When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, he said, “Do you want to get well?” John 5:6 (MSG) Nobody is born unhappy or pessimistic. But sometimes, in the face of what feels like a helpless situation, we can develop a negative outlook that causes us to abandon hope.   John 5:2–7 provides an example of this. In Jerusalem, there was a pool surrounded by five covered porches. Many sick, blind and paralyzed people lay in these porches, waiting for the waters to occasionally stir up. They believed whoever touched the bubbling water first would be healed of their ailment.   When Jesus passed by, He stopped to ask a paralyzed man who had been lying …

‍The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man… Genesis 39:2 (NKJV) What would you say if I asked, “Are you successful?” You might determine your answer by your career, your peers’ acknowledgment, how much money you make or whether you have a successful marriage.   How do you think Joseph would answer that question? When he was sold into slavery, he owned nothing, had no influence, and was considered another person’s property—yet God called him a successful man. God must have a different definition of success than we do. It’s revealed in today’s verse: “The Lord was with Joseph.”   And the same way God was with Joseph, He’s with you. Life doesn’t always have calm waters, but when the enemy tries to take you …

If we live like this, we shall know that we are children of the truth and can reassure ourselves in the sight of God, even if our own hearts make us feel guilty. For God is infinitely greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 1 John 3:19–20 (PHILLIPS) Do you find yourself avoiding silence? Maybe you keep busy so that you don’t have to slow down and be alone with your thoughts. If you feel a nagging sense of unease or guilt when things get quiet, it could be that your heart is condemning you.   You might put on a brave face and fool everyone else into thinking your life is perfect, but you can’t fool your own heart. Neither can you fool God. He …

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. James 1:23–24 (NKJV) There are two ways to handle God’s Word. Today’s verse says when you walk away and forget it, you head straight into deception. But as you look into the Word and “continue in it” (v. 25), meditating on what Jesus has done for you, it begins to change the beliefs of your heart—and it leads to blessing.   In the story of Peter walking on the water, the reason he began to sink was because his focus strayed to the storm. (See Matthew …

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV) One summer when I was speaking at a camp, I met a young guy who was a former hitman. He had recently started following Jesus, and they were hiding him out at this camp for a while to keep him safe from the people in his past. As I spent time with him, we became friends. Then suddenly, he disappeared.   I found out months later he had moved to a little town and started a family. But he still struggled with shame over the horrible things he had done. One day, he decided he didn’t deserve to live. He committed suicide, and he did it in a painful way because he thought …