The Hidden Hand Of God
Sunday, October 5
Psalm 124
“If the Lord had not been on our side—let Israel say—if the Lord had not been on our side…” (vv. 1–2, NIV).
Have we fully grasped how fragile we are as humans? Working in healthcare, I’ve seen how life can change in a moment.
In today’s psalm the psalmist reminds us that God is actively involved in our protection and well-being, although we often forget that. I experienced the providence of God two years ago when I lay on the ground with broken vertebrae and ribs from a bike crash. It happened that my riding partner was a doctor, and my crash was very close to the road. I had no doubt that God’s hand was upon me.
When have you felt God’s protection? Why do you think we so easily forget how God cares for us? How can we remember his goodness more often?
God, help me to see your providence and protection. Amen.
Watchful Waiting
Monday, October 6
Habakkuk 1:1-4;2:1-4
Sometimes it seems we’re addicted to our own comfort. We turn to screens, vacations, or even relationships to avoid the brokenness around us. Our spirits grieve when we choose comfort over responsibility.
Turning away may feel easier, but it costs us. Rather than look away, God calls us to look closely. Jesus empowered us to join in his work—to stand up for the powerless, to act with compassion, and to be agents of the kingdom of God marked by justice, peace, and love.
In my imagination Habakkuk hopes for God’s vengeance and righteousness. But what he receives is a promise we often resist: wait. God’s promise is sure, precise, and perfectly timed. His justice is not delayed by ignorance or indifference—it is already written. In waiting we witness the proud and powerful abusing their positions, twisting truth, and oppressing others.
How are you waiting for God to show up in the world? What does it look like to be faithful?
God, give me patience and trust to wait on you. Amen.
Hope In Turmoil
Tuesday, October 7
Lamentations 3:19-26
It’s easy to forget that the people in Scripture are in fact human like us. Jeremiah knew anguish. He foretold the moral decay of his beloved people, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the subsequent domination of Babylon. His heart must have broken for his people.
When the things we love are stripped away, we too can feel afflicted. Our anger can turn to bitterness and cynicism. Sometimes it feels like that is the only appropriate response to life.
Yet amid such turmoil Jeremiah pens words of hope. Jeremiah knows something that we can easily forget: the future belongs to the Lord. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior (which is why learning our spiritual history through the Bible is so important). God is faithful and just. God saves. God restores. God heals. God blesses. God can be trusted.
Lord of love, make us tenderhearted toward one another, trusting in your harvest. Amen.
You Have No Idea
Wednesday, October 8
2 Timothy 1:1-7
“You have no idea how good you are.” I heard these words at a point in my life when I felt discouraged and defeated. They came from a teacher and gave me faith in myself when I needed it. I was able to borrow his faith in me until I could find it for myself.
Words spring forth from somewhere deep inside us and carry the power to raise up or lay low, to create or destroy. Here Paul offers remarkable encouragement to Timothy. How would it feel to know someone is praying for you morning and night?
How do the words and actions of those we love ignite God’s gift within us? Such care and encouragement strengthen our faith in ourselves and in God. Through this support, we find a deeper sense of grounding, enabling us to live confidently, love abundantly, and cultivate the self-discipline to remain true to God’s calling.
Lord, by your Spirit, help me to see my own goodness and to live out of that goodness for the good of the world. Amen.
Standing Firm
Thursday, October 9
2 Timothy 1:8-14
We are living in a culture where the gospel is increasingly foreign. That is to say that notions of sin, salvation, and redemption are not generally admired because it implies judgment. Freedom, authenticity, and happiness stand in their place. The need for forgiveness and the radical work of Jesus may sound increasingly outlandish in our culture. Yet here we are encouraged to stand firm in the reality of Christ in spite of the perceptions of others.
This is not easy. We long to be accepted because we are highly social. For generations our survival depended on our ability to live in community. To hold on to what we know in the face of opposition tests our very instincts. Yet we endure through a community that shares our core convictions—the Church!
Jesus, give me a heart that longs for your righteousness in the world. Amen.
It’s On Us
Friday, October 10
Luke 17:1-4
Jesus begins with a strong caution: we each have an impact on others, and we must take that seriously. How do people experience us? Are we bringing life, encouragement, and grace? This is what it means to live with conscientiousness.
Jesus commands us, as his disciples, to confront believers who sin against us. Perhaps our failure to rebuke sin is a stumbling block. This is an uncomfortable truth for someone like me who has historically been afraid of conflict. Not only do I have to feel the pain of being mistreated, but I also have the responsibility to raise it with the other!
Yet how else do things change unless we confront sin? What is the cost to others if we do not confront them? I’m reminded that love is not apathetic—but, to paraphrase Dallas Willard, it wills and works for the good of another.
God give me the voice to speak with honesty, grace, and clarity in the face of injustice and slight. Amen.
Faith As Potential
Saturday, October 11
Luke 17:5-6
Jesus gives a curious answer to the apostles in today’s passage. Rather than a step-by-step path toward increased faith, Jesus makes a statement about the nature of faith and its power. Faith isn’t just about belief—it’s also about the kind of trust that shapes and impacts reality.
Isn’t it fascinating how Jesus’s description of what even the tiniest faith can accomplish? A seed is full of potential. It carries all it needs to become a full grown plant. What is the basis of faith from which all potential springs? What core belief for us as believers holds the potential to shape and impact reality?
In my mind it is the gospel. The fact that there is a God who loves us, who became incarnate in Jesus, who resolved for us what we could not do for ourselves. In God we are free, gifted, and beloved. What would life be like if we truly lived in this truth?
Lord, give me a faith that grows and the power to fulfill the potential of that faith. Amen.
