible Verse

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.”
— Jeremiah 17:7, NIV

Ponder Today

• Knowing something is right does not always make it feel easy — and that tension is worth bringing to God. Grief over a good change is still grief. God is not asking us to skip the honest emotion. He is inviting us to pour it out to Him and trust Him with what comes after.
• Deeper trust is not achieved in a single breakthrough — it is built through daily dependence. Morning declarations of surrender, ongoing gratitude, the daily practice of seeking God’s presence — these are what produce the trust that holds in hard seasons.
• As we seek God more, we see His goodness more. The connection between seeking and seeing is not incidental. Trust grows as evidence of faithfulness accumulates — and faithfulness reveals itself to those who are actively looking for it.
• We do not need to negotiate with God before His goodness arrives. He will come through. He blesses those whose confidence is in Him — not because they earned it through sufficient surrender, but because that is simply who He is and what He does.
• Surely goodness and love will follow us all the days of our lives. Psalm 23:6 is not a conditional promise. It is a declaration of God’s character that extends through every kind of season, including the ones that hurt the most.

A Prayer for You Today

Father God, You are full of abundant goodness. I know this because Your trustworthy Word says so and because I have seen evidence of it throughout my life. Yet right now, there are circumstances surrounding me that hurt and are extremely hard. I long to deepen my trust in the truth of Your goodness so I can experience Your peace and joy. Show me the good around me today, remind me that there is even more to come, and help me lean on Your Word and promises with greater confidence. I know You bless those whose confidence is in You, and I want that to be more true of me every day. Thank You for Your faithfulness that always follows me and for Your love that never leaves me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Leaving a lamp on in another room at night — just that small glow — makes a difference. Without it, familiar sounds become suspicious, familiar shapes lose their edges, and the room that is perfectly known in daylight feels suddenly uncertain. Darkness does something to our perception. It makes us imagine what might be lurking that we cannot see.

Spiritual and emotional darkness does the same thing. When life becomes difficult or painful, our imaginations fill in the gaps with what might go wrong, what may never change, and what the days ahead will look like when we cannot see them clearly. That is exactly why Micah 7:8 is so worth pausing on — not for what it promises about the future, but for the specific tense of its declaration. Micah does not say “though I once sat in darkness.” He says “though I sit in darkness.” The difficulty has not yet lifted. The way forward is not yet clear. And in that present-tense darkness, he declares: the Lord will be my light. Micah’s hope does not depend on immediate change in his circumstances. It rests entirely in the character and presence of God. When the darkness does not lift as quickly as we hoped, God gives us more than a distant promise that light will come someday. He gives us Himself — His presence as protection, as guidance, as spiritual security. One small next step. One truth or promise recalled. One person brought alongside. That small glow is enough to remind us that the darkness cannot overwhelm us.

Bible Verse

“Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.”
— Micah 7:8, NIV

Ponder Today

• Micah’s hope is present-tense, not past-tense. He is not writing from the other side of the darkness, looking back with relief. He is writing from inside it, declaring God’s light while still sitting in the dark. That is the kind of hope available to us right now, in exactly the situation we are in.
• Darkness distorts our perception of what is true. In the same way that physical darkness makes familiar spaces feel uncertain, spiritual and emotional darkness makes us question what we know about God’s goodness, presence, and faithfulness. That is when His Word becomes an anchor.
• God gives us more than a future promise — He gives us His presence now. When circumstances do not change as quickly as we hoped, God does not leave us with a distant assurance. He meets us in the darkness itself, offering protection, guidance, and security in the present moment.
• The darkness cannot hide you from God — or God from you. That is one of the most steadying truths available in a dark season. He sees exactly where you are. His light reaches places our eyes cannot.
• Ask for one small next step, not the whole road. The request does not have to be for the darkness to be completely removed. It can be for one truth remembered, one person sent, one step illuminated. God meets that kind of humble, specific request.

A Prayer for You Today

Lord God, You see the darkness around me and the darkness within me. You know the places where I feel afraid, discouraged, confused, or weary. You know the prayers I have prayed for a long time and the questions that remain unanswered. When life feels dark, I struggle to hope. When I cannot see what You are doing, I sometimes wonder whether You are there at all. Help me to trust in Your words as spoken by Micah: though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. Be my light where I cannot see the way forward. Be my hope where I feel disappointed. Be my strength where I feel too tired to keep going. Be my protection when I am afraid. Remind me that darkness does not hide me from You, nor does it hide You from me. You are my light and my salvation. In You I place my trust. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

From ghost hunting reality shows to social media posts about psychic powers and manifestation, paranormal practices have never been more mainstream or more casually presented as harmless entertainment. And the temptations are understandable — curiosity about the future, grief over someone who has died, the thrill of the supernatural. These are real human experiences, and they can make the forbidden doorways seem appealing.

Deuteronomy 18:10-12 sets clear and firm boundaries, presenting a list of practices God describes as detestable. At first glance, the list may feel extreme or inapplicable — most of us are not casting spells or consulting mediums. But God is not offering a comprehensive inventory of specific acts. He is issuing a warning: go directly to Him, not to anyone or anything else, for the spiritual answers you are seeking. Only He has the power to give what we truly need, and only He is trustworthy enough to always use that power for our good. When we turn to tarot cards, manifestation through spiritual energies separate from God, or anything that presents itself as spiritually helpful but operates outside of Him — even when it sounds holy — we are essentially stepping outside of His protection and opening ourselves to influences that do not have our best interests at heart. Evil spirits are real, and spiritual warfare is happening. God’s “no” to paranormal practices is not the prohibition of a cosmic killjoy. It is the protection of a loving Father who knows these things are counterfeits — offering a false sense of control while actually trying to keep us stuck. His door is wide open. He is inviting us in through the proper place.

Bible Verse

“Let no one be found among you who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.”
— Deuteronomy 18:10-11, NIV

Ponder Today

• There is a thin line between curiosity and spiritual danger. Innocent-seeming interest in paranormal practices can open doors that are genuinely harmful. God’s warning in Deuteronomy is not about being restrictive — it is about protecting us from what we cannot fully see.
• God is not offering a comprehensive list — He is redirecting us to Himself. The principle behind Deuteronomy 18 is that He alone is the trustworthy source of spiritual answers. When we look elsewhere, we are essentially saying His provision and timing are not enough.
• Paranormal practices are counterfeits, not harmless alternatives. They offer a false sense of control while actually trying to control us. What presents itself as enlightening access to the spiritual world is often a back door that bypasses God’s protection entirely.
• Evil spirits are real and spiritual warfare is happening. Stepping outside of God’s protection, even unintentionally, opens us to influences that do not have our best interests in mind. Awareness of this reality is not fear-mongering — it is spiritual wisdom.
• God’s grace is bigger than any involvement in paranormal practices. Confession, repentance, and renunciation of past involvement are met with forgiveness and cleansing. No mistake closes the door that God holds open. His grace and His discernment are available to everyone who comes back through the right door.

A Prayer for You Today

Dear God, thank You for Your wonderful love that leads You to protect me, even from dangerous things I am not fully aware of in my life. Please forgive me for the times I have let curiosity tempt me to try paranormal practices You have forbidden. I confess that I have sometimes looked to other sources instead of to You for the spiritual answers I am seeking. Right now, in the name of Jesus, I renounce any involvement I have had with any dangerous spiritual practices and close every door I opened to evil spirits, intentionally or unintentionally. Please cleanse my soul and my home from any lingering influence. I choose to trust You completely with my future. Help me discern the difference between Your truth and the lies coming at me in this fallen world. Guide me and protect me every single day and night of my life. Thank You, God. Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Self-pity might feel satisfying in the moment, but it never delivers what it promises — and nothing halts a walk with God quite like staying in it too long. Proverbs 11:25 points in the opposite direction: the generous person will prosper, and whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Humility and service do not just benefit others. They do something in the soul of the person who practices them, fueling the kind of revival that self-focus can never produce.

Jesus is the model. His life was marked by peace, joy, and contentment — not because He insisted on being served, but because He came to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. Philippians 2 describes the posture that produced the world’s greatest revival: He made Himself nothing, took the nature of a servant, humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross. God the Father used that life to turn the world upside down. A.W. Tozer’s observation cuts through to the heart of why personal revival so often stalls: in every believer’s heart there is a cross and a throne, and we remain on the throne until we willingly place ourselves on the cross. We want to be saved, but we want Christ to do all the dying. No cross for us, no dethronement, no dying. But Christ must reign supreme if revival is to happen in our hearts. The prayer that opens the door is not a prayer for more blessing or more comfort. It is a simpler and more costly one: Lord, let me do the dying.

Bible Verse

“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”
— Proverbs 11:25, NIV

Ponder Today

• Nothing halts a walk with God like self-pity — and nothing fuels it like humility and service. The direction of our focus determines the direction of our spiritual health. Turning outward, toward others and toward God, is what opens the conditions for genuine revival.
• Jesus modeled the posture that produces revival: making Himself nothing and taking the nature of a servant. His life was not marked by self-assertion but by self-giving, and God the Father used it to turn the world upside down. That same pattern is available to every believer.
• In every believer’s heart there is a cross and a throne — and we choose which one to occupy. Tozer’s observation is as relevant today as ever. Revival begins not when we pray more impressive prayers but when we willingly step off the throne and place ourselves on the cross.
• We want to be saved, but we want Christ to do all the dying. That honest diagnosis of the human heart is where revival conversations have to start. Comfort, control, and the desire to remain king of our own small kingdom are what keep us spiritually sterile.
• Christ must reign supreme if revival is to happen — and that requires our decrease. John 3:30 is the prayer of a revived heart: He must increase, and I must decrease. The life that steps aside for Christ to take center stage is the life that becomes something worth watching.

A Prayer for You Today

Dear Heavenly Father, You are the maker of heaven and earth, over every throne and dominion. We ask that You take Your rightful place in our hearts and minds. Give us a clearer picture of who You are so that we can serve and love You better. Lord, we ask that You would increase and we would decrease. Take center stage in the life You have given us. Grow the fruit of the Spirit in our lives so that we can be more loving, joyful, peaceable, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. Apart from You we can do nothing, but with You we can do all things. Please help our lives to reflect You. Revive us so we can rejoice in You again. We love You. We need You. Please help us to be the people You want us to be. Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Mary Oliver’s question cuts through the noise of ordinary days with surprising force: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” It is the kind of question that either energizes or unsettles us, depending on the season we are in. And in seasons of heartache, loss, and hardship, it can feel almost cruel — because the blur of suffering makes it hard to believe that our lives matter at all, let alone that we are capable of acting as agents of meaningful change.

Ecclesiastes begins in exactly that territory. Wisdom, pleasure, and work are all described as chasing the wind. The wise and the fool, the rich and the poor, will all die with the same fate. From a purely natural standpoint, everything ends — so what does any of it matter? But Ecclesiastes does not leave us there. Solomon turns our attention to God, and the conclusion is not nihilism but worship: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. With God, nothing is meaningless. The diligent work on a worthy task, the pursuit of godly wisdom, the choice to act justly — all of it is seen and known by the God who will bring every deed into judgment. And the longing to matter is not a symptom of existential crisis. It is built in. We were made to know God and glorify Him, and Scripture tells us that He prepared good works for us to do before we were even born. We are His masterpieces. That truth does not exempt us from suffering or confusion, but it does mean that what we do with the life He has given us means far more than we imagine.

Bible Verse

“Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
— Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, NIV

Ponder Today

• The longing to matter is not meaningless — it is built in. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us God has set eternity in the human heart. The ache for significance is not an existential crisis to be managed. It is a design feature pointing us toward the God who gives our lives their true meaning.
• With God, nothing is meaningless — not even the small, mundane tasks no one notices. Ecclesiastes reorients us from the visible and celebrated to the God who sees every deed, including every hidden thing. What we do in His strength and for His glory matters, whether or not anyone else is watching.
• Seasons of suffering have a way of making meaning feel inaccessible. The blur of loss and hardship can strip our sense of purpose and leave us going through the motions. That is exactly when Ecclesiastes’ conclusion is most necessary to return to: God is the reason we are alive.
• We are God’s masterpieces, created for good works He prepared in advance. Ephesians 2:10 places our purpose not in our own ambitions or visible achievements, but in the specific, God-prepared works that only we — placed in this time and this place — can do.
• What we do with the life God has given us means more than we imagine. Mary Oliver’s question is not just poetic. It is theological. The answer we live out, day by day, in faithfulness and in trust, matters eternally.

A Prayer for You Today

Lord, these days I often feel untethered from anything greater. I go through the motions of routine and necessity, but something inside me yearns to know that what I do has meaning. Guide my steps as I begin to walk with renewed purpose today. I do not know what the future holds or what obstacles I may face, but I trust that You will be with me. What I do for Your glory and in Your strength matters, even the small and mundane tasks no one notices. Focus my eyes on eternity so that as I move through this day, I remember that each moment is filled with meaning. There is a reason You placed me in this time and place. May I not waste it but steward it well. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Over coffee with a friend, venting about the same old struggle — the tongue that runs ahead of wisdom, the familiar conviction of the Holy Spirit arriving within minutes of the conversation, the apology that now has to happen again. Not just frustration over the specific incident, but the deeper and more discouraging question underneath it: why can’t I just get it right for once? The friend listened, then reached across the table and said something worth holding onto: God’s grace is not dependent on what you do or do not do.

Romans 7:15 is one of Paul’s most honest and most relatable confessions: I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do. This is a man who wrote much of the New Testament, who planted churches and endured beatings and wrote about the love of God with breathtaking eloquence — and still found himself wrestling with the same internal war that every believer knows. The title given to this passage in many Bibles is simply “Struggling with Sin,” which is exactly what it describes. Through Christ we are freed from sin’s penalty. The Holy Spirit helps free us from sin’s power. And one day, in eternity, we will be freed from sin’s presence entirely. But this side of heaven, the struggle is real and ongoing — even for the most faithful among us. The mark of a believer is not flawlessness but faithfulness: acknowledging the failure quickly, repenting genuinely, receiving grace, and continuing to grow. Where sin increases, grace increases all the more.

Bible Verse

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do.”
— Romans 7:15, NIV

Ponder Today

• The internal war against sin is not a sign of weak faith — it is the experience of every genuine believer. Paul’s confession in Romans 7 does not describe a spiritually immature person. It describes the honest reality of life in a fallen world for those who are genuinely trying to follow Christ.
• God’s grace is not dependent on what you do or do not do. This is one of the most liberating truths available to a believer who keeps falling short. Grace does not wait for a sufficient track record before it shows up. It meets us where we are, every time.
• The mark of a believer is faithfulness, not flawlessness. Only one person has ever lived a sinless life. For the rest of us, the standard is not perfection but the pattern of acknowledging failure quickly, repenting genuinely, and pressing forward.
• Progress in sanctification is real even when it feels slow. Delayed responses, tempered words, growing awareness — these are evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work, even when the improvement feels frustratingly gradual. Sanctification is a lifelong process, not a single breakthrough.
• Where sin increases, grace increases all the more. Romans 5:20 is not a license to sin carelessly. It is an anchor for the person who keeps coming back to God after falling short, assuring them that His grace is never exhausted by their need for it.

A Prayer for You Today

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son to die for us sinners. We are so undeserving, yet from the beginning of time You have made a way for Your children to return to You. Help me in my weakness. Give me the strength to fight the war that wages within me, to die to myself daily and take up my cross to follow You. Lord, when I fall short, lead me quickly to confession and repentance, and help me remember that You are a God whose grace meets me where I am, whose love is unending, and whose mercy never fails. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The beginning of 2022 felt like everything was finally falling into place — a writing job that had only been a dream, a church community, a relationship after years of waiting. And then, by fall of that same year, all of it was gone. The job ended. The relationship ended. The bottom fell out. And the honest, painful question surfaced: why would God allow these things only to take them away?

What followed was a season of barely making it financially, praying over every bill, watching God provide sometimes within hours of the need. And in the middle of that stripped-down season, something unexpected happened: God revealed the entitlement and idols that had quietly taken root. The hope that should have been in God alone had been quietly relocated — into a job, into a relationship, into circumstances that felt like evidence of His blessing. God was allowing a life to be wrecked in order to save it. Philippians 2:14 calls us to do all things without complaining and disputing — but that kind of heart is not manufactured through willpower. It is cultivated through the slow, deliberate practice of giving thanks for everything: every freelance assignment that came in, every moment with a friend, every second with the Savior. A playlist created during that season became a monument to God’s kindness and faithfulness. The question that changed the frame of the whole season was a simple one: what do I want to remember about this season when I look back on it? The answer was worship and thanksgiving. That answer became a choice, and the choice became a reality.

Bible Verse

“Do all things without complaining and disputing.”
— Philippians 2:14, NKJV

Ponder Today

• God sometimes allows a life to be wrecked in order to save it. What feels like loss or harsh removal may actually be God clearing out what was quietly displacing Him — entitlement, pride, misplaced hope — before it did deeper damage.
• Misplaced hope is one of the most common and least recognizable forms of idolatry. When our hope quietly relocates from God into circumstances — a job, a relationship, a season going well — we have drifted without necessarily noticing. Loss has a way of revealing what was actually holding us up.
• Gratitude is cultivated through practice, not feeling. Giving thanks for every freelance job, every moment with a friend, every second with God — these deliberate acts of acknowledgment over time build the grateful heart that Philippians 2:14 assumes.
• The question “what do I want to remember about this season?” is a reorienting one. Deciding in the middle of a hard season what story we want to tell when we look back on it gives us agency over our posture — and can shift the whole experience from endurance into worship.
• Everything we have is a gift — we did nothing to deserve any of it. That is not a discouraging thought. It is a freeing one. When we hold our lives as belonging to God rather than earned by us, the ground beneath our gratitude becomes unshakable.

A Prayer for You Today

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for being a good Father. Thank You for everything You have allowed us to have and to hold. Thank You for the breath in our lungs and the beats in our hearts. Thank You for loving us, for dying for us, and for being with us in the good times and the bad without ever forsaking us. Lord, we do not deserve to even speak to You, yet You say You bend Your ear to listen. Please give us hearts of worship and thanksgiving. Help the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to You. We love You. Please make us more like You. Amen.

The beginning of 2022 felt like everything was finally falling into place — a writing job that had only been a dream, a church community, a relationship after years of waiting. And then, by fall of that same year, all of it was gone. The job ended. The relationship ended. The bottom fell out. And the honest, painful question surfaced: why would God allow these things only to take them away?

What followed was a season of barely making it financially, praying over every bill, watching God provide sometimes within hours of the need. And in the middle of that stripped-down season, something unexpected happened: God revealed the entitlement and idols that had quietly taken root. The hope that should have been in God alone had been quietly relocated — into a job, into a relationship, into circumstances that felt like evidence of His blessing. God was allowing a life to be wrecked in order to save it. Philippians 2:14 calls us to do all things without complaining and disputing — but that kind of heart is not manufactured through willpower. It is cultivated through the slow, deliberate practice of giving thanks for everything: every freelance assignment that came in, every moment with a friend, every second with the Savior. A playlist created during that season became a monument to God’s kindness and faithfulness. The question that changed the frame of the whole season was a simple one: what do I want to remember about this season when I look back on it? The answer was worship and thanksgiving. That answer became a choice, and the choice became a reality.

Bible Verse

“Do all things without complaining and disputing.”
— Philippians 2:14, NKJV

Ponder Today

• God sometimes allows a life to be wrecked in order to save it. What feels like loss or harsh removal may actually be God clearing out what was quietly displacing Him — entitlement, pride, misplaced hope — before it did deeper damage.
• Misplaced hope is one of the most common and least recognizable forms of idolatry. When our hope quietly relocates from God into circumstances — a job, a relationship, a season going well — we have drifted without necessarily noticing. Loss has a way of revealing what was actually holding us up.
• Gratitude is cultivated through practice, not feeling. Giving thanks for every freelance job, every moment with a friend, every second with God — these deliberate acts of acknowledgment over time build the grateful heart that Philippians 2:14 assumes.
• The question “what do I want to remember about this season?” is a reorienting one. Deciding in the middle of a hard season what story we want to tell when we look back on it gives us agency over our posture — and can shift the whole experience from endurance into worship.
• Everything we have is a gift — we did nothing to deserve any of it. That is not a discouraging thought. It is a freeing one. When we hold our lives as belonging to God rather than earned by us, the ground beneath our gratitude becomes unshakable.

A Prayer for You Today

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for being a good Father. Thank You for everything You have allowed us to have and to hold. Thank You for the breath in our lungs and the beats in our hearts. Thank You for loving us, for dying for us, and for being with us in the good times and the bad without ever forsaking us. Lord, we do not deserve to even speak to You, yet You say You bend Your ear to listen. Please give us hearts of worship and thanksgiving. Help the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to You. We love You. Please make us more like You. Amen.

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Sign up for our free newsletter, The Good Word, for weekly biblical wisdom and encouragement delivered right to your inbox. Join our community today: https://www.lifeaudio.com/thegoodword/

Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

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Sign up for our free newsletter, The Good Word, for weekly biblical wisdom and encouragement delivered right to your inbox. Join our community today: https://www.lifeaudio.com/thegoodword/

Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

When life becomes most difficult, the instinct for many of us is to turn away from God rather than toward Him. We tell ourselves we can handle it, or we feel too far from Him to reach out, or the distance that has grown between us and Him feels too wide to cross. But Psalm 34:4 is the testimony of someone who crossed exactly that distance and found that God was already there: I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.

Living with a health crisis and an undiagnosed autoimmune illness that only grew harder to bear — feeling closer to death than ever before, watching others live seemingly full and healthy lives, growing further from God with every passing week — until one dark night when the only thing left to do was talk to Him honestly. Pouring out the fears, the terror about what a future with a chronic illness would look like, the grief over a life that would never be what was expected. And in that vulnerable, unpolished prayer, something shifted. Seeking God out is not always dramatic. Sometimes it is a single prayer on a hard night that begins the return. David wrote Psalm 34 while pretending to be insane before a foreign king, afraid for his life — and still found solace in the Lord. That same God is not far from any of us. He can be sought through Scripture, prayer, worship, a devotional, a sermon, a conversation with a spiritual mentor. Seek Him with your whole heart today, and you will find Him.

Bible Verse

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
— Psalm 34:4, NIV

Ponder Today

• Turning away from God in hard seasons is common — returning to Him is what matters. Joel 2:13 calls us back, and God is always ready to receive us when we come. What matters is not how long we have been away but that we come back.
• God is not far from any of us — seeking Him is the first step toward finding Him. Acts 17:27 assures us of His nearness. The distance we feel from God in dark seasons is not a reflection of His location. He has not moved. He is waiting to be sought.
• Feelings are unreliable guides — what we know about God is what steadies us. Emotions shift constantly, especially in seasons of fear, grief, or chronic pain. Choosing to rely on what we know rather than how we feel is an act of faith that God honors.
• Scripture is God’s primary means of communicating with us — daily reading deepens the relationship. Seeking God is not only a posture of the heart. It has a practical shape: opening the Bible, praying, worshipping, listening to teaching, talking with a spiritual mentor.
• God delivers us from our fears not always by removing them but by meeting us in them. David was still in danger when he wrote Psalm 34. God’s deliverance was not escape from the situation — it was His presence and peace within it. The same is available to us.

A Prayer for You Today

Dear God, I am choosing to seek You out today. I have turned away from You for too long. Turn my eyes and my heart to You always. I do not want to live in the shadow of my doubts, but rather in the freedom of Your love. Help me to rely on what I know rather than how I feel. My feelings change so much and are not always reliable. I trust in You to deliver me from all my fears. I will seek You out always, God. In Your Son’s name, Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

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Sin has been described as man’s declaration of independence against God — and that definition cuts straight to the heart of what went wrong with King Uzziah. Second Chronicles 26:15 records that he was greatly helped by the Lord until he became powerful. And then, at the peak of his success, he stopped depending on the One who had made it all possible. He issued his own declaration of independence, and everything unraveled from there.

The drift away from dependence on God rarely happens all at once. It happens bit by bit, subtly enough that we often do not recognize it until the effects have accumulated. An aversion to prayer and God’s Word, an avoidance of fellow believers, time once spent with God quietly devoted to other pursuits — these are the early signs of a soul that has been slowly covering over what it does not want to acknowledge. Like Adam and Eve hiding in the garden after the Fall, we tend to go quiet before God precisely when we need His presence most. But God is patient. He does not want anyone to perish but to come to repentance, and He uses even the most sinful messengers — Isaiah, who called himself a man of unclean lips, was used mightily. The spiritual disciplines that may have been forsaken — prayer, Scripture, Christian fellowship — are not punishments to be endured but pathways back to the love and healthy fear of God that make genuine dependence possible. A declaration of dependence, spoken and lived, is what sets the course for a life that obeys God not out of obligation but out of love.

Bible Verse

“His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.”
— 2 Chronicles 26:15, NIV

Ponder Today

• Sin is a declaration of independence against God — and it always costs more than we anticipated. Uzziah’s story is a warning about what happens when success produces self-sufficiency. The very help that brought him to greatness was the help he stopped seeking when he felt he no longer needed it.
• Spiritual drift is subtle and accumulative — we rarely see it happening until effects have built up. A skipped prayer here, a neglected Scripture there, a gradual preference for other pursuits — none of it feels dramatic in the moment, but the cumulative distance is real.
• Avoidance of God and other believers is one of the clearest signs of unaddressed sin. Like Adam and Eve hiding in the garden, we tend to go quiet before God and withdraw from community precisely when we need both the most.
• Repentance is the path back, not performance. The spiritual disciplines that were forsaken — prayer, Bible reading, fellowship — are not punishments to earn our way back. They are the means by which love for God is rekindled and dependence is restored.
• A declaration of dependence sets the standard for a life of genuine obedience. Not obeying because we should, but because we want to, out of love and devotion to the God who has never stopped knowing what is best for us.

A Prayer for You Today

Lord, today we seek forgiveness for trying to do things on our own, and we turn back fully to You and Your ways. A new declaration of dependence is what we speak and choose to live by. You know what is best for us, even when we do not understand. We trust You thoroughly and depend fully upon You. In Your holy name, Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

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An annual autumn road trip through the mountains, timed perfectly the first year — vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows painting every hillside, photos capturing what felt like a peak moment. And then the exact same week the following year: bare branches, rain-soaked leaves on the ground, the season already gone. An unexpected storm the week before had stripped the trees, and the peak colors had come and went without anyone there to witness them. The disappointment was real, and so was the lesson: seasons can change in an instant, and presence in the moment we are actually in is not something we can afford to take for granted.

Psalm 65:8 holds a phrase worth pausing on — from where morning dawns to where evening fades, God calls forth songs of joy. David was not writing about ideal circumstances or perfect seasons. He was writing about the full arc of each day, from first light to last, as a continuous occasion for praise. Much like the changing seasons, we have no idea what each new day will bring. Some seasons are vibrant and full, and others arrive unexpectedly bare. Ready or not, we enter seasons we did not plan for. The invitation is not to rush ahead to whatever comes next, but to look for what brings joy between the morning dawn and the evening fade — right here, in the season we are actually in. God has something specific for us where we are, and it is worth slowing down long enough to receive it.

Bible Verse

“The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.”
— Psalm 65:8, NIV

Ponder Today

• Seasons change faster than we expect, and presence is the only way to receive what they offer. The peak colors come and go. The window of each season is finite. What we miss while rushing ahead or looking behind cannot always be recovered.
• From morning dawn to evening fade, every day holds reasons for joy. Psalm 65:8 does not reserve songs of joy for the exceptional days. It invites them throughout the full arc of every ordinary one, because God is present in all of it.
• We enter seasons we did not plan for — and God meets us there. Barrenness and uncertainty are not signs that God has withdrawn. They are invitations to look more carefully for the evidence of His faithfulness that is still present even in stripped-down seasons.
• Gratitude is what opens our eyes to what is actually around us. Looking around with thankfulness — rather than comparison to a previous season or anticipation of the next one — is what produces the awareness of what God is doing right now.
• It is never too late to allow God to restore the joy of His presence in your current season. Whatever has been missed, whatever season rushed past without full attention, God can restore what was lost and meet us fully in what is here now.

A Prayer for You Today

Dear God, thank You for Your Word that encourages me to find joy in the season I am in. Sometimes I rush from one thing to the next and look back to realize I have missed out on so much. Help me be present right now, in the season You have me in. Even in times of difficulty or uncertainty, I know I can find reason to rejoice because You are here with me. Open my eyes to the beauty all around me, Lord. Thank You for showing me evidence of Your power through the awesomeness of creation and Your constant care for Your children. Let this season and the beauty it brings remind me of Your faithfulness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Growing up with only four books — a dictionary, two language dictionaries, and Grimms’ Fairy Tales — could have been a limitation. Instead, it became the foundation for a love of learning that was then passed down to the next generation. When those four books are all you have, you learn to use them deeply, and that depth produces curiosity, bilingualism, and a mind that never stops asking questions. The lesson was not about having access to everything. It was about remaining open and eager to grow with whatever is in front of you.

Proverbs 19:8 frames lifelong learning as an act of love: the one who gets wisdom loves life, and the one who cherishes understanding will prosper. Stagnation sets in when we fall into one of two traps — believing we already know everything, or believing we no longer need to learn anything new. Both lead to the same place: a life that stops growing. But the opportunities to learn are everywhere, every day, in the classroom or outside it — navigating a new route, understanding a neighbor from a different culture, growing in a professional skill, or going deeper in our walk with God. Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9-10 models exactly this kind of posture: continually asking God to fill us with the knowledge of His will, all the wisdom and understanding the Spirit gives, so that we may live lives worthy of the Lord and bear fruit in every good work. God wants to be asked for wisdom. He will bless our efforts and increase our knowledge through the Holy Spirit.

Bible Verse

“The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.”
— Proverbs 19:8, NIV

Ponder Today

• Lifelong learners never believe they have reached the endpoint of their growth. The moment we decide we already know everything or no longer need to learn is the moment growth stops. Staying open is itself a discipline worth cultivating.
• Seeking wisdom is an act of love for the life God has given us. Proverbs 19:8 connects getting wisdom to loving life. A posture of curiosity, openness, and eagerness to grow reflects a genuine appreciation for the life and world God has made.
• Learning opportunities exist every day outside of formal settings. A conversation with a neighbor from another culture, a new challenge at work, a different route home — every day presents invitations to grow that we will miss if we are not paying attention.
• Criticism received well is an opportunity to grow, not a threat to defend against. A learner’s mindset reframes feedback as information rather than attack. What we do with correction reveals a great deal about whether we are genuinely committed to growth.
• God wants to be asked for wisdom — and He will provide it through the Holy Spirit. Colossians 1:9-10 models a prayer for continual growth in the knowledge of God’s will. Inviting Him into our learning is not just a spiritual practice — it is the most direct path to genuine wisdom.

A Prayer for You Today

Dear God, please help me increase my knowledge every day. I have fallen into a rut that makes it difficult to learn anything new — either I think I already know everything, or I am too unmotivated to try. Change this type of thinking within me. Help me to strive after knowledge and wisdom in all things. I cannot cultivate a lifelong learner mindset apart from You, and I trust You to make this change in my life. Bless me with all wisdom and understanding to grow in You. Please give me opportunities to learn more and to cultivate growth. I praise You, God. In Your Son’s name, Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

God cares deeply about how those in authority treat the people under their care. The parable of the landowner in Matthew 20 models a boss who is strikingly generous — paying workers hired at the end of the day the same wage as those who worked from morning, extending a grace that went beyond what anyone could demand or expect. It is a picture of leadership shaped not by the bottom line but by a heart toward people, and it reflects something God takes seriously: how bosses treat their workers matters to Him, and He holds those in authority responsible for how they exercise it.

Praying for our bosses is one of the most practical and often overlooked forms of intercession available to us. It means asking God to give them wisdom and discernment, a humble heart that is genuinely open to hearing their employees, and the courage to do what is right even when it conflicts with pressure from above or current business trends. Not every boss who makes a difficult or confusing decision is acting with bad intent — some are genuinely uncertain, following instructions from their own leadership, and in need of God’s clarity and direction. Scripture is the anchor in those moments, alive and active and capable of cutting through error, manipulation, and deception to reveal what is actually true. Praying for the people who lead us — that they would look to God’s Word, choose integrity over convenience, and lead in a way that is right before Him — is an act of faith that trusts God’s sovereign oversight over every workplace and every authority He has placed in our lives.

Bible Verse

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.”
— Matthew 20:1, NIV

Ponder Today

• God holds those in authority responsible for how they treat the people under their care. Leadership is not a position exempt from God’s scrutiny. He cares about fairness, generosity, honesty, and integrity in the workplace, and He is watching how it is practiced.
• Praying for our bosses is one of the most practical acts of intercession available to us. Rather than only responding to difficult leadership with frustration or resignation, we can bring those in authority before God and ask Him to lead, correct, and shape them.
• Not every difficult or confusing directive from a boss comes from bad intent. Some leaders are genuinely uncertain, following their own chain of command, and in need of God’s wisdom. Extending grace and praying for their discernment honors both God and the relationship.
• God’s Word is the anchor for discernment when we are unsure whether what we are being asked to do is right. Hebrews 4:12 describes it as alive, active, and capable of judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Scripture guides us through confusion and reveals truth in situations that feel murky.
• Doing what is right matters to God more than performance or sacrifice. Proverbs 21:3 makes this clear. Bosses who choose integrity even when it costs them something are operating in alignment with a God who never deviates from doing what is right.

A Prayer for You Today

Dear Father, thank You for my bosses and the authority You have given them in my life. Strengthen me to trust You as I work under their guidance, believing You are in control. Direct my bosses to look to You and Your Word for how to care for, direct, and watch over their workers. Help them to be generous, to keep their word, and to provide what is just. Speak to them about being open to hearing their employees when concerns are brought to them. Guide my bosses to what is right before You — and even if they do not know You personally, help them to choose to follow Your godly ways and principles. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

A garbage disposal that stopped working, then started again, then stopped again — two days of fussing with the fuse, and finally the discovery that the whole unit was rusted out and dripping from the bottom. In the grand scheme of things, a kitchen appliance. And yet the mind rushes immediately to all the questions: how much will this cost, why now, what a mess on top of an already full week. One broken thing, and peace starts to leak out right alongside the water.

Romans 8:5-6 names what is happening in those moments with precision: the mind governed by the flesh is fixed on what the flesh desires — the problem in front of it, the broken circumstances, the unexpected expense. But the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. Paul’s point comes down to mindset, and his news is remarkably good: we get to choose where we set our minds. We can have the same sink, the same leak, the same full schedule — and two different mindsets produce two entirely different experiences. The flesh locks our eyes on the broken thing. The Spirit lifts them to Christ, who sees the trouble as temporary and uses the moment to draw us into dependence on Him. The enemy knows this, which is why he works so hard to capture our focus with exactly the kind of small, nagging problems that are just big enough to hold our attention and just persistent enough to drain our peace. But the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the grave lives in us. Peace does not live under the kitchen sink. It lives in Jesus — and it thrives when we set our minds on Him.

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Bible Verse

“The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”
— Romans 8:6, NIV

Ponder Today

• Peace leaks out when we fix our minds on the broken things in front of us. The flesh keeps our eyes locked on circumstances. The Spirit lifts them to Christ. Same situation, different mindset, completely different experience.
• We are privileged to choose where we set our minds — and that is remarkably good news. Paul does not present mindset as something that happens to us. He presents it as a daily, active choice available to every believer through the power of the Spirit.
• The enemy would love for small, persistent problems to capture your attention. Not every battle is dramatic. Sometimes the attack is a broken appliance, an unexpected bill, or one frustrating thing on top of an already full week. The goal is the same — to move your focus off Christ and onto the problem.
• The mind fixed on problems is the mind void of peace. Dwelling on circumstances leads almost always to discouragement, then deflation, then defeat. Setting the mind on Christ means there is always hope available, regardless of what the circumstances look like.
• Your peace does not live in your circumstances — it lives in Jesus. The garbage disposal gets replaced. The schedule stays full. But peace that depends on external things is temporary. Peace rooted in Christ is available in every season, broken things and all.

A Prayer for You Today

Heavenly Father, peace can feel like something that drains away when problems come around. Whether it is a broken appliance or an unexpected bill, my mind quickly rushes to circumstances. Forgive me for living with my mind set on what is in front of me instead of on You. I have let broken things threaten to steal the peace You do not want me to lose. Lift my eyes to You. When my thoughts lock on a problem, remind me that You are bigger. Set my mind on the Spirit so that life and peace can grow in place of worry. You are steady and loving, and I praise You for this. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Discover more Christian podcasts at https://www.lifeaudio.com/ and inquire about advertising opportunities at https://www.lifeaudio.com/contact-us.