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Listen to today's Laugh Again with Phil Callaway, "A Successful Hollywood Marriage." Enjoy!

In this episode from the Adventures in Odyssey audio series, school bully Dion returns to town after a long absence and seems to have a complete change of heart. Buddy isn’t convinced of his change and tries to find the real reason that Dion is so different.

On a peaceful fall day, Tim & Aileen Challies' son, a seminary student engaged to be married, suddenly collapsed during a pickup game on campus. He would never come home. In this candid conversation, Tim & Aileen share what followed: shock, isolation, a marriage grieving in different languages, and the search for God in the silence. When the unthinkable happens, you may find yourself asking, “Why does God let bad things happen?”—and wonder if your faith is strong enough to hold you. Or maybe, you'll discover it’s holding you.

Show Notes and Resources

• Order your copy of "Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God" in our shop
• Visit Tim's blog at challies.com
• Follow Tim on facebook: @challies
• Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom.

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Our culture doesn’t exactly inspire contentment—everything around us is designed to promote dissatisfaction, comparison, envy, and competition. But you can stop this disappointment cycle by being thankful. When you count your blessings your worry shifts to gratitude, and you begin enjoying all God has given you.

Tragically, King Uzziah didn’t learn well enough what it meant to fear and worship God. He had a good start. He walked humbly with God, pursued the disciplines of godly living, and sought wise counsel. But when he achieved military prowess and gained notoriety, his heart became proud. He built monuments to himself. Then his fear of God waned, and he sinned against Him. And Uzziah’s sin had lifelong consequences.

From the Series: Fascinating Stories of Forgotten Lives: Rediscovering Some Old Testament Characters

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Mystery rides were part of growing up at our house. Usually it was a Sunday afternoon, and I'd pile our three kids into our car for a ride. I think we explored every corner of our area. And as we did, we discovered over the years, a lot of great things. But I've got one son who's a lot like me. He wants to know the plan before we leave.

"Hey, Dad, where are we going? Where are we going to eat? What are we going to eat? What are we going to do while we're there? How long will we be there? What time are we going to get home?" He would pump me with more questions; I felt like I was being interrogated by a police sergeant. Sometimes I knew it was better not to explain where we were going. I mean we've done things that would have sounded boring if I had told about them, but they turned out to be exciting and I knew they would. Plus surprises are fun anyway. So, my kids got used to hearing two words when we were about to begin a mystery trip, "Trust me." I don't think I let them down. It was good training for journeys with their other Father.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Going Not Knowing."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the life of the Apostle Paul. He's still Saul of Tarsus here. Acts 9 - he's on his way to wipe out Christians. He missed some in Jerusalem. So he said, "I'll get them in Damascus. They all went there; I'll find them in Syria." We begin in verse 3: "As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?' 'Well, who are you, Lord?' Saul asked. 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 'Now, get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'"

Now, it's interesting that Saul's training for his whole life in Christ began immediately with a mystery trip. Yeah, did you notice that? He has just opened up to Jesus, and the Lord says, "Go into the city and you will be told." "Lord, what do you want me to do there? Who am I going to meet there? How am I even going to be able to see; I'm blind right now?" The Lord says, "Go and you will be told." Well, he spent the rest of his life living like that.

In Acts 20, when he was on his way to Jerusalem as the great Apostle Paul and his friends were trying to discourage him, he said, "Compelled by the Spirit, I am going not knowing." See, you have a heavenly Father who often takes His children on mystery trips. Maybe you're on one of His mystery trips right now. There's a good destination He's got in mind, but right now He's telling you just the next step. In essence, He's saying to you as He did to Saul, "Go, and you will be told as you are on the way."

It may well be that you're in the middle of one of those times right now, and the tendency is to say, "Now, Lord, if you'll just give me all the information, give me all the facts, I'll start going that direction." And the Lord says, "No, you start moving in that direction I've told you to go, and you'll get more information as you go."

Now, maybe you're waiting to have all your questions answered before you move, and right now there are more question marks than there are periods or exclamation points for sure. Can you almost hear your Father saying as He bundles you into His car, "Trust Me, let's start traveling together."

Hey, He died for you. Is He ever going to do you wrong? God's mystery trips always lead to a destination that is selected with you in mind, for your good. So, why not settle back, enjoy the trip, and let Him drive. Trust your Father and don't be afraid of going not knowing.

Read: Matthew 7:7-11

Snow was starting to fall from the sky as Nick looked out his bedroom window, and he let out a sigh of frustration. His cousins were supposed to come that weekend, but if the roads were snowy and slippery, they wouldn’t be able to make it.

Nick missed his cousins and looked forward to their visits a few times each year. He had all kinds of plans for when they arrived, and he even had their sleeping bags already set up in his room.

Nick turned from the window and went downstairs, where his parents had the TV on. “Is it going to be a bad storm?” he asked as the weatherman talked away on the screen.

“We’re not sure yet.” Dad got up. “Help me make some hot chocolate?”

Nick wasn’t really in the mood for hot chocolate even though it was one of his favorite treats, but he followed his dad to the kitchen.

“Hey, don’t look so down,” Dad said as he filled the tea kettle with water. “The roads might be clear enough by morning. We can pray that they will be.”

Nick pulled his favorite mug from the cupboard. “Do you think God cares about this?”

Dad set the tea kettle on the stove and turned to him with raised brows. “Do I think so? I know so. The Bible tells us over and over again how much God cares about us. He loves us so much that He sent Jesus to save us so we could start a new life with Him, and that means He cares about every worry or problem we have.”

“So He doesn’t think it’s weird if we ask for the roads to be clear?” Nick asked.

“Not at all,” Dad said. “The Bible says God knows what you need even before you ask Him. He always knows what’s on your heart and mind and wants to help you.”

Dad tossed Nick a bag of marshmallows. “That doesn’t mean the roads will for sure be clear tomorrow. Sometimes He doesn’t answer our prayers the way we ask or expect. But we can always talk to Him about anything that’s on our minds and ask for His help.”

“Okay.” Nick set the marshmallows down and folded his hands. “I’m going to ask right now.”

–Bethany Acker

How about you? When you start to worry about things, do you think to pray? God cares about everything that’s happening in your life—even the “small” things. He knows what you need even before you ask Him for help. He may not always answer your prayers the way you want, but He promises to be with you and help you. Tell Him what’s on your mind, no matter how small it seems.

Today's Key Verse: Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:8 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Pray about anything on your mind

As long as we stay on the right track, we'll arrive at our desired destination.

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An auditorium full of medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine listened intently as ninety-year-old Ruth Gottesman spoke. As she concluded, Ruth announced—to the students’ gasps, cheers, and pandemonium—that she was donating $1 billion so that they could finish their education tuition free. This is the largest donation ever given to a medical school. Yet in the interviews that followed, you would have thought that Gottesman was the one receiving the gift. She expressed joy, delight, and honor to be able to give her money away.

Proverbs tells us that this is how generosity works. The one who “gives freely,” far from being left diminished or bereft, finds blessings they hadn’t anticipated (11:24). When we freely open our hands to others, we’re somehow left with something more—not less. “Whoever refreshes,” Scripture says, “will be refreshed” (v. 25). We’re tempted to tightly grip whatever we have, fearful that we’ll be taken advantage of or left with nothing. God’s economy works differently, however. Jesus went a step further, stating that it’s “more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

We can be generous with our lives and our resources, offering what we have to others in need. And then, in return we’ll find that we end up receiving too. There’s plenty for everyone in God’s kingdom.