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Written by Chuck Swindoll, a contemporary evangelical pastor, author, educator, and radio preacher.

Paul, the brilliant, competent, gifted, strong leader honestly admits, “I don’t have everything wired.” Vulnerability includes more than this, however. Vulnerability means being willing to express personal needs, admitting one’s limitations or failures, having a teachable spirit, and especially being reluctant to appear the expert, the one with all the answers, the final voice of authority. Not only are these traits refreshing—they’re rare! If you’re the type of individual who needs to be right or always have the last word . . . if you must receive constant words of appreciation to bolster your self-perception, then you need to learn a lesson from Paul. Rest in the fact that you’ll never be perfect. The One who made you and calls you, forms His “perfection” in you. How? When you daily surrender to His will.

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. [Philippians 3:12-14]

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Written by Billy Graham (1939-2018), an American evangelist, minister, and civil rights activist.

Peace with God and the peace of God in a man’s heart and the joy of fellowship with Christ have in themselves a beneficial effect upon the body and mind and will lead to the development and preservation of physical and mental power. Thus, Christ promotes the best interest of the body and mind as well as of the spirit—in addition to inward peace, the development of spiritual life, the joy and fellowship with Christ, and the new strength that come with being born again. There are certain special privileges that only the true Christian can enjoy. There is, for example, the privilege of having divine wisdom and guidance continually.

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. [James 1:5]

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Written by Oswald Chambers (1874-1917), a Scottish Baptist evangelist and teacher.

Isn’t it humiliating to be told that we must come to Jesus? As long as we have even the tiniest bit of spiritual rebellion inside of us, we long for God to ask us to do something grand and important. Instead, he tells us to do something infinitely simple: “Come.” Think of all the things you won’t come to the Lord about. If you want to know how spiritually real you are, test yourself with these words: “Come to me.” In every degree to which you are not real, you will argue rather than come; you will go through sorrow rather than come; you will do anything rather than present yourself, just as you are, to your Lord. “Come to me.” When you hear these words, you know that a change must happen inside you before you will come. The Holy Spirit will show you what you have to do. He will show you that you must take an axe to the thing that is preventing you from getting through to the Lord. You will never get any further until you do. The Holy Spirit will locate the one unmovable thing in you, but he won’t budge it unless you let him. How often have you come to God with your requests and had the feeling that you’d achieved your goal, only to come away with nothing? And yet all the time, God has stood with outstretched hands, not only to take you but so that you will take him. Think of the invincible, unconquerable, untiring patience of Jesus as he says, “Come to me.”t your heavenly Father will achieve.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [Matthew 11:28]

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This devotion is from InTouch Ministries, a teaching ministry founded by Dr. Charles Stanley.

Have you ever felt backed into a corner, with the odds stacked against you? In situations like that, Christians often fail to acknowledge an important truth: that God may actually be orchestrating their challenging circumstances. You may think,No way. God protects me from such things. But maybe, just maybe, God is trying to tell you something—and He first needs to get your attention. Time and again in Scripture, we see that God uses difficulties to build faith. It’s easy to trust Him when things go our way. However, He often removes comforts and false securities from our life to remind us that He alone is the source of our strength…When the odds aren’t in your favor, don’t think that God has abandoned you. Stand your ground and stay focused on Him. You’ll be amazed at what your heavenly Father will achieve.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. [Romans 8:28]

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Written by Vance Havner (1901-1986), a revivalist preacher and author.

Remember that faith is not a strange sensation that comes over you in rare moments, a magic thrill from something in the minister’s voice, a mystic trance to be reached once in a while, then lost for weeks or years. It is a sturdy confidence that God will keep His promises, confidence enough to walk out on them and live there, although the world expects them to crack and crumble under you any day.

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? [Numbers 23:19]

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Written by J. R. Miller (1840-1912), a Christian author, pastor, and editorial superintendent of the Presbyterian Board of Publication.

No prayer should be spoken more often by us than this prayer of David: “Keep the door of my lips.” There is nothing in all of life to which most of us give less attention than to our words. We let them fly from our lips as the leaves fly from the trees when the autumn winds blow. Many people seem to think that words are not important. They watch their acts, their conduct, and then give full license to their tongues. This is not right. A true Christian should have a Christian tongue.

Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. [Psalm 141:3]

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Written by Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), 16^th President of the United States.

I have been driven many times to my knees in the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for that day. If the Lord did not answer my prayer I could not stand it. And if I did not believe in a God who works His will with nations, I should despair of the republic.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the se, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. [James 1:5-8]. no fear, but fear is driven out by perfect love [1 John 4:18]

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Written by Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932-1966), a Dutch priest, professor, writer, and theologian.  This is an excerpt from his work “Clowning in Rome.”

In solitude…fear and anger can slowly be unmasked as manifestations of a false self, and in solitude they can lose their power in the embrace of God’s love…In solitude we can gradually be led to the truth that we are who God made us to be. Therefore, solitude is a place of conversion. That we are converted from people who want to show each other what we have and what we can do into people who raise our open and empty hands to God in the recognition that all we are is a free gift from God. Thus, in solitude we encounter not only God but also our true self. In fact, it is precisely in the light of God’s presence that we can see who we really are.

In love there can be no fear, but fear is driven out by perfect love [1 John 4:18]

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Written by Dietrich Bonhoffer (1906-1945), a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, and anti-Nazi dissident.  This is an excerpt from his book “The Cost of Discipleship.”

The first disciples lived in the bodily presence and communion of Jesus. In what manner is that communion and fellowship still possible for us today? St. Paul tells us that we are made members of the Body of Christ through baptism. But this is such a difficult statement that it requires elucidation. It means that although Jesus has died and risen again, the baptized can still live in his bodily presence and enjoy communion with him. So far from impoverishing them his departure brings a new gift. The disciples enjoyed exactly the same bodily communion as is available for us today, nay rather, our communion with him is richer and more assured than it was for them, for the communion and presence which we have is that of the glorified Lord. Our faith must be aware of the greatness of this gift. The Body of Christ is the ground and assurance of that faith. It is the one and perfect gift whereby we become partakers of salvation. It is indeed newness of life. In the Body of Christ we are caught up into eternity by the act of God.

For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. [1 Corinthians 12:13]

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Written by Terri Savelle Foy, a contemporary writer.

Years ago, when I was faced with the most difficult time in my life, the last thing I wanted to do was express gratitude. For what? I thought. I have nothing to be thankful for! Nothing. My life is falling apart. My marriage is falling apart. I have no peace. I’m miserable! Those were my dominant thoughts.  I desperately needed a turnaround. One day, I heard a minister say, “Stop looking at everything you’ve lost in your life and start looking at everything you have left. And start thanking God for it.”  It was late one evening when I walked into my kitchen and with tears pouring down my cheeks, I forced myself to lift my hands and say, “Thank You, Father, for…” I had to pause and think. What do I have to be thankful for? Surely there was one thing. And then it dawned on me. “Thank You, Father, for my precious little redheaded girl sleeping upstairs. I prayed for a baby after losing one, and then you gave me the very desire of my heart, Lord.” I walked around the kitchen, and another thought came to me. “Thank You, Father, for my best friend. She knows everything I’m going through and she still loves me, encourages me, and believes in me.” And I persisted, “Thank You, Lord, for my job. I am so grateful I didn’t lose my job with all this turmoil going on in my life.” The laps around the kitchen continued. “Thank You, Jesus, for this house I live in. I’m so grateful I get to live here.”   Each time I voiced my gratitude, the sadness felt like it physically lifted off me. The misery would fade. And joy would be released in my heart. It was a tangible feeling of breathing lighter and experiencing greater peace.

Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.    [Philippians 4:6]

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