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Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible. Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org.

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There are so many things we don’t know. We don’t know if the economy will dip or if our team will win. We don’t know what our spouse is thinking or how our kids will turn out. And Scripture reminds us we don’t even know “what we ought to pray for” (Romans 8:26).

But according to Paul’s words in Romans 8:28, we can be absolutely certain about four things: We know God works. He is ceaseless and tireless. God works for our ultimate good. God works for the good of those who love him. And God works in all things. Not a few things, in all things!

Puppet in the hands of fortune or fate? Not you. You are in the hands of a living, loving God. Your life a crafted narrative written by a good God who’s working for your supreme good.

Read more God's Story, Your Story

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Charles Joughin was a sailor from the young age of eleven. He served as a baker on a number of ships, and in 1912 got hired onto a cruise ship sailing out of Southampton, England. That ship, the Titanic, hit an iceberg in the Northern Atlantic. As the ship went down, Joughin helped people into lifeboats. He himself stood atop the end of the Titanic as it sunk vertically into the water. Miraculously, he survived.

Thirty years later, during World War II, Charles was on another ship, the RMS Oregon. It was rammed by another vessel, and it also sank. Remarkably Joughin survived, again.

Scriptures tell us we’re all on a sinking ship. Paul writes, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). He refers to the rebellious nation of Israel, quoting Isaiah: “Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom” (Isaiah 1:9). Paul speaks of a “remnant” of Israel, a shipload of survivors: “only the remnant will be saved” (Romans 9:27). How are they saved? By receiving the good news (Romans 10:16). You see, we’re all like Israel, drowning in our sin. None of us can be rescued unless we receive the good news. The lifeboat that God throws out to us all is Jesus.

We who believe in Jesus might need to be reminded of the remarkable truth that we are, by God’s mercy, survivors. Those who haven’t yet found Jesus in the troubled waters of life might do well to climb in the lifeboat.

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Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible. Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org.

Find more encouragement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

You don’t have to hurry or scurry. The Spirit-led life does not panic; it trusts.

In Ephesians 1:19-20 (NCV) the apostle Paul reminds us that, “God’s power is very great for us who believe. That power is the same as the great strength God used to raise Christ from the dead and put him at his right side in the heavenly world.” The same hand that pushed the rock from the tomb can shove away your doubt. The same power that stirred the still heart of Christ can stir your flagging faith. The same strength that put Satan on his heels can, and will, defeat Satan in your life.

Just keep the power supply open. Who knows, you may soon hear people asking, “What’s gotten into you?” You see, as God’s story becomes our story, his power becomes our power.

Read more God's Story, Your Story

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Blaise Pascal famously said there’s an “infinite abyss” inside us that only an infinite God can fill. “You have made us for yourself, O Lord,” Augustine prayed, “and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” As David put it, like thirsty people in the desert, our whole being “longs” for God (Psalm 63:1).

Surprisingly, however, it isn’t only humans that experience longing. God does too. While the infinite God of the universe needs nothing outside Himself to be fulfilled, the Bible says He “longs” to have us back when we stray (James 4:4-5), and repeatedly says He wants a people to call His own (Exodus 6:7; Hebrews 8:10).

For thousands of years this longing has fueled God’s missionary endeavors: sending prophets to win back His straying people and ultimately sending His Son to find His lost sheep (Isaiah 30:18; Luke 19:10). The good news is that in the end, this longing will be fulfilled: “They will be his people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:3). God and human beings will dwell together (v. 2).

Humans long for God and no substitute will satisfy. God longs for humans and no substitute will do. So no wonder there’s rejoicing in heaven when one sinner repents (Luke 15:7). When we run to God’s open arms, everyone is fulfilled.

Take a look at Joni and her friend Renée singing together here!

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Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible. Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org.

Find more encouragement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.

Wait on the Spirit. If Peter and the apostles needed his help, don’t we? They walked with Jesus for three years, heard his preaching, and saw his miracles. They saw the body of Christ buried in the grave and raised from the dead.  They witnessed his upper room appearance and heard his instruction. Had they not received the best possible training? Weren’t they ready? Yet Jesus told them to wait on the Spirit. “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised…the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5).

Learn to wait, to be silent, to listen for his voice. Cherish stillness; sensitize yourself to his touch. And just think—you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all. All God’s gifts right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene.

Read more God's Story, Your Story

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

The acclaimed painting Let My People Go by Aaron Douglas uses vibrant colors of lavender, green, and gold, along with traditional African imagery, to tell the biblical story of Moses and connect it with Black Americans’ struggle for freedom and justice.

The painting portrays God’s appearance to Moses in a burning bush when he revealed that He’d seen the plight of the Israelites in Egypt. The artist uses a beam of light to symbolize God and His message, “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:10).

In Let My People Go, Moses kneels in obedient submission to God’s instructions, but the eye is drawn to the dark waves and horses trained for war surrounding him—reminding viewers of the struggles the Israelites would face as they left Egypt. But the beam of light shines brightly as a reminder that God would be with the Israelites in their struggle.

The emotions evoked by the painting resonate because the struggle against injustice continues; many use their power to oppress men, women, and children around the world. As those suffering cry out for God to be “a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble” (Psalm 9:9), we can plead with God to respond to their cries for help. And, like Moses, we can be willing to act on behalf of the oppressed.