This nation has so much to offer, and Lord, we pray for our nation to truly be a City on a Hill.

Thank you to God for your continued breath in your lungs and for the sun rising above your head again. Thank you because a new morning means His mercies are renewed. Thank you because a new day is another step toward whatever God has planned for you.

In what ways do you need to be reminded that God is your strength and your defense? He is fighting for you, and He is guarding You. I love how we know that it is the Lord who holds the victory, and we are His beloved children. Even when the war seems to tarry, our Savior reminds us of His everlasting presence and His power in the midst of the battle. We can have eternal mindsets with the help of His Spirit.

How do we live in this world while we’re waiting for the next? Paul tells us, that we are not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). What is it that transforms our minds? God’s Word. When we saturate ourselves with the Word of God, we can focus on what is unseen instead of what is seen.

Jesus was trying to help his disciples see that the part of you no one sees is more important than the part of you that everyone sees because the part no one sees is who you really are. So how do your insides look, and who are you when it is just you and Jesus and no one else around? The way you answer that question will help determine if your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.

The process of patience refines us and takes us on a journey of learning to trust in God. When we pray for patience, we are asking boldly for the Lord to give us more confidence in who He is regardless of what we see. We are asking Him to help us to slow down and believe that He cares for us and our individual needs and desires. Today, let’s go to His throne and ask Him to grow us in this amazing way.

The Israelites were really good at creating idols for themselves or falling into the temptation to worship other idols from other nations. However, the truth is that we are all susceptible to this sin. Idolatry may not look like physical carved images for us today, but think about social media profiles, our houses, cars, popularity status, or hobbies. We can quickly have hearts that are not all about Jesus if we are not careful. Isaiah reminds us that our praise is to only go to the One True God, not to anything or anyone else.

God uses everything in your life for His purpose, Everything. It all matters – every ounce of it. Nothing is dropped, nothing is discredited. God wants you to flourish and grow in Him, and bear fruit for Him. We do this by giving ourselves fully to His faithful ways, trusting our lives in the hands of the master Gardner. It is then that we can grow and bear fruit and come to realize it all matters.

I have known many people who have, in the words of Phillip Yancey, experienced “disappointment with God.” Their prayers were not answered in a way they had anticipated. Life didn’t turn out the way they had planned. Sickness or tragedy interrupted their dreams. Psalm 26:8-12 has a special message for you. You do not have to understand the deep mysteries of the universe to come home to God. You can have your disappointment and your questions, too. You don’t have to check them at the door of grace (or else the gift of God would not indeed be grace). You come the way you are and lay those burdens at the foot of the cross.

Anyone who gives his or her life to Jesus will be saved and invited into the family of God. Then, he or she will be given a new life and a new purpose. There is a beauty in being called to use our unique individual gifts to share the hope that we have in Christ.