READ: PSALM 139:7-12; LUKE 15:1-7; ROMANS 8:31-39

I spread mortar on the next brick. The thick sludge looks like grey toothpaste as I smother it on the porous red block. I set the brick firmly on top of the others and reach impatiently for the next one, scoop another trowel-full of mortar and slap it down. Another brick, and another, and another.

The wall is tall enough, and now I’m making it thicker. I lost track of how many layers of bricks I’ve put up. It doesn’t matter.

I don’t bother to focus my eyes on anything. I just keep going. I don’t feel anything. I just keep going. I’ve gotten pretty good at not feeling. It takes practice, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Detach. Disengage. Just keep going.

As I place the next brick, the wall thumps. Thumps? I pause with my hand midair. I listen. The wall thumps again. And again. And again. It’s getting louder. And suddenly I realize—something’s trying to get in.

I work quickly, my hands trying to keep pace with my racing pulse. I grab more mortar, more bricks, and focus on adding more layers to the spot where I hear the thumping. I can feel the wall shaking now. Just a little. But the pounding is getting stronger with every blow.

I’m working furiously now, trying to build the wall faster than it can be broken down. I have to keep myself away from what’s on the other side. Who’s on the other side. Detach. Disengage. Just keep going. What’s on the other side is the stuff of childish hopes. I won’t be a fool. I won’t let myself get drawn in—again. I used to think everything that was good and right and beautiful was possible and real. But now I’ve grown up. I know the truth. Don’t let yourself hope. Don’t let yourself feel. Don’t be tricked into trusting. Even the light casts shadows.

But then, I hear a crack. I look to my right, and suddenly the newest layer of bricks bursts open. And I see a hand. Reaching for me. Oh, that hand! It’s Him—it’s really Him! I grasp His hand, and every feeling I haven’t felt bursts open in sobs of pain and relief.

Jesus, my Jesus. My only Jesus. They told me you weren’t as good as I thought You were. They hurt my friends. They hurt me. They told me that’s what You wanted. They told me I didn’t really know You. And after a while, it hurt too much to hope.

I cling to His hand, His warm, strong hand. And He holds on to me. “I’m here. I will always come for you. Always.”

My sob catches in my throat, and all I can do is nod. I have so many tears left to cry, and yet, I can feel myself beginning to hope again. Then He says gently, “I’m not going anywhere. Now, how about I take down the rest of this wall?” • Hannah Howe

• Have you experienced things that made you feel like Jesus wasn’t as good as you hoped He was? Maybe you’ve seen a devastating natural disaster, or lost someone you love, or maybe people have said or done wrong things—whether people in the church or outside the church—that have hurt you or people you care about. Consider taking a moment to ask Jesus to help you notice how He is even now pursuing you with love.

• Jesus invites us to tell Him about all the hurtful, confusing, and infuriating things we encounter in this broken world—and He also provides trustworthy Christians in our lives who can help us process what we’ve experienced and get out of unsafe situations if needed. God sees how messed up things are, and He grieves all the world’s brokenness far more deeply than we do. He knows how bad our sin is, yet He wants to forgive and restore us. He longs to enfold us in His arms and bring healing to our hurting places. That’s the kind of love He has for us. That’s why He went to the cross and rose from the grave for us. He came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10)...

READ: MATTHEW 7:1-5; JAMES 2:10; 1 JOHN 1:7-9

Are you ever tempted to believe that your sins are bigger or smaller than somebody else’s? It’s an easy lie to fall into. But in God’s sight, there are no big or small sins. It’s all just plain sin.

It might be helpful to think of sin like stepping on a rock. Whether you trip over a large rock or step barefoot on a small, sharp pebble, it hurts! Stumbling on a rock of any size can stop us in our tracks. It’s easy to think that “small” sins like hiding the truth, gossip, and jealousy aren’t really a big deal, but even little pebbles can cause great pain. James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” When we commit a sin that seems small to us, we may think it’s not so bad. But the Bible says if we break just one small part of God’s law, we’re as guilty as if we’d broken every part.

Now, that doesn’t mean we might as well sin big because it’s all the same to God. But instead of pointing a finger at others when they sin, insisting their sins are bigger than ours, we need to confess our own sins to God. Our sin has caused each one of us to stumble and fall, but Jesus wants to pick us back up and tenderly care for our wounds. He took all our sin upon Himself on the cross, and then He was resurrected from the dead to defeat sin and death. If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, all our sins are paid for. He forgives us for all of them—past, present, and future.

So whenever we sin, we can admit our guilt to God, receive His forgiveness, and ask for His help to keep walking. Through the Holy Spirit, He will help us turn away from sin and look for ways we could make things right, such as apologizing, telling the truth, or providing payment for something we’ve damaged or stolen (Luke 19:1-10).

God knows that sin hurts everything it touches. That’s why He sent His Son, Jesus, so we could be forgiven and saved from sin. So none of us has any right to think we’re better than someone else. Instead of being critical of others, we can look for sins in our own lives, then confess them to God and walk forward with Him. • A. W. Smith

• What sins are you tempted to think of as “small”? Why do you think there’s no such thing as “small” sin in God’s eyes?

• God always wants to forgive and restore us. How can remembering God’s perfect grace help us confess all our sins to Him? (Find out more about His forgiveness through Jesus on our "Know Jesus" page.)

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. James 2:10 (NIV)

READ: PSALMS 32:8; 91:15; 119:105; PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7

Imagine for a moment you’re in a car, driving. On and on you go, but soon you realize you’re absolutely, hopelessly lost. The narrow, dead-straight country road stretches out before you with no chance to turn to the left or the right. Should you turn around and go back? You pull over and haul out your phone to use the GPS. It doesn’t work. What should you do? You’re in the middle of nowhere, and you have no idea which way to go. Is this the right way? How far can you go before you run out of fuel? There’s nothing to do but go on. Surely if you keep going you’ll eventually get somewhere.

So you continue, trying to stay calm. The sun begins to sink lower and lower in front of you until it’s dark. Pitch dark. You can’t even make out the shapes of the trees as you pass them anymore, can’t even see the lines on the road in front of you. You moisten your dry lips and try to swallow the growing lump of panic rising in your throat. What if you never get home again? The silence grows oppressive. If only there was a light somewhere, if only you had someone with you! And yet, it’s dark, and you’re completely alone.

But wait, aren’t you forgetting something? Why don’t you switch on the headlights? With a sigh of relief, you turn on the lights. Now you can see where you are! A thought suddenly strikes you—you may not be able to use your phone for a map, but you might have enough service to call your dad! You pull over to the side of the road, whip out your phone again, and call him. Before long, with help from your dad and those headlights, you manage to get home.

Driving alone without lights on a dark road sounds pretty terrifying, right? Yet so often that’s what we try to do with our lives. Psalm 119:105 tells us that the Word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. God wants to light our way! Jesus is the Light of the World, and whoever puts their trust in Him becomes God’s child (John 1:1-14; 8:12). We can always call upon the Lord, our Father, and He will answer us and guide us safely home. • Renata Hornshaw

• Life in our broken world can be difficult and confusing, but we never have to navigate it alone. God is with us, and He is eager to help us and guide us through His Spirit, His Word (the Bible), and His people (the church). In what ways do you need God’s help and guidance today?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

READ: MATTHEW 11:28-30; 1 PETER 5:6-7

Has a Bible verse ever hit you like a freight train—in a good way? I had that experience a couple months ago. I was going through a very stressful time in life with a number of large, sometimes painful decisions in front of me. I was weighed down, desperately trying to work through several problems in my own life while also coming alongside others experiencing problems in their lives.

I was reading through 1 Peter 5, and I came across verse 7: “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” I have read this verse dozens or hundreds of times, but this time it hit right at my heart. The breath rushed out of my body. I realized that I was clinging to my worries and cares, believing the lie that it would be irresponsible not to worry about them. I couldn’t give them over to God because it was my job to figure them all out.

It’s so easy to fall into this lie because, like many people, I want control over my own life. I don’t want God’s solutions to my problems; I want my solutions—and I want them now. God’s solutions might be uncomfortable, or they might take too long, or they might require too much from me. All these fears and lies and sinful desires can swirl around in my mind, clouding my vision and making it harder to see God with clarity.

But once I lay these down at Jesus’s feet and the smoke clears, I can finally see what God has been telling me. He loves me. His ways are so much better than my ways. And, yes, His solutions may be uncomfortable. They probably won’t arrive on my timetable. And they might require a lot from me. But, when I’m not clinging so tightly to control, I’m able to see how God is reaching for my hand, inviting me to depend on His strength instead of my own. He’s walking with me, providing everything I need. I really can give all my worries and cares to Him, because He really does care about me. • Taylor Eising

• Are there any worries you’ve been clinging to? Does it feel like it would be irresponsible not to worry about them? Consider taking some time to bring these worries to God.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

READ: PSALMS 34:5; 89:14, 30-34; ROMANS 8:1

When you were younger, did you ever get hurt while doing something you knew you weren’t supposed to do? Like, maybe as a toddler your parent told you not to touch the hot stove, but you did anyway and got burned. Or maybe when you were a bit older you went ahead and built an amateur ramp to jump your bike, even though your babysitter told you not to, and you ended up breaking your arm. The best thing to do when we mess up and get hurt is confess what we’ve done and ask for help. Similar to how we’d confess our disobedience to the adults who were trying to keep us safe, we confess our sin to God. Like a caring parent, God very quickly forgives His children for disobeying. Yet, the pain of the injury might stay for quite a while.

As we grow up, we come to find this same principle still holds true. When we disobey God and go against His good ways, He is eager to forgive us. Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, believing in His death and resurrection, all our sins have been paid for—past, present, and future. But God doesn’t always take away the natural consequences of what we’ve done. We sometimes have to face those consequences, even after we’ve been forgiven for our sin. Those consequences might look like broken trust, hurt relationships, lost opportunities, injuries, addiction, and more.

But the good news is, Jesus will walk with us as we face all these consequences, holding us in His love and giving us comfort and strength. It helps to remember that, for those who trust in Jesus, the consequences of sin are only temporary. Because He took the punishment for our sin when He died on the cross, we don’t have to face the ultimate consequence of sin—eternal separation from God. So one day, when we see Jesus face-to-face, we’ll never be in pain again.

God always forgives those who trust in Jesus, but He doesn’t always take away the consequences of our sin right away. In this broken world, we often experience painful results of wrong things we’ve done. But if we know Jesus, the consequences won’t last forever. Because of His great love for us He willingly experienced death, the ultimate consequence of our sin, so we don’t have to. And He rose again so we could have eternal life with Him. • A. W. Smith

• Can you think of a time you had to face the consequences of a sin, even after you confessed it? How could remembering that Jesus walks with us, even when we mess up, give us hope?

• As Christians, we don’t have to carry the guilt and shame of our sin anymore because Jesus has set us free! Find out more on our "Know Jesus" page.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; faithful love and truth go before you. Psalm 89:14 (CSB)

READ: PSALM 23; ISAIAH 53; MATTHEW 18:12-13

Remember when you were a little kid and would imagine what it would be like to be an animal? I do. I would wonder, What if I was a bird and I could fly? Or what if I was a cheetah and could run 75 miles per hour? What if I was a house cat and could lounge around all day without a worry in the world?

Well, these musings aren’t just for kids. In fact, the Bible often compares God’s people to sheep. Think about that. We are God’s sheep. The fact that we are fallen humans can sometimes distract us from this truth. As humans, it seems like there is so much for us to worry about, from essay deadlines to car insurance. But the Bible says the Lord is our Shepherd (Psalm 23:1). So even though we are human, and there are so many daily worries to tempt us, we don’t need to worry about anything because we are His sheep. And He is such a good Shepherd.

Being a sheep also means that we have all wandered astray from God’s perfect law, despite all the blessings we had been offered in life with Him. Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.” However, God has laid His judgment on Christ in our place. Christ is not only our Good Shepherd; He is also the sacrificial Lamb who died for us, “and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

Imagine you are a sheep under the care of a good shepherd who loves and provides for you. Isn’t that a peaceful thought? Perhaps you’ve sought greener pastures and found yourself lost in your sin. Yet, as we see in a parable Christ tells in Matthew 18:12-13, your Shepherd has left the entire flock to find you, rescue you, and rejoice over you. • Eliana Duran

• While it can be uncomfortable to think of ourselves as sheep, totally dependent on a shepherd for things as basic as sustenance and safety, what can Psalm 23 show us about life with Jesus?

• When are you most prone to wander away from the Good Shepherd, Jesus? Consider taking a moment to imagine yourself as a wandering sheep,and Jesus coming to find you, pick you up,and carry you to safety in His embrace. Your Shepherd loves you more than you could ever imagine. And you can rest in His care today. (If you want to dig deeper, read 1 Peter 2:24-25; 5:6-7.)

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11 (NIV)

READ: 1 SAMUEL 30:1-31; 1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-27

God has given each of us a unique role to play in His kingdom. As Christians, we all have different spiritual gifts and different roles, and no one person is greater than any other. We’re all called to love one another and participate in the kingdom of God together.

We find an interesting illustration of this in 1 Samuel 30. An Amalekite raiding party attacked and burned Ziklag, and they captured the wives and children of David and his men. After weeping severely and asking God what to do, David and his 600 men pursued the Amalekites. But when they reached a valley, about 200 of them were too exhausted to keep going, so they stopped to rest and watch the supplies while David and the remaining 400 men continued their pursuit. They found the raiding party, fought them, and rescued their families and recovered everything that had been stolen. They also took the Amalekites’ livestock as plunder.

But when the 400 fighting men return to the 200 resting men, some of the fighting men didn’t want to share the plunder with those who hadn’t fought. But David said, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us… The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike” (1 Samuel 30:24). David determined that no role was greater than any other or deserved more plunder. Each role was important and needed, and David made sure everyone received God’s gift.

Today, we have all been given different roles in life, and each one is important. Maybe right now your roles include being a student, daughter or son, or friend. Someday you might be an employee or employer, spouse, or parent. It can be easy to be discontent with our role in life when we find ourselves longing to have a different role or be at a different place in our lives, or when we’re jealous of others. But we can be encouraged knowing God has purposeful work for us to do right where we are in life right now. And one of the most important roles all believers have is being ministers of reconciliation. Jesus died on the cross and rose again to save us and bring us into His kingdom, and now He calls us to share this good news. • Elizabeth Cooper

• What roles do you have right now? How could you faithfully serve God in those roles? Is there anyone in your life you can share the good news of Jesus with? (2 Corinthians 5:11-21)

But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 1 Corinthians 12:18 (NIV)

READ: PSALMS 28:7; 33:1-3; 40:3; COLOSSIANS 3:16

While I was in high school, I wrote the first version of today’s poem as a song for my personal worship time. Although I can’t read or write music, I can strum a few chords on the guitar and still enjoy singing this song in my devotional time with God. Music is God’s gift to everyone, no matter how “musically inclined” we are (or not!). Through music, God helps us interact with Him in a unique way. We can speak to Him in song, and God often speaks to our hearts as we sing to Him. And, since Scripture repeatedly tells us to sing to God, I believe He delights in our songs more than we can imagine!

Sing a song of praise

unto the King of Kings;

Sing a song of praise—

He has done wondrous things!

Sing a song of praise

unto the Lord of Peace;

Sing a song of praise—

Let not your voices cease!

Sing His praise—Alleluia!

Shout His praise—Alleluia!

Sing a song! Sing a song of praise!

Sing a song of praise

unto the Lamb of old;

Sing a song of praise—

The Word of Truth behold!

Sing a song of praise

unto the LORD Most High;

Sing a song of praise—

His Name is Adonai!

Sing His praise—Alleluia!

Shout His praise—Alleluia!

Sing a song! Sing a song of praise! • G. Kam Congleton

• Jesus is the King and Lord of all creation, and yet He chose to humble Himself, taking the position of a servant and dying on a cross, then rising from the dead to make the way for us, His creation, to be with Him. What are some ways we can praise Him for that amazing act of love?

• Consider writing your own song of praise: Pick a Scripture passage—maybe Nehemiah 9:5-6 or one of today’s Bible passages. Then use some of your favorite phrases to create your own song to the Lord. No matter your musical bent, you can be sure of one thing: God is listening, and He delights in your song!

I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High. Psalm 7:17 (NIV)