Hope Unstoppable: 31 Day Devotional Read online

  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

  and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

  though its waters roar and foam

  and the mountains quake with their surging.

  —Psalm 46: 1-3 (NIV)

  God’s Word assures us that He is an ever-present help in trouble. That lets us know that not only does He not abandon us in this state, but He is providing supernatural assistance. Even if the trouble we’re in is not turning around as quickly as we would like, we can rest assured that He is right there with us, offering mercy, grace, and favor. He has already provided a way out for us, and when that appointed time arrives, He will walk us through that as well. But in the midst of the mess, the darkness that chaos brings, He is shining His light on us. We need to look to Jesus as an example. In His darkest moments, He went away to pray. He asked His friends to pray with Him. He didn’t try to fix the problem on His own. He went to spend time with His Father and discuss it with Him.

  It’s impossible to know how long we’ll be in the situation we’re in but it’s a comfort to know we’re not alone, that the One who breathed life into us hasn’t rejected us but is determined to help us. I think this is a prime moment to show the Lord how much we trust and love him—even if all you’re able to do is verbally tell him I trust and love You. He loves you, too.

  Lord, I know You love us. We trust You with our whole hearts. In the midst of our trials and tribulations, we are so thankful that You are with us and we are never truly alone. Give us the wisdom to glean everything from this experience possible so that our spiritual growth might be catapulted to new levels like never before. Lord, thank you for accepting our repentance. Thank you for creating in us an obedient heart to follow You aggressively from here on out. Thank you that Jesus is not only an example to us in how we should act in our time of trials, but that He is closer than a brother. Jesus, You alone are our vindicator. Thank you for interceding on our behalf in all realms in all things.

  In Your mighty name we pray,

  Amen

  Day 23

  The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

  —Proverbs 4:18 (NIV)

  What a glorious image the above verse provokes. Have you ever been up just before dawn and experienced the eerie calm of a new day about to birth? It’s a thing of beauty that I’ve only experienced on a few occasions (night owl raising her hand!). The world around you seems to slowly slip from darkness, as if the universe itself were rousing from a deep, comfortable sleep. The transition is unstoppable and invigorating as the sky changes its hues ever so subtly. Eventually, a spray of light spears over the horizon. A new day has dawned as the sun rises to bless us with a fantastic light show until it reaches its full light of day.

  It’s an awe-inspiring visual that the Lord chooses to depict our walk with Him. Once we get to know Jesus as our Savior, we are sons and daughters of righteousness, our sins forever forgiven, the compass of our hearts eager to press toward Him at all times. Here He is promising to make each new day in our lives a little bit brighter until the full light of day—the day we land in Jesus’ ever-bright, ever-brilliant arms. Even though we all go through dark moments, the path gets bumpy. Whether we brought the storm on ourselves or not, He is promising that our paths will still get ever brighter. All the good things in your life that you can think of will only multiply in goodness. All your days will only grow to be sweeter and sweeter. Your spiritual walk with the Lord will only magnify in beauty as time goes by. The path of the righteous is beautiful indeed.

  Thank you, Lord, that You care so much about us that not only do You have a desire to help us, save us, pour mercy, grace, and favor upon us, but that You promise our path will only grow brighter and brighter until we are blinded by Your Son’s radiant glory and land in His loving arms. You have warmed us with Your words. Your promise lifts our weary souls. We thank you with all our hearts for this bright day and an even brighter tomorrow.

  Praise Jesus’ holy name,

  Amen

  Day 24

  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought nearby the blood of Christ.

  —Ephesians 2:13 (NIV)

  We were once far away. That’s a frightful thought when you get down to it. Being far from God is a nightmare that many of us may feel on occasion, but the truth is, when you accept Christ as your Savior, you are placed front and center before the throne of the living God. He sees you. He knows you. He longs to journey with you each and every day. God sought you out when He poured out His Son’s blood. He was looking for you, gunning for you, chasing you down with each lash Jesus endured, with each nail pounded into His flesh. It was you He was after all along. It’s the death and resurrection of Jesus that brings us the privilege of standing before the very throne of God.

  Whatever we pray, whatever we do, and whatever we say while standing in Christ, God hears, He sees, He wants to be a part of. All you have to do is show up, dirty and dangerous, with your filthy spiritual rags. Jesus is the only one who can cleanse you. There’s no point in trying on your own. Let’s sit at the Father’s feet and pour out everything in our hearts to Him. Love Him, worship Him, offer thanksgiving and praise, make your requests known to Him, sit and talk, sit and listen. This is the one who breathed the universe into existence. Congratulations, you have His full attention.

  Thank you, Lord, for the death and resurrection of our hope and salvation, Jesus Christ. We are humbled to sit at Your beautiful feet and spend time with You. We are in awe that You have allowed us this spectacular access through the blood of Your son.

  In Jesus’ beautiful name,

  Amen

  Day 25

  See, I am doing a new thing!

  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

  I am making a way in the wilderness

  and streams in the wasteland.

  — Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)

  God has a new thing in store for you. How much relief does that bring you? In life we often get trapped doing the same things over and over. Or perhaps your situation is desperate enough to warrant a daily yearning for something better, something new. God already had that in store for you. Have you ever wondered why people have such an obsession with new things? We like them shiny, out of the box, sparkling as we adore them in all their never-before-used glory. It’s because the Master Himself has embedded in us a desire to shed the old and seek something better. God has the ability to wow us with new thoughts, concepts, relationships, dreams, desires, places to go, things to do each and every day. In fact, He has an eternity of new things ready to share with us. The thing that strikes me in this verse is the Lord posing a question to the reader: “Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” To perceive means to consciously become aware of something, to really understand.

  God wants us to understand, to become acutely aware that not only is He doing something new, but that He is more than capable of what the next line declares: “I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” He is blazing a trail amid the impossible thicket you’re lost in. He is springing up wells of water, streams in the desert. He is making the impossible possible. Perceive it.

  He says it will be so—so it will be.

  Lord, we are in awe of Your power. We are in equal awe of Your love for us. Thank you for making a new way for us in the wilderness of our lives. Thank you for giving us streams of living water in this desert we live in. Praise Your holy name.

  In Jesus’ name we lift up our praise,

  Amen

  Day 26

  He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

  —Matthew 17:20-21 (NIV)

  Jesus spoke those words. His disciples were floored by the fact He was easily able to hea
l a demon-possessed boy and they were not. The disciples lacked faith. Astonishing, isn’t it? By then they had witnessed a myriad of the Lord’s miracles firsthand. They had seen them with their own eyes and were in awe along with the crowds who followed Jesus, and yet they lacked faith when they needed it.

  I suppose when you get right down to it, they lacked faith in their own ability to heal the boy. They saw him seizing. His own father said the demon had thrown him into the fire. He must have been disfigured, in the least heavily scarred from his predicament both physically and emotionally. The disciples tried their hand at healing him. I’m sure they spoke, prayed, and commanded but to no avail. What Jesus is pointing out is that they lacked faith. They were facing a proverbial mountain, and they needed to move it into the sea. That takes great faith. Jesus said that faith was not heavy or hard, or too big—it was small as a mustard seed. It almost makes faith sound like something simple you merely switch on like a light bulb. It’s quite possibly more like a muscle, which for most of us takes time to build up, but we can’t contest the words of Jesus. A small amount of faith is enough to move a mountain. It’s true. It’s wonderful news. Believe in what you ask for. Understand it to be true, even though reality says otherwise, and if it is the Lord’s will, it is already in the works. Let’s throw some mountains into the sea today.

  Lord, thank you for giving us the gift of faith. Help us to increase our faith in You and all that You can do on our behalf. How poignant this verse is in our lives for so many reasons. We come to You with the faith of a mustard seed as we believe our mountains have already jumped into the sea.

  Praise you in Jesus’ name,

  Amen

  Day 27

  For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

  the Lord bestows favor and honor;

  no good thing does he withhold

  from those whose walk is blameless.

  —Psalm 84:11 (NIV)

  For the psalmist to declare the Lord as a sun and a shield might seem like an odd contrast at first sight, but when you consider it, both are needed. We need the warmth of the sun to keep us comfortable and the brightness of its light to illuminate our path. We need a shield to protect us from danger. The Lord is saying He will provide the best of both worlds.

  The psalmist continues with the good news by revealing that the Lord bestows favor and honor. Who wouldn’t love more of that? We seek our God for His beautiful face, His perfect heart. It’s amazing to me that He gives so freely. He wants to give you His favor and honor. It doesn’t matter what our position is in this life, as the things we have done wrong have been wiped clean in His beautiful eyes. He sees us in perfect form through the lens of His Son, Jesus Christ.

  If we choose to fully obey God to the best of our ability, then our walk is considered blameless, and this verse promises us that no good thing will He withhold from us. What great and blessed news. He is not only chasing you down with His love, forgiveness, and salvation, but He is gifting you His favor, honor, and promises not to withhold any good thing from your life. This verse is golden. It’s one worth memorizing. It’s most definitely worth bringing to the Lord and reminding Him of His promise to us as He asks us to do.

  Lord, You are so wonderful and we are truly humbled and honored to be Your children. Thank you for lavishing us with Your love. Thank you for going above and beyond what we ever deserve. Thank you for chasing us down with Your love, blessings, and goodness. We choose to follow and obey our Savior Jesus Christ as You straighten the paths before us. Thank you for cleaning up our messes. Thank you for choosing to bless us despite of what we’ve done. Jesus, thank you for making our walk blameless through the purification of Your blood. Thank you for not withholding a single good thing from us.

  In Jesus’ precious name,

  Amen

  Day 28

  Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

  — Romans 2:4 (NIV)

  Some might say this is evidence that the Lord believes in tough love. But in truth, it’s not tough at all. It is in fact, as it is written, God’s kindness. It hurts the Lord to see us hurting ourselves, acting out, acting selfishly and greedily, disobeying—even if we’re doing all those things without realizing it. And when we do, we are willingly throwing ourselves into the pit—the exact pit we will later do anything to spiritually claw our way out of. Once we’re in the pit and we feel its cloying darkness, the bargaining usually begins, the wallowing, the endless all-nighter pity parties—the infamous why me sessions that get so much play in our minds. God doesn’t want it to be you either. He wants to help. And great news! He is helping—but he’s doing so by building your character and faith along the way.

  We certainly don’t know what God’s timetable is for any situation in our lives or why some things happen overnight and some things happen over a season, but the Lord is clear on one thing: His pure love for us. Let us not show contempt or any ill will toward the riches of His kindness, His forbearance, or His patience. He is not trying to punish you by extending the process of pulling you out of the pit. He has already pulled you out of the pit by way of His forgiveness. He is simply trying to lead you to repentance, to land your feet on a clear and straight path—one that leads away from the sin that landed you in the pit in the first place. I’m all for that.

  Thank you, Lord, for caring enough to pull us from the pits we land ourselves in with Your unconditional love. Thank you that You care so much about us that You meet us in our darkest moments and lead us gently to safety and then guide our hearts to obey You. Life is much sweeter with You by our side.

  Thank You, Jesus, for being our constant companion.

  In Jesus’ name,

  Amen

  Day 29

  Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

  But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

  —Matthew 14:25-27 (NIV)

  There are some storms in life that for the believer the only way to the other side is to keep your eyes intently focused on Jesus. During the darkest time in my life, I had a literal visualization of looking into His beautiful eyes. Of course, I had never seen His eyes, but I was at the lowest common denominator of my being, so I did my best to imagine them. I couldn’t think, speak, or feel. I was numb with shock. In abject pain. That visual was all I could manage. I was existing moment to moment just breathing God.

  It occurred to me in hindsight, when the air had cleared and I was able to move along in life strapped firmly by Jesus’ side, that living in that manner is all I should ever do. This phrase came to me one day: ignore the water beneath your feet and keep your eyes on Jesus. It’s how I figured I would walk through this life. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve been in the pit. And I’ve been helped out and shown a better way. I know we all have choices to make. Life certainly gives us plenty of places to land our eyes, and just about all of those places don’t include our Lord. We need to take control of our minds, take control of our senses, and look to the only one who can help us. Jesus implores us to take courage. To look to Him and not be afraid.

  Lord, You have already given us the greatest gift. Your Son. Without Him, we are dead in our sins, lost forever, but with Him, we are alive for eternity, forever in Your arms. Thank you for Your most precious gift, the redeemer of our souls. We ask that You always give us the strength to keep our eyes on Jesus.

  In Jesus’ name,

  Amen

  Day 30

  He gives strength to the weary

  and increases the power of the weak.

  Even youths grow tired and weary,

  and young men stumble and fall;

  but those who hope in the Lord

  will renew their strength.

  They will soar on wings
like eagles;

  they will run and not grow weary,

  they will walk and not be faint.

  —Isaiah 40: 29-31(NIV)

  We have all been weary, and there are times in everyone’s life when they are weak. What great news to hear that the Lord freely gives strength and increases power. It might feel as if you’re more familiar with the weariness and the weakness, but the Lord is here to help you bear it and power through it with His supernatural intervention. In the above verses, Isaiah acknowledges that these things happen to even the youngest and the fittest. They can befall us all. But, he says, those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. The Lord is freely replenishing what you have run out of. Not only will you rise higher once again, you will soar on wings like eagles.

  The eagle can glide while catching an air current, allowing it to elevate to new heights without having to flail or labor. It trusts the wind to take it to the heights it was destined to roam. The stronger the wind blows—the stronger the gust, the higher it will travel. Maybe the Lord is telling us something about the adversity coming our way. The storms of life that bring the howling winds of change, of chaos— maybe it’s those winds that are needed to propel us to the height we were destined to be all along.

  Lord, thank you for lifting us higher with the wind of Your love. Thank you for molding us within the storm into the people You want us to be. All of our hope is in You. Thank you for moving through us with Your power and strength.