Seeking the Life in Christ: January 2026

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

The House of the Lord

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 21, 2026

The House of the Lord

I will live in the house of the Lord
forever.

The one thing I ask of the Lord—

the thing I seek most—

is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

Psalm 23:6, 27:4

Was the psalmist David seeking a physical place to live? These psalms were written before the Temple of God was built by King Solomon. Was David thinking of God’s Heavenly home? I have had the blessed experience of being in the presence of two precious saints whose mortal life ended as these words of Psalm 23 were spoken, “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” This experience shaped my sense that the psalmist was speaking of that place of our eternal destiny.

However, after spending time contemplating these Psalms, I believe David wasn’t seeking to go away to where God dwells. I think his desire was for an abiding awareness that he was in the presence of God. Jesus pointed to this reality when he said, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

As I read Psalm 23, I see how the first six- and one-half verses speak of very present realities. Surely, the last line also speaks of the presence of the Lord in our life, today and always!

My Takeaway: Like David, I seek an abiding awareness that I am in the presence of God. This awareness of God’s gracious presence in my life, seals me in His grace for today.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life. The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Sowing Seeds of Peace

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 20, 2026

Sowing Seeds of Peace

‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,

and you will harvest a crop of love.

Hosea 10:12

We are seeking to stay in God’s grace for today. One of the best ways to remain in God’s grace is to consciously be about the business of His Kingdom. Looking to the Beatitudes helps us focus on Kingdom values. For instance, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9 NRSV) How can we sow seeds of peace?

I have a friend who carries packages of M&M’S in her purse. She gives them out to random people she encounters during the day, and in every instance receives a smile in return. In Romans 14, and again in 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul instructs us to encourage each other and build each other up. We can make a conscious effort to be encouragers of those we encounter each day, especially those who may be serving us in some way.

Remember when Jesus taught about the farmer? Jesus said the Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground and while he’s asleep the seed sprouts and grows, but the farmer does not understand how it happens. (Mark 4:26-27) In the same way, we can sow kindness, we can offer encouragement, we can consciously seek to edify those we encounter each day. Good things will happen. We don’t need to know how or why they happen. We just get to participate in God’s Kingdom as His peacemakers.

My Takeaway: As I begin this day, I am recalling how I felt when someone encouraged me or expressed appreciation for my work. Today, I am asking God to order my steps and lead me to pass on this gift of grace.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Monday, January 19, 2026

Dress For Success

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 19, 2026

Dress For Success

This body that can be destroyed

must clothe itself with something that can never be destroyed.

And this body that dies

must clothe itself with something that can never die.

1 Corinthians 15:53 (NCV)

Does God care how we are dressed?

Apparently, He does! Scripture tells us how God has clothed us.

Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. (Romans 13:14)

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. (Galatians 3:26-27)

When we are united with God through faith in Christ Jesus, we receive spiritual garments that only God can give, and only heaven can see. This is how the prophet Isaiah expressed this truth:

I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!

For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation

and draped me in a robe of righteousness. (Isaiah 61:10a)

For me, this knowledge of my spiritual garments informs me about my personal appearance. I am unstylish, and drab in dress on my stay home days. And I will never be called chic or fashionable when I am in public, but on church days I am much more conscious of my appearance as I want my physical appearance and bearing to witness to the reverence and awe I have for God, my Savior. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul admonishes the church to examine themselves before receiving Holy Communion, lest they eat the bread or drink this cup of the Lord unworthily. In a similar way, I examine my appearance before entering the sanctuary.

My Takeaway: In a typical week, on Sunday and Wednesday, I am blessed to be in the sanctuary receiving Holy Communion. More than any other time during the week, my participation in Worship, and receiving the sacrament, enable me to stay in God’s grace for each day. On these occasions, I want my physical appearance to bear witness to my spiritual garments.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Friday, January 16, 2026

Nothing Occurs to God

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 16, 2026

Nothing Occurs to God

“. . . don’t you think that God will surely give justice to his people

who plead with him day and night?

Luke 18:7 NRSV

Has it ever occurred to you, that nothing occurs to God? The attributes of God are Omnipotence (all-powerful), Omniscience (all-knowing), Omnipresence (present everywhere), and Omnibenevolence (all-good/loving). As we saw in the preceding meditation, our Abba Father is active 24/7 in our lives. As we wait for God’s perfect timing to respond to our pleas and give us justice, we remember that God continues to be at work in us while we are waiting.

It clarifies the promise of Jesus in Luke 18, to remember he followed this teaching with his parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee. (Luke 18: 9-14) In this parable, who went away vindicated by God? It was the tax collector! This parable is an excellent illustration of justification by faith. The tax collector had little or no faith in himself, but he had great faith in his God of mercy. Jesus wants his followers to rest in their right-standing before God. Our right-standing comes not from our good work. Our right standing with God is based solely on our sure knowledge of God’s love for us. Brennan Manning understood this when he wrote, “God loves us unconditionally, just as we are, not as we should be. Because none of us are as we should be.”

My Takeaway: I see today as an invitation to meditate on my prayer life. Do I tend to hesitate in asking God for something because I don’t feel worthy?

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Thursday, January 15, 2026

The New Way of Living

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 15, 2026

The New Way of Living

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.

Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Philippians 4:6

In our human experience, we tend to be linear people. That is, we like progressing step-by-step in an orderly sequence. We tend to have relationships where we expect what we receive in the relationship to be proportional with what we put into the relationship. We also tend to have a linear relationship with God. But God exists in a realm separate from our human experience and is not linear. God wants us to know Him, but on His terms, and not within our linear thinking.

Sunday morning worship and Wednesday night Bible studies are our creation, not God’s. Our Heavenly Father seeks us to worship Him, and study His word, and whether we do so on Monday or Thursday, is the same as Sunday and Wednesday with Him. God calls us to worship Him at the Communion Table, and at our dinner table. When Paul told us God is working in us and will continue to do so until the return of Christ, (Philippians 2:13, & 1:6) he meant God is active within us 24/7. This truth caused Paul to counsel us to take our every thought captive to obey Christ, and to never stop praying, and after we have prayed, to keep on praying, keep on talking to God and listening for God’s response to our prayers. (See 2 Corinthians 10:5, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, and Romans 12:12)

My Takeaway: One of my favorite worship songs is, I Love You, Lord. The lyrics are thoroughly embedded within my soul and often during the day I find myself singing, “I love You, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship You . . .” My gracious Heavenly Father has used these lyrics to help transform me from my linear existence, to “the new way of living in the Spirit.” (Romans 7:6)

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Just Like Jesus

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 14, 2026

Just Like Jesus

Let your bearings towards one another arise out of your life in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:5 (NEB 1961)

The original title to Max Lucado’s book, Just Like Jesus, was, God Loves You Just The Way Your Are, But He Refuses To Leave You That Way. He Wants You To Be Just Like Jesus. Whew! It is easy to see why the publisher eventually shortened the title. Long title, or short, the title is scripturally correct. (See Romans 8:28-29)

Our Heavenly Father’s first step in transforming our lives is to thoroughly ground us in His love for us. Do you think God’s love for you would be stronger if your faith were stronger? If you think so, you would be wrong. Do you think God’s love for you would be deeper if you had more courageous faith? If so, you would be wrong again. People tend to be transactional in their love. When our performance excels, we receive more love from people. When we make mistakes, people tend to love us less. Not so with God’s love.

What separated Jesus, in his human nature, from every other human was his absolute assurance of his Heavenly Father’s love. Jesus’ faith, his courage, flowed from his Father’s love for him. God wants our lives to be just like Jesus’.

My Takeaway: “Let your bearings towards one another arise out of your life in Christ Jesus.” My faith teaches me that I have died to this life, and my real life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3) My life in Christ teaches me that I am the beloved child of God with whom He is delighted and upon whom His favor rests. The more my everyday life embraces these truths, the more I am just like Jesus.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

His Greatness Is Unsearchable

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 13, 2026

His Greatness Is Unsearchable

The Lord is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The Lord is good to all,

and his compassion is over all that he has made.

Psalm 145:8-9 (NRSV)

Psalm 145 is the last of the acrostic psalms in which the first verse begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each succeeding verse begins with the next letter in the alphabet. (Psalms 9, 10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119 and 145) The style is so much more than a literary technique, and this is especially so in Psalm 145. As you read the psalm and consider the exuberant praise from beginning to end, you can get a sense that by following the Hebrew alphabet, the psalmist is praising God through every conceivable sound his mouth can make. Psalm 145 is complete and total praise because, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:3 NRSV).

As the psalmist praises God, he also encourages us to share our experiences with the goodness, the faithfulness and the love of God with others: “Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy about your righteousness. All of your works will thank you, Lord, and your faithful followers will praise you. They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of your power. They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign” (Psalm 145:4, 7, 10-12).

In the following half-dozen verses, the psalmist articulates his experiences with God’s unfailing grace:

“The Lord is merciful and compassionate,

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

The Lord is good to everyone.

He showers compassion on all his creation.

The Lord always keeps his promises;

he is gracious in all he does.

The Lord helps the fallen

and lifts those bent beneath their loads.

The Lord is close to all who call on him,

yes, to all who call on him in truth.

He grants the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cries for help and rescues them”

` Psalm 145:8, 9, 13, 14, 18, 19

My Takeaway: I believe God desires all His children to share with others how we are experiencing His redemptive grace. These daily meditations reveal my experiences with God’s grace and writing them truly helps me stay in His grace for each day.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Monday, January 12, 2026

Life’s Not Fair

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 12, 2026

Life’s Not Fair

But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

Luke 10:40

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus went to the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary in Bethany. While Jesus was teaching those gathered around him, including Mary who was sitting at his feet, he was called upon to referee Martha’s dispute with her sister. “It’s not fair” is one of the most over-used phrases in our culture. While a call for fairness seems rational, implicit in the cry is the individual’s belief that their self-interest lies at the center of the universe and the scales of life should tilt in their favor. Sometimes you just want to scream at those crying for fairness, “Life’s not fair! Get over it!”

But Jesus isn’t a screamer; however, his lack of volume doesn’t diminish the making of his point. Jesus responded to Martha’s request by once again reminding his disciples, “There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42) Jesus’ words here are a very succinct summary of his words in the Sermon on the Mount,

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:31-33)

My Takeaway: I am thinking of Stephen Covey and his classic work, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. His first three habits are: 1: be proactive, 2: begin with the end in mind, and 3: put first things first. Martha was doing 1 & 3, but she forgot number 2: begin with the end in mind, or as Jesus stated it, There is only one thing worth being concerned about, Seek the Kingdom of God above all else. This is the end I always want to remember.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Friday, January 9, 2026

Our High Priest

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 9, 2026

Our High Priest

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses,

for he faced all of the same testings we do,

yet he did not sin.

Hebrews 4:15

Eugene Peterson’s, The Message, renders today’s verse as,

We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin.

Together, these two translations help us focus on two critical points: 1- Jesus did this, not an angel or other messenger of God; and 2, Jesus faced ALL of our testings. There is nothing we can experience in life which Jesus has not already been there, and experienced, but without sin.

No, this isn’t about misery loves company. The point of our High Priest first walking our path is revealed in the next verse:

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. (v.16)

Again, I think Rev. Peterson’s translation helps us grasp the writer’s point:

So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help. (v.16 MSG)

Later in Hebrews 12:28, we are instructed to respond to God’s grace by worshipping God with reverence and awe. For me, Peterson’s, “So let’s walk right up to him” clashes a bit with reverence and awe, so I lean more toward coming boldly to the throne. But, getting what he is so ready to give, and taking the mercy and accepting the help, this resonates with me.

My Takeaway: I want to stay in God’s grace for each day, and I am enabled to do so by realizing He is so ready and willing to give His mercy and help.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Unless I Wash You

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 8, 2026

Unless I Wash You

So (Jesus) got up from the table, took off his robe,

wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin.

Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet,

drying them with the towel he had around him.

John 13:4-5

Yesterday, we remembered the Supremacy of Christ in Colossians 1:15-20. We remembered that God reconciled everything to himself, making peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. Yesterday, we remembered that we, who have trusted in Christ, have been brought into the presence of God, holy and blameless without a single fault. Today, we see this Jesus, who shed his blood on the cross so that we may come into the presence of God, took upon himself the role of a servant and washed the feet of his disciples.

Handling the filthy feet of his disciples, (remember they had walked around all day in sandals on dusty roads and paths) is both an act of servanthood, and something very intimate. This, from the one soon to be acclaimed as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

This act of Jesus can be processed in many directions, not the least of which is our understanding of a leader. Personally, I cannot not think of one leader, either in public service or in service to a church, who can be favorably compared to Jesus in this setting. What about me? In my service as a leader in my home, with my wife and my children, how do I measure up against Jesus in today’s setting from John’s Gospel?

My Takeaway: Bishop N.T. Wright brought home from a visit to Israel, an olivewood carving of Peter protesting Jesus’ washing of his feet. (verses 13:6-9) The carving reminds him of Jesus’ words to Peter: “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” (8b)

I will never be a Godly leader in my home, or elsewhere, until I first allow Jesus to wash me.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Holy, Blameless, Without Fault

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 7, 2026

Holy, Blameless, Without Fault

Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

Colossians 1:22

Paul’s words here, immediately follow his magnificent prose affirming the Supremacy of Christ, in Colossians 1:15-20. After stating that God reconciled everything to himself, making peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross, Paul tells us the result is that we, who have trusted in Christ, have been brought into the presence of God, holy and blameless without a single fault.

Paul wrote something like this to the church in Rome when he stated, “now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) Let’s do ourselves a huge favor. Let’s pause for a few minutes and truly allow these truths from scripture to sink deep into our heart. Now, at this moment, because there is no condemnation for us who belong to Jesus, spiritually, again, at this very moment, we are standing before God the Father Almighty, and we are holy and blameless without a single fault.

Is there any person who knows us, or has known us, who finds no fault with us? I cannot think of any such person in my life. And I cannot say they are wrong in their judgement. But ALMIGHTY God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden, declares we are holy and blameless without a single fault.

My Takeaway: My heart belongs to ALMIGHTY God.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

The Day of Epiphany

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 6, 2026

The Day of Epiphany

Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say.

My Father will love them,

and we will come and make our home with each of them.

John 14:23

When I read this verse today, I thought of the delightful spiritual meditation, My Heart, Christ's Home by Robert Boyd Munger, first published in 1951. Remember, when we speak biblically of our heart, we mean much more than the organ that pumps life- sustaining blood throughout our body. Biblically, our heart is our soul, the center of our essence as a person, our mind, emotions, and will. Jesus says when we realize our life belongs to God, by creation and redemption our life belongs to God, The Father and Son and Holy Spirit will make their home within us. The Apostle Paul internalized this truth as, “For ‘In him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28 NRSV)

This truth renders moot the thought we can discharge our responsibility, our duty to God by showing up an hour each week for Sunday worship. If God is making His home within us, if we live and move and have our being in Him, then His grasp on us is complete, 24/7. On the liturgical calendar, today is The Day of Epiphany, which remembers the revelation of Jesus to the world, first by the visit of the Maji, and throughout the season of Epiphany, by all the means Jesus revealed he was God’s Messiah. What does this have to do with us? Everything!

Remember, ‘In him we live and move and have our being.” Because this is true, we can expect our Lord to manifest his presence in our life each day. In this way, the Season of Epiphany isn’t just several weeks until Ash Wednesday, our Season of Epiphany is every day for our entire life.

My Takeaway: As I am experiencing Jesus manifesting his presence in my life, each day, I am staying in God’s grace for each today.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Monday, January 5, 2026

Our Lord of the Impossible

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today

January 5, 2026

Our Lord of the Impossible

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

Genesis 18:14a

These were the words of the Lord immediately after Sarah laughed when Abraham was told Sarah would have a child within a year. Jesus said something similar after he told his disciples, “It is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” The disciples responded, “Then who in the world can be saved?” “Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:23-26)

As we begin this New Year together, we want to be optimistic, but many of us may feel a bit lost. Even so, our Lord is the Lord of the impossible. We may feel confused by the chaos of life, even so, we can hope in Him. Even when we feel loss and grief upon us, we can also feel His steadfast love is upon us. God’s word to Abraham and Sarah, and Jesus’ word to his disciples, is an affirmation that we can trust our Lord of the impossible

It is very important to keep our eyes on the goal, on our ultimate purpose. But it is also important to stay in the moment, to realize our journey to our destination is as important as our destination.

My Takeaway: As I seek the life in Christ as my way of life, I am learning that the process God is using to make my goal a reality in my life, is as important as my goal. My life in Christ is both my journey and my destination.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Friday, January 2, 2026

I Trust Him with All My Heart

Meditations for the Season of Christmas

January 2, 2026

NOTE: I hope you have experienced the unfailing love of God throughout this Advent and Christmas Season. On Monday, January 5, 2026, I will resume my meditations on Staying in the Grace for Today.

I Trust Him with All My Heart

“The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart.”

Psalm 28:7

Jesus taught his disciples “with God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26). Sometimes our faith is tested because we do not see answers to our prayers. Can we still believe, even though we do not see? The writer of the letter to the Hebrews makes clear that faith is the unwavering determination to trust God, to believe God, even when we do not see the results we want.

“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1).

Because God is the Lord of the impossible, bringing life out of death, bringing success out of apparent failure, we can look at seemingly impossible circumstances and choose the way of the psalmist:

“The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart.”

In the first portion of this psalm, David seems overwhelmed with the corruption of society. He steadfastly believed in the judgment of God and did not want to be caught up in God’s judgment of the wicked. As David prayed to the Lord, his rock, he asked for mercy. Then, amid his lament, his prayer for mercy turned into a prayer of praise,

“Praise the Lord! For he has heard my cry for mercy.”

What caused his change?

I believe the Apostle Paul helps us understand this change. In Romans 8: 15-16 Paul writes,

“So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.”

When we come to God in faith, God participates in our prayers. God’s Spirit bears witness to our spirit, and God’s Spirit thus helps us stand firm in our faith, even when our circumstances have not changed.

My Takeaway: Consider this wonderful promise as 2025 has ended and we have entered the New Year, 2026: With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can trust God with our lives. Thank God for the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise. He did not leave us alone.

Hallelujah!

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

The House of the Lord

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Sowing Seeds of Peace

Monday, January 19, 2026

Dress For Success

Friday, January 16, 2026

Nothing Occurs to God

Thursday, January 15, 2026

The New Way of Living

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Just Like Jesus

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

His Greatness Is Unsearchable

Monday, January 12, 2026

Life’s Not Fair

Friday, January 9, 2026

Our High Priest

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Unless I Wash You

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Holy, Blameless, Without Fault

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

The Day of Epiphany

Monday, January 5, 2026

Our Lord of the Impossible

Friday, January 2, 2026

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