Are you feeling ready to walk away from a relationship – are you possibly even considering divorce? We want to pray for you.

“I needed to hear that”, Kelly said with a catch in her voice. The layoff notice had come as a complete surprise. Anger and panic had welled up within her.
Sue had listened to her vent. Then she had spoken quietly and gently reminded Kelly that God knew of this turn of events. He would direct her through the unknown path. He could be counted on to guide her. He would give her wisdom. Kelly’s heart was comforted and strengthened. She was encouraged to go on and her heart softened at the reminder of God’s care.

God’s Word alerts us that in difficult times our hearts can go astray. They can become hardened and turn away from God.

We all know that wondering of “Where is God?” when something significant does not go as we had hoped or planned and life seems to tumble around us.

We live in a world that acknowledges God less and less. Often the choices of others affect us in hard ways. Politics at work, relationships with those we care about, finances, even health issues. We can feel alone and our faith can feel slippery as we walk.

When clouds gather in our lives we can begin to allow unbelief into our hearts. It’s very subtle and slips in. We pray less and our Bible sits unopened more. When we don’t understand God, unbelief creeps in. It can harden our hearts to the point where we tune out God even when He speaks to us. We can find rebellion creeping up on us if we are not monitoring our hearts. Listen to God’s words to us…

“See to it brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13).

God knows the tendency of our hearts toward unbelief. That’s why He counsels us in these matters. We need to be aware of keeping our hearts soft. God’s call to “Encourage one another daily…” helps build a reservoir within our own hearts … it helps keep our hearts soft.

It is easy to be deceived into thinking God doesn’t have our best interest at heart, especially when things don’t go well. We need to guard our hearts against unbelief and rebellion and know that, in those tough places, He is there to guide us through and teach us.

When you feel unbelief slipping into your soul and find rebellion nibbling around the edges of your heart, seek out spiritual encouragement. Walk and talk with a friend and be honest in sharing your need of prayer. Do a Bible study on a topic that grabs at your heart. Choose to spend some time with God and cry out to him from the depths of your soul telling Him all the things in your heart. Choose to turn toward Him. God will encourage you even when people aren’t there to. Choose to draw near to Him and ask Him to help your unbelief.

When we receive encouragement in our soul from God, we are then in a position to give encouragement. You cannot offer something you don’t possess.

Then, when you hear despair in the lives of those around you or in the emails of those writing to you, you will be equipped to encourage them with words from Scripture, or a gentle reminder of God’s everlasting love even when the road ahead is obscured.

It’s an amazing circle. Daily speaking of God’s care will not only encourage others and bring comfort, strength and hope…it will also encourage you and help keep your own heart soft and your faith strong.

It’s an amazing circle…”He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” ( Proverbs 11:25).

Pay attention to God’s warning against unbelief. Our faith in Jesus is our most valued treasure. If you loose it there is nothing of true value left. Guard against an unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. Turn to Him and ask Him to speak to you. Watch for those whose hearts are turning away and ask God to give you encouragement to share. It will build you up as you do.

Father God, I know the tendency of my own heart to grow hard around the edges with unbelief and even rebellion at times. I choose to draw near to You and ask that You would encourage my heart and help my unbelief. I need You to refresh my inner being and give me strength.

Encourage me through Your Word. Give me a greater desire to read it and to pour my heart out to you. Give me people in my life who will share with me the encouragement they receive from You. Help me to encourage others whose hearts are growing hard in difficult times. Daily be my source in everything I pray, in the name of Jesus, amen.

Questions: How does unbelief and rebellion start to take root in ones life?  How can you be ever ready to help those that are in despair around you?

Are you feeling ready to walk away from a relationship – are you possibly even considering divorce? We want to pray for you.

“I needed to hear that”, Kelly said with a catch in her voice. The layoff notice had come as a complete surprise. Anger and panic had welled up within her.
Sue had listened to her vent. Then she had spoken quietly and gently reminded Kelly that God knew of this turn of events. He would direct her through the unknown path. He could be counted on to guide her. He would give her wisdom. Kelly’s heart was comforted and strengthened. She was encouraged to go on and her heart softened at the reminder of God’s care.

God’s Word alerts us that in difficult times our hearts can go astray. They can become hardened and turn away from God.

We all know that wondering of “Where is God?” when something significant does not go as we had hoped or planned and life seems to tumble around us.

We live in a world that acknowledges God less and less. Often the choices of others affect us in hard ways. Politics at work, relationships with those we care about, finances, even health issues. We can feel alone and our faith can feel slippery as we walk.

When clouds gather in our lives we can begin to allow unbelief into our hearts. It’s very subtle and slips in. We pray less and our Bible sits unopened more. When we don’t understand God, unbelief creeps in. It can harden our hearts to the point where we tune out God even when He speaks to us. We can find rebellion creeping up on us if we are not monitoring our hearts. Listen to God’s words to us…

“See to it brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13).

God knows the tendency of our hearts toward unbelief. That’s why He counsels us in these matters. We need to be aware of keeping our hearts soft. God’s call to “Encourage one another daily…” helps build a reservoir within our own hearts … it helps keep our hearts soft.

It is easy to be deceived into thinking God doesn’t have our best interest at heart, especially when things don’t go well. We need to guard our hearts against unbelief and rebellion and know that, in those tough places, He is there to guide us through and teach us.

When you feel unbelief slipping into your soul and find rebellion nibbling around the edges of your heart, seek out spiritual encouragement. Walk and talk with a friend and be honest in sharing your need of prayer. Do a Bible study on a topic that grabs at your heart. Choose to spend some time with God and cry out to him from the depths of your soul telling Him all the things in your heart. Choose to turn toward Him. God will encourage you even when people aren’t there to. Choose to draw near to Him and ask Him to help your unbelief.

When we receive encouragement in our soul from God, we are then in a position to give encouragement. You cannot offer something you don’t possess.

Then, when you hear despair in the lives of those around you or in the emails of those writing to you, you will be equipped to encourage them with words from Scripture, or a gentle reminder of God’s everlasting love even when the road ahead is obscured.

It’s an amazing circle. Daily speaking of God’s care will not only encourage others and bring comfort, strength and hope…it will also encourage you and help keep your own heart soft and your faith strong.

It’s an amazing circle…”He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” ( Proverbs 11:25).

Pay attention to God’s warning against unbelief. Our faith in Jesus is our most valued treasure. If you loose it there is nothing of true value left. Guard against an unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. Turn to Him and ask Him to speak to you. Watch for those whose hearts are turning away and ask God to give you encouragement to share. It will build you up as you do.

Father God, I know the tendency of my own heart to grow hard around the edges with unbelief and even rebellion at times. I choose to draw near to You and ask that You would encourage my heart and help my unbelief. I need You to refresh my inner being and give me strength.

Encourage me through Your Word. Give me a greater desire to read it and to pour my heart out to you. Give me people in my life who will share with me the encouragement they receive from You. Help me to encourage others whose hearts are growing hard in difficult times. Daily be my source in everything I pray, in the name of Jesus, amen.

Questions: How does unbelief and rebellion start to take root in ones life?  How can you be ever ready to help those that are in despair around you?

About the Author Gail Rodgers

Confidently, I went with my parents and brother to the larger school where the spelling bee was being held. As we contestants stood on the stage before the crowd, I looked at the audience and felt a bit nervous.

After several other students spelled words, I was given my first word to spell. I will never forget it! It was “search”–and I esteemed it a simple word. So off I went: “S-E-A-C-H!”

It was wrong, of course. My face flushed and felt hot as I ignominiously descended from the platform. One word–and I had failed.  I failed myself, my teacher, my school, and my family who had felt sure I would be a winner.  How awful I felt that night! And how slowly I walked to school the next morning. I was a loser–big-time!

Have you ever made a big mistake? That’s a silly question, isn’t it? Let’s face it: we’re only human, and we all make mistakes, and some of them real whoppers. Some of our mistakes have been so wrong that they have perhaps hurt our lives and those of others. But we can’t take them back, any more than I could do a retake on S-E-A-R-C-H.

The truth is, the Bible says we all have “sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NIV).   That’s why Jesus Christ had to come to earth to pay the penalty for our sins, that we might be forgiven and reconciled to God. What can we do about our hurtful mistakes?

Accept Christ’s sacrifice. We can make sure that we have truly received Jesus as our Savior. This wipes the slate clean as far as God is concerned. If we err after we become Christians, we can repent and ask God’s forgiveness and determine not to repeat the error.

Accept God’s forgiveness. When we do this, He helps us know in our hearts that we are forgiven. He cleanses us of all unrighteousness, and this can give us a deep inner peace if we accept this fact.

Stop fretting about the mistakes. Worrying accomplishes nothing but to take away our joy in the Lord and our testimony. If there is something we can do about the results of our errors, we can allow the Lord to show us–and then do it. For instance, we may need to apologize to someone. We may need to humble ourselves in some way. It may cost us something; but it will be worth it. (See Matthew 5:23-48 for some guidelines.)

Get on with your life. Thanks to my parents who encouraged and comforted me, I got on with my life. Eventually I became a “dealer” in words: a writer, author, composer, speaker, and teacher.

We don’t need to wallow in the past. Hebrews 12:12 tells us to lift up our hands that hang down (in despondency) and our feeble knees, and make straight paths for ourselves. Verse 13 encourages us to live in peace with all and calls on us to be holy. Christ gives us a new life!

Questions: Are you still fretting about past mistakes? What does God want us to do about those mistakes? How does worrying effect one?

About the Author Muriel Larson

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, The Name of the Lord by Gail Rodgers, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30am EDT.

“I needed to hear that”, Kelly said with a catch in her voice. The layoff notice had come as a complete surprise. Anger and panic had welled up within her.

Sue had listened to her vent. Then she had spoken quietly and gently reminded Kelly that God knew of this turn of events. He would direct her through the unknown path. He could be counted on to guide her. He would give her wisdom. Kelly’s heart was comforted and strengthened. She was encouraged to go on and her heart softened at the reminder of God’s care.

God’s Word alerts us that in difficult times our hearts can go astray. They can become hardened and turn away from God.

We all know that wondering of “Where is God?” when something significant does not go as we had hoped or planned and life seems to tumble around us.

We live in a world that acknowledges God less and less. Often the choices of others affect us in hard ways. Politics at work, relationships with those we care about, finances, even health issues. We can feel alone and our faith can feel slippery as we walk.

When clouds gather in our lives we can begin to allow unbelief into our hearts. It’s very subtle and slips in. We pray less and our Bible sits unopened more. When we don’t understand God, unbelief creeps in. It can harden our hearts to the point where we tune out God even when He speaks to us. We can find rebellion creeping up on us if we are not monitoring our hearts. Listen to God’s words to us…

“See to it brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13).

God knows the tendency of our hearts toward unbelief. That’s why He counsels us in these matters. We need to be aware of keeping our hearts soft. God’s call to “Encourage one another daily…” helps build a reservoir within our own hearts … it helps keep our hearts soft.

It is easy to be deceived into thinking God doesn’t have our best interest at heart, especially when things don’t go well. We need to guard our hearts against unbelief and rebellion and know that, in those tough places, He is there to guide us through and teach us.

When you feel unbelief slipping into your soul and find rebellion nibbling around the edges of your heart, seek out spiritual encouragement. Walk and talk with a friend and be honest in sharing your need of prayer. Do a Bible study on a topic that grabs at your heart. Choose to spend some time with God and cry out to him from the depths of your soul telling Him all the things in your heart. Choose to turn toward Him. God will encourage you even when people aren’t there to. Choose to draw near to Him and ask Him to help your unbelief.

When we receive encouragement in our soul from God, we are then in a position to give encouragement. You cannot offer something you don’t possess.

Then, when you hear despair in the lives of those around you or in the emails of those writing to you, you will be equipped to encourage them with words from Scripture, or a gentle reminder of God’s everlasting love even when the road ahead is obscured.

It’s an amazing circle. Daily speaking of God’s care will not only encourage others and bring comfort, strength and hope…it will also encourage you and help keep your own heart soft and your faith strong.

It’s an amazing circle…”He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” ( Proverbs 11:25).

Pay attention to God’s warning against unbelief. Our faith in Jesus is our most valued treasure. If you loose it there is nothing of true value left. Guard against an unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. Turn to Him and ask Him to speak to you. Watch for those whose hearts are turning away and ask God to give you encouragement to share. It will build you up as you do.

Father God, I know the tendency of my own heart to grow hard around the edges with unbelief and even rebellion at times. I choose to draw near to You and ask that You would encourage my heart and help my unbelief. I need You to refresh my inner being and give me strength. Encourage me through Your Word. Give me a greater desire to read it and to pour my heart out to you. Give me people in my life who will share with me the encouragement they receive from You. Help me to encourage others whose hearts are growing hard in difficult times. Daily be my source in everything I pray, in the name of Jesus, amen.

Questions: How do you become aware of unbelief slipping into your life and rebellion starting to take root?  How can you be ever ready to help those that are in despair around you?

About the Author Gail Rodgers

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, The Risk of Obeying God, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30am EST.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1 NIV).

Read Psalm 136   http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20136;&version=31;

At a recent family reunion, we shared a special prayer time together. Since family members ranged in age from three to seventy-nine, we adapted our time to suit the three generations.

Before praying, we sang worship songs. Then we thanked God using Psalm 136 as a model for our own litany of thanks. This psalm, which features 26 verses telling the great things God did for the children of Israel, repeats the phrase, “His love endures forever” in every verse.

To prepare for our gathering, I had made colorful paper flags for the children to wave. On the flags I wrote, “His love endures forever.” Then during our prayer time, after each person thanked God, the children waved their banners and we all repeated, “His love endures forever.”

I didn’t count how many times we said that phrase, but the children seemed eager to express their thanks and wave their banners again and again. The youngest ones were jumping, spinning and having a great time. Sometimes they acted silly, but I think God was smiling. The children certainly were. We concluded our time by praying for specific requests. But what lingers in my mind is the children’s joyous voices proclaiming, “His love endures forever.”

Why not consider Psalm 136 as a pattern for a personal litany of thanks? If we reflect on our lives, we can recall mileposts where God showed His love and stepped in to help us. Maybe He didn’t part the Red Sea or deliver us from Egypt, but with His mighty hand and outstretched arm He showed His love in ways tailor-made for us. Recalling what He has already done gives us confidence for what lies ahead.

I’m comforted to know God’s love wasn’t only for the people of Israel or for generations past. His love endures forever. It’s for us today and for all future generations.

A new year is a good time to look back and thank God for His past love and faithfulness. Why not list times God intervened in your life and showed His love?

Mighty God, thank you for Your ongoing, never-ending love. Please remind me of ways You have demonstrated Your love to me, so I can thank You for what You’ve done. In Your name, amen.

Questions: Can you recall God’s specific intervention in your life? How will you remind yourself this week, that “His Love Endures Forever!” ?

About the Author Lydia E. Harris

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, More than a Crutch, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog