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Written by Mother Teresa (1910-1997], a Catholic nun, missionary, author, and founder of Missionaries of Charity in India. This is an excerpt from her book “Spread Love.”

When you feel lonely, when you feel unwanted, when you feel sick and forgotten, remember you are precious to Him. He loves you. And show that love for one another, for this is all that Jesus came to teach us. I never forgot the opportunity I had in visiting a home where they had all these old parents of sons and daughters who had just put them in an institution and forgotten them. I went there, and I saw in that home they had everything, beautiful things, but everybody was looking toward the door. And I did not see a single one with a smile on their face. And I turned to the sister and I said, “How is that? How is it that these people who have everything here, why are they all looking toward the door? Why are they not smiling?” I am so used to seeing smiles on our people; even the dying ones smile. She said, “This happens nearly every day. They are expecting, they are hoping that a son or a daughter will come to visit them.” They are hurt because they are forgotten. And see — this is where love comes. That poverty comes right into our own home, we even neglect to love. Maybe in our own family we have somebody who is feeling lonely, who is feeling sick, who is feeling worried, and these are difficult days for everybody. Are we there? Are we there to receive them?

 Even if a mother could forget her child, I will not forget you. I have carved you on the palm of my hand. [Isaiah 49:15–16]

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Written by Sarah Frazer, a contemporary writer.

There is something about waiting and being still that doesn’t seem productive. I struggle with the need to feel like I’m working all the time… As I study the Bible, I’ve seen over and over again that our God is not in a hurry… We get impatient waiting for God to intervene, though, don’t we? We want to see our prayers answered in ways and in the timing we desire. Sometimes, God’s timing seems unnecessarily long… We often get in a hurry because we want things right away or feel as if we have waited long enough. Our prayers feel like they are not even making a difference because we don’t see any change in our lives… Being productive is not one of the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:23-24. God does not ask us to just get things done. God is asking us to be still throughout our day, too. God asks us to trust Him. Remember that God is not in a hurry, and so He is asking us not to be either. 

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! [Psalm 37:7]

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Written by Bethny Ricks, a contemporary writer.  This is an excerpt from her book “Face Forward.”

We don’t need to wait for mountaintop moments to find God; he stands with us in the chaos, in the trenches, in the valleys. He walks alongside us as we walk on isolated dirt roads, as we sit in cob-webbed corners, and as we reflect on the memories of conquered or avoided mountains. He is present on both the well-trodden and the less-traveled paths, waiting for us in the in-between spaces. Success does not always resemble the envisioned finish line. Sometimes, winning means finding the courage to reach toward hope in simple ways. We do this by finding solace and strength in the small everyday moments that remind us of God’s presence and love. These simple acts, even when everything appears to be crumbling around us, offer profound reassurance and peace, propelling us forward, even when we may need to pivot or start over entirely. Amid all the advice, what often gets lost is the wisdom that points us back to center, back to faith, back to the assurance that God is in the fight with us, not a mere bystander.

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and Your staff protect and comfort me. [ Psalm 23:4]

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Written by the Lead Like Jesus team, an organization founded by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges that promotes a transformational leadership model based on following Jesus.

Scripture repeatedly calls us to trust God, and Jesus urges us to believe in who He is. God desires us to find life as He designed it to be lived. That life is found in Jesus, nothing more, nothing less. Those who were hopeless found hope when they encountered Jesus and took Him at His word. What impossibilities are you facing? Where do you need hope, wisdom, light, a way forward? Jesus calls you to trust Him, to rely on God and His character, to follow Him into the future.

Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant? Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God. [Isaiah 50:10]

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Written by Janice Mayo Mathers, a contemporary author and speaker. This is an excerpt from her book “Every Season.”

Father, let my life be a song to You! Each day let me proclaim the good news that You save. Le me tell Your glorious deeds to everyone, all the amazing things You do. In the same way, let my good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise You. Le me come close to You, God, so that you will come close to me. Purify my heart so that my loyalty will not be divided between You and the world. You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power. You created all things, and they exist because You created what You pleased. I will be sure to fear You and faithfully serve You as I think of all the wonderful things You have done for me. Amen.

Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. [Matthew 5:16]

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Written by Dallas Willard (1935-20213), an American philosopher, author and speaker, known for his writings and teachings on Christian spiritual formation.  This is an excerpt from his book “The Scandal of the Kingdom.”

The Parable of the Sower is one of the most important parables Jesus gave about the Kingdom of God because it answered the question, “Why doesn’t the Word — the logos — have the effect on people we might hope for?” It moves us to ask again why God doesn’t just change people. This does not reflect a lack of power on God’s part. In fact, if God wanted to turn me into a helicopter and fly me out the window, He could do it. Please understand that if God wanted to, He could have rewired every one of us to be faithful followers like Job, Hannah, and Daniel. This is not a question about what God can do; it is a question about what God will do. It is a question about the precise manner of how God chooses to interact with people to accomplish His purposes. It’s true that the God of all the earth can do anything He wants to do, but there are a lot of things He doesn’t want to do. If we’re going to work with God in the Kingdom of God, we have to find the ways He has chosen to work, and then work with Him in those ways. The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of love and understanding and maturity, where people live together under the governance of the most glorious Being in all of reality — God Himself. It will never be a Kingdom of people who are knocked on the head or rewired to become religious robots. It is a Kingdom of God’s creatures whom He made to learn and grow freely.

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. [Colossians 2:6–7]

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Written by Jennifer Woodruff Tait, a contemporary Episcopal priest, editor, and author.

When I was a young person, two different ideas were often set before me in terms of how we were supposed to bring others to the Gospel. One was the idea that what mattered was to convince people to believe rightly, no matter how much harm we might cause in the process; this would lead them to behave rightly. The other was the idea that all that mattered was behaving rightly, and that our behavior would convince others to believe even if we never spoke about the Gospel. For the record, I think both believing and behaving are important. But I think—based on these and other passages—that calling people to Jesus starts with behaving kindly to them far more often than we tend to think. As the church, let’s get a head start on being “pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.” That’s quite enough to get started with. It would transform society if we did it.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. [James 3:13]

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Written by Mark Roberts, a contemporary author. 

We are to reflect God’s glory into the dark world around us. As we communicate God’s truth, as we reach out with God’s love, as we offer forgiveness and mercy, and as we live and speak and work differently, people will see God’s glory through us and be drawn to God. That is an essential element of our high calling as Christians. We’re to reflect God’s glory wherever we are, in every quarter of our world.

For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. [Isaiah 60:2-3]

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Written by Emma Danzey, a contemporary author.

Our help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. When we face unthinkable circumstances, when we feel small in life, or when we just want to understand Christ’s glory more, we remember to look up, that our help comes from Him always. He is the Maker of all things good. Heaven and earth are in His hands. When we are crying out to Him or feel overwhelmed at how great the need, but how little we can help, may we look to Him for help. When we forget to look up and want to look to anyone or anything else for help, may the HolySpirit redirect our wayward hearts to look up to the mountains and to our Maker. He offers perfect help. Not always in the ways that we would hope or imagine best, but He is trustworthy and has proven that He is and was and is to come. He is unchanging. He is Alpha and Omega. He is sovereign over all. He can work these hard things for good for those who love Him. He can take the gospel up the mountains to provide for physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of communities. He can work even in the most seemingly broken places. Where does our help come from? It comes from our Lord.

I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from?My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” [Psalm 121:1-2]

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Today’s devotion is from “The Weekly Rest Project,” published by Zondervan.

Our culture places a lot of emphasis on working hard, earning your place, and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, but a close reading of the Bible reveals a very different message. God doesn’t love you because you work harder than anyone else. You can’t earn your place in heaven through good works. And God certainly doesn’t determine your value by your use of your bootstraps — quite the opposite. After all, the Bible isn’t full of stories of independent go-getters who won accolades all on their own by working around the clock. No, the stories are of people who leaned on God to achieve great things by saying yes to Him and following His path, which includes good work, but also always includes rest. The Sabbath was the first day specifically set aside for something established by God. More holy days and holidays and feasts would come later, but the Sabbath has been with us since creation. It is one of God’s first gifts to us, a sacred time to give our bodies and minds a chance to recharge and anchor our weeks in rest and communion with Him. Resting regularly isn’t being lazy and doesn’t mean that we are shirking our responsibilities. It is simply accepting God’s generous gift. Building our lives around weekly rest is the first step in accepting the rhythm of life God laid out for us at the beginning, and it only brings us closer to Him.

On the seventh day — with the canvas of the cosmos completed — God paused from His labor and rested. Thus, God blessed day seven and made it special — an open time for pause and restoration, a sacred zone of Sabbath-keeping. [Genesis 2:2-3]

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