Daily Devotions for Busy Lives

Somebody tells you that you got it wrong, and your defenses take over. Learn what Solomon's word for pride has to do with a pot of stew, and what Franklin did about his. Most of us have had a moment like this. Somebody tells us we got something wrong, and something flares up before they've even finished the sentence. Then we start answering. Our defenses take over, and we spend all our time trying...

Anna's family moved on every time they found the flaw, and they never settled anywhere. Learn why the Greek behind "obey" in Hebrews 13:17 is softer than the English. Every mature Christian hits a stretch where they can see what's wrong with their church. The music isn't what you'd pick. The leadership makes a call you'd have handled another way, and you can list three reasons why. This episode op...

Erin quit gossiping for a month and it cost her friendships. Learn what the Hebrew behind "restrain" means, and the one thing Solomon promises the person who holds back. Most of us wouldn't take the title. You pass things along, or you add one detail to a conversation that was already running. Nobody would pick you out of a lineup for it. And here's what nobody warns you about. Stopping costs you...

The thought keeps popping into your head, and you've told nobody. Learn why Paul calls your body a tent, and what he puts underneath a Christian's confidence about dying. Some Christians have reached a stage where the thought of dying shows up more than it used to. A friend your age got a diagnosis. Or your own body has been letting you know it's older than it was. And you probably haven't said it...

Every time you have to show up, something in you resists. Learn what Jesus told two eager disciples six verses earlier, and what Acts 6 says about letting a role go. You said yes to something a few years ago. A ministry role, or a volunteer slot. You were willing then, and you meant it. Lately every time you have to show up, something in you resists, and you can feel it building. When serving star...

You smile through the sermon with a question you've never told anyone. Learn what Psalm 42:9 does that verse 3 doesn't, and what Asaph was afraid of. Some Christians have been in the same pew for years with a question they've never said to another living person. You smile through the sermon. You handle the small talk in the lobby. And the whole time there's something you've been turning over that...

You prayed, you asked a friend, and you decided. Learn the Hebrew word behind "counsel," and what Solomon's own son did with the advice standing in front of him. A lot of Christians make the big calls on their own. The job change. The way to handle a conflict in the family. You pray about it, which is the right instinct, and then you decide, which is usually early. And some of us do ask. We just a...

You're afraid of saying it wrong, so you say nothing. Learn what verses 6 and 8 do to 2 Timothy 1:7, and the Greek word Paul uses only once. Most Christians have a moment they can point to. The conversation at work where you had something to say and let it pass. The encouragement you composed in your head and never delivered. And here's the fear that usually wins. You're afraid of botching it, of...

The post that gets ignored stings worse than it should. Learn what verse 42 says about the men in John 12, and the test that has little to do with your posting habits. You post something and check your phone a few seconds later to see who liked it. The post that gets attention gives you a lift. The one that gets ignored stings worse than a few missing taps ought to sting. And you can't quite argue...

You let something go and now you wonder if you quit too soon. Learn what Nehemiah did for three days and one night before he said a word about rebuilding. A lot of us have something we started with everything we had and then let go of. A book you were writing, or a ministry you were sure God had put in front of you. Walking away felt right at the time, and it may well have been right. Now you look...

Prayer time becomes task-switching with your eyes closed. Learn why David asked God to search him after twenty-two verses saying God already had. You sit down to pray and your mind is already somewhere else. The grocery list, or the email you forgot to send. Prayer time turns into task-switching with your eyes closed. You come back and apologize, and twenty seconds later you've drifted off again....

The fire of your early faith has settled and the highs come less often. Learn what Moses told Israel to do with forty years of wilderness, and why verse 4 matters. You've been following Jesus for thirty or forty years, and it doesn't feel the way it did at the start. The worship service doesn't move you like it did when you were twenty-five. Then comes the thought that makes your stomach drop. You...

You told a friend to rest while you were burning out. Learn what Paul's repeated verb in Romans 2:21 asks, and the one step that closes the split. You've done it. You told a friend to slow down and rest while you were running yourself into the ground. You told your kid to pray about something while you'd been avoiding God for a month. The counsel was good and you meant every word of it. You just w...

If the whole shape of your prayer life has become you talking to God about you, something starts to shrink. Learn the two verses before Job 42:10 that change how you read it, and the one name to pick this week. Most of us pray mostly for ourselves. Our worries. Our needs. The job interview coming up, or the decision we've been turning over for a month. Nothing is wrong with any of that, since Jesu...

The thing you're hiding is doing less damage than the hiding itself, and the upkeep is daily. Learn what the Hebrew behind will not prosper says, and the second verb in Proverbs 28:13 that most people read past. Some Christians have been keeping something from their husband or wife. A struggle with spending, or a doubt about God that's been growing for a year. You've told yourself you'll tell them...

The sermons reference political figures and the small group assumes how you vote, so you bite your tongue or stay home. Learn the request Jesus refused to make for His disciples, and what He asked for instead. A lot of Christians are uneasy about what their church has become. The sermons reference political figures more than they used to, and the small-group conversation assumes everybody in the r...

You know God forgave what you did, and you still cringe at the person who did it. Learn where Isaiah 1:18 falls in the chapter, and why God picked the two stains everybody knew were permanent. A lot of Christians have pockets of embarrassment about who they used to be. Decisions you'd never make now, or a choice you look back at and wince about. Here's what's confusing about it. You may be complet...

You know when it's starting and how it ends, and nothing changes. Learn what James refuses to do when a church brings him their fights, and the one question to ask yourself instead. Some couples and some friends have the same argument every few months. The topic changes and the pattern holds. You know when it's starting, and you know what each of you is about to say. Then the fight ends the way it...

The answer came and something unexpected came with it, and you can't say so without sounding ungrateful. Learn what Psalm 126 means by like a dream, and the scene in Ezra where weeping and shouting could not be told apart. Maybe you prayed for something for years. The job. The restored relationship. And then it came. So you should be celebrating, and you are, in part. But the answer didn't look li...

Your practices are intact and your growth has stopped, and coasting looks a lot like stability. Learn what Haggai means by consider your ways, and the one step that came before God stirred them up. Every long-term Christian has stretches of coasting, and here's what keeps yours out of sight. You're still going to church. You're still praying before meals. Nothing has fallen apart, and you're not i...

You've said the comforting things and prayed in the kitchen, and the anxiety hasn't moved. Learn who Isaiah 35:3 is speaking to, and what it gives you to say. Maybe you've watched somebody you love wrestle with anxiety that won't lift. A husband or a wife, or a friend you've known for twenty years. You've said the comforting things more than once, and you've prayed with them in the kitchen, and th...

You've joined the church and brought the dish, and there's still a pane of glass between you and the room. Learn why Hebrews 11 calls God's people resident aliens, and what verse 15 says about going back. Some Christians go years feeling like they don't quite fit anywhere. The people at work don't share your faith, so there's a layer of your life they can't go into. The old friends have drifted. Y...

Your bills are paid and the arithmetic is still running at eleven at night. Learn why Agur prayed for the middle in Proverbs 30, and what it means to hand God the calculation. Some people have money anxiety that keeps running even when their situation is stable. The calculation never shuts off. Enough for retirement. Enough if the car breaks down in February. What makes it confusing is that nothin...

You reach the first loss that matters and discover you don't have a method for it. Learn what Matthew 5:4 says about mourners, and why the comfort was never tied to doing grief correctly. A lot of adults reach their first big loss and discover they don't have a method for it. Nobody taught them. In the house they grew up in, grief got moved past in a hurry, or somebody handed them the line about b...

You catch yourself laughing after a loss, and guilt shows up right behind it. Learn what the ashes of Isaiah 61 were, and who does the exchange that puts gladness back into a grieving heart. There's something that happens to people who have lost someone. You catch yourself laughing, and a flash of guilt comes with it. Being happy starts to feel like a betrayal of the person you lost, as though joy...