Courage To Believe What God Has Already Done
Sunday, May 24
Acts 12:5-16
While the early church gathered in Mary’s house praying desperately for Peter’s release, Rhoda was serving and listening. She was the first to recognize God’s answer knocking at the door. Scripture says she heard Peter’s voice, and “was so overjoyed,” she ran to tell the others. Before anyone else believed it, Rhoda already knew that God had moved.
What strikes me is that her courage wasn’t in opening the door; it was in believing God’s miracle even when the adults told her she was out of her mind. They dismissed her, doubted her, tried to explain away what she had heard with her own ears. But Rhoda kept insisting. She held firm to what she knew was true. When they finally opened the door, Scripture says they were “astonished.” But Rhoda wasn’t.
Her story reminds me that sometimes courage looks like trusting the whisper of God before others catch up. Sometimes it looks like joyful faith that refuses to be silenced. Sometimes it looks like seeing God at work while others are still praying for the very thing God has already done.
I want the kind of courage that recognizes God’s answers, speaks up, and holds fast even when others doubt. I want faith that celebrates before the miracle is visible. Faith that opens doors for others to see God’s glory.
Lord Jesus, give us Rhoda’s courage. Help us to trust your voice and to recognize your answers even when others doubt. Strengthen our faith so we can boldly proclaim what you have done and make room for others to see your miracle-working power. Amen.
Faithful Courage Breaks Barriers
Monday, May 25
Romans 16:1-2
Phoebe’s story shows us what it looks like when a woman says yes to God with her whole heart. As a deacon of the church in Cenchreae, Phoebe stepped into leadership in a challenging time, traveling long distances and carrying Paul’s message to the church. Paul publicly tells the church in Rome that Phoebe holds an official role and that they can trust her. Paul trusted her because she lived her faith with courage, generosity, and spiritual maturity. He calls her a benefactor—someone who protected, supported, and lifted up others, including Paul himself. Phoebe was sent with Paul’s blessing, credibility, and backing. The Roman church was called to support, honor, and listen to her. That’s the kind of influence that comes from a Spirit-led life. Phoebe moved with God, trusting him to make a way. Her life reminds us that Spirit-filled courage often looks like faithful service, bold generosity, and obediently accepting the assignments God places in front of us.
Lord Jesus, help your church to receive female leaders like Phoebe, who carried the gospel to the early church. Help us to encourage men and women leaders to accept and support the Phoebes in our midst as they carry the missio Dei to the world around us. Amen.
Courage In Partnership
Tuesday, May 26
Romans 16:3-5A
Priscilla’s life reminds us what God can do through a woman who leads with both courage and humility. Paul calls Priscilla and Aquila his coworkers—trusted partners who stood shoulder to shoulder with him in the work of the gospel. Scripture often places Priscilla’s name first, honoring her wisdom and spiritual strength. Through partnership and open-handed hospitality, Priscilla helps advance the gospel at great personal risk, opening her home and pouring herself into disciples such as Apollos. Priscilla offered her home, her gifts, her voice—and God used it. Her life reminds us that the kingdom moves forward through everyday obedience.
Where is God inviting us to make space for his work through our home, our gifts, or our relationships?
Lord Jesus, give us the courage of Priscilla. Make our lives a place where your Spirit can move freely, boldly, and with love. Amen.
Outstanding In Courage
Wednesday, May 27
Romans 16:7
Junia’s story may appear in just one verse, but her legacy carries the weight of generations. In today’s verse Paul honors Junia and Andronicus as fellow Jews who suffered alongside him and as believers who came to Christ even before he did. Then he offers a powerful affirmation, saying they are “outstanding among the apostles.” Junia was not hidden or sidelined—she was a recognized leader, respected for her devotion to Jesus.
What I love about Junia is that she wasn’t seeking applause or a title. She lived out her calling with faithfulness and passion. She endured persecution, imprisonment, and hardship, yet she kept standing for the gospel. Junia’s faithful witness reminds us that Spirit-empowered leadership transcends recognition or gender. God’s calling rests on willing hearts, and the Holy Spirit equips God’s daughters and sons to carry truth with boldness.
Junia’s story tells every woman who wonders if her voice matters, Yes, God sees you. God calls you. God goes before you. Your yes to Jesus can shape history in ways you may never fully see.
Where is God inviting us to trust his calling on our lives, even when it stretches us or challenges expectations?
Lord, thank you for Junia’s example of courage and faith. Fill us with boldness, humility, and Spirit-empowered confidence. Help us to walk faithfully into every assignment you give us. Amen.
The Strength Of Generational Faith
Thursday, May 28
2 Timothy 1:3-5
In verse 5 Paul pauses his instruction to Timothy to acknowledge something profoundly powerful: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (NIV). Before Timothy preached a sermon, planted a church, or carried the gospel across regions, his faith was nurtured in the discipleship of two women who loved God deeply.
Lois and Eunice remind us that generational faith happens through presence. They lived out the Scriptures in front of Timothy, teaching him how to believe with sincerity. God used their everyday obedience to shape a young leader who would strengthen the early church.
Their story invites us to see the sacred weight of our influence—whether we’re raising children, mentoring others, encouraging from the sidelines, or living faithfully right where we are. Generational faith grows through small seeds planted daily.
Lord Jesus, may we be like Lois and Eunice, passing down a living faith that continues to grow. Amen.
Faith That Lives Beyond Us
Friday, May 29
Acts 17:1-4, 10-12
When I look at the women in this passage, I am struck by how powerfully God wove them into the story of the early church. In Thessalonica we see that “a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women” believed the gospel (v. 4). In Berea “a number of prominent Greek women” received the message with eagerness and examined
the Scriptures daily (v. 12). These verses may be brief, but their impact runs deep.
These were women of influence, women with responsibilities, women respected in their communities—and they made room for the Word of God. They listened, they studied, they discerned truth, and they responded with faith. Their lives remind me that faithful witnesses are consistent and humble. It’s a life that says yes to Jesus again and again.
Here’s the beauty: their faith did not end with them. Paul’s letters later reveal thriving churches in Thessalonica and Berea, communities that were strengthened by the early believers, including these women. Their yes to God became a seed that grew into a harvest long after they were gone.
That is the kind of faith I pray we carry today. A living faith. A Scripture-shaped faith. A faith that takes root in us and moves through us to the next generation.
Lord Jesus, we pray that like these women, our obedience, devotion, and daily love for Jesus may become a living faith that endures, multiplies, and speaks. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
A Mighty Company Of Women
Saturday, May 30
Psalm 68:11-13
“The Lord announces the word, and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng” (v. 11, NIV). Reading this text, I feel something rise in my spirit. Scripture reminds us that God himself gives the Word. He initiates. He speaks. He brings the victory. And then he entrusts that message to his daughters, calling us a “mighty throng,” who are strong, bold, and empowered by his Spirit.
Psalm 68 paints a picture of women announcing God’s triumph, just as the women of Israel sang after battles and as the women of the early church carried the good news of Jesus from home to home, city to city. From Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb to Lydia, Priscilla, and the faithful women of Acts, God trusted his message to women who were ready to listen, respond, and proclaim.
Verses 12–13 speak of fleeing kings, scattered enemies, and plunder shared—images of God’s overwhelming victory. Even in the midst of daily life, the “sheep pens” (v. 13) become places where God’s abundance rests like silver and gold. It reminds me that wherever God plants us, his Word brings beauty, strength, and blessing.
Like the women in this psalm, we can live in ways that echo God’s victories. Our testimonies, our obedience, our everyday faithfulness become a proclamation that God still moves, still saves, still speaks. We are part of that mighty company—women who carry a living word into every generation.
Lord Jesus, thank you for speaking your Word and trusting your daughters to proclaim it. Make our lives a testimony of your victory. Strengthen our voices, steady our hearts, and let your Spirit empower us to pass on the courage of a living faith that endures from generation to generation. Amen.
