Hope with God... with Andrew and Wendy Palau

Have you ever experienced the frustration and confusion of unanswered prayers? I’ve had to walk through situations I desperately wanted God to change, and He didn’t—at least not in the way I had hoped. If that’s happened to you, you’re not alone in wondering…Does God even care? In Matthew 7, Jesus answers this question, saying… You parents—if your children ask you for a loaf of bread, do you give...

Are you tired of asking God for the same thing over and over again? Do you wonder if He even hears you? Is your faith wavering? Oh, my friend, He does hear you. And over and over again, He tells us to ask as a child coming to a father…a father who loves us…a father who won't abuse us or take advantage of us. He will answer. Sometimes He says yes. Sometimes He says no. Sometimes He says not yet. An...

Have you ever tried to pray and found yourself not knowing what to say? Talking to God can feel intimidating at times. We worry about whether we’re “doing it right,” and it’s easy to feel as though…if we found the right words, maybe God would be more likely to answer our prayer. But you know what? That’s really not how it works. We can simply talk to God the same way we would speak to a trusted co...

Peace is something we all long for. Some seek peace by numbing away stress with drugs and alcohol. Some look to relationships or circumstances. Others simply try to distract themselves from unpleasant emotions. But God’s peace is much better than any of those temporary fixes. Philippians 4 says, Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which...

How do we feel God's presence, especially in dark times and difficult circumstances? There's a promise in the Bible that carries me through tough times. The words of Jesus to His best friends right before He went to the cross. He said, Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you. He said these words right before He took the suffering and sin of the world on Himself. What a promise. On the cro...

Have you ever felt so broken and low that even asking for help seemed overwhelming? Know that you can come to Jesus just as you are. You can pray one of the simplest and most powerful prayers I know, and it’s this: Jesus, here I am—help me! God hears your cries. He knows every struggle, and He loves you completely. Hebrews 4:15-16 says… …we do not have a high priest (that’s Jesus) who is unable to...

Anxiety. It's a common word these days. Anxiety is, basically, fear. And where does unfounded and crippling fear come from? It comes from lies. And who is the father of lies? The devil—the enemy of our souls. And, what is the opposite of fear and anxiety? Peace. Are you listening to lies? How is this impacting you? Call the lies what they are—call them out —realize what they are. But then call on...

Are you looking for more peace in your life? Many come to Jesus seeking a peace-filled life, but it’s easy to get discouraged when we don’t quickly feel peaceful. Part of the problem is that we want God to make life easier, but we are too frightened or ashamed to bring Him the worst parts of ourselves—the deepest, darkest places of pain. In 1 Peter 5, the Bible says, …humble yourselves under the m...

Have you ever struggled to believe that God really forgives you? Sometimes we feel the urge to do something special to “make it up” to God. But truly, my friend, there is nothing more to do but to humbly apologize before God, and surrender that area of your life to His ways. Jesus created a living picture of forgiveness when He washed His disciples’ feet. They couldn’t understand why Jesus, the Li...

Do you have children? One of the most difficult journeys I've had as a mother is realizing my limitations in my children's spiritual lives. My husband and I can teach, and train, and guide, and direct our children. But each of them have to choose Jesus for themselves. God has no grandchildren. He only has children. Each of our children have to step into their own personal relationship with Him, th...

Do you ever worry that you might’ve sinned without knowing it? During our lifetimes, we will use unintentionally hurtful words, think cruel, unloving thoughts, and neglect kindnesses that ought to be prioritized. We may never realize we are doing any of these things. But God does. Thankfully, He is not a harsh God, but a God full of mercy and full of grace. We can ask Him to show us all the areas...

Does your past haunt you at times? Do you find yourself wondering if God has really forgiven you? Or does He remember the things you've done to hurt others and yourself? You're not alone. I'm so happy you're listening today! Because I want to convince you—I want to remind you and encourage you of what is true. When Jesus went to the cross, He did it to take care of your past. Listen to these amazi...

Have you ever doubted your salvation? Maybe you decided to follow Jesus, but your old sins are still following you around. It’s hard to believe, but sin does not destroy your salvation. If it did, we would all be doomed. But Jesus’ rightness—given to us through His death and resurrection—is more than big enough to cover all your wrongness. Your past sins and your future sins as well. It’s God’s lo...

There are situations in our lives we desperately wish we could control, but we are powerless to change. We’re not the ones with the power, but our God IS. The apostle Paul struggled with a physical ailment that he was unable to change. But he knew that God’s power met him in that place of weakness. In 2 Corinthians 12:19, he shares what the Lord said to him about it: Each time, he said, “My grace...

The Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. If you're on this journey with God, this is a lifetime journey. And we cannot rely on our feelings. We must build our spiritual lives on what is true. Think of a runner. As you run, you go through every single emotion…energy and exhaustion, doubt, hope, frustration, and excitement. Persevere, my friend. Don't build your journey on how you feel today....

Can people really change? The answer is, yes! But, it’s not easy. Often, we aren’t motivated to change unless we have to—because personal growth means giving something up. Those who choose to work on a struggling marriage will have to let go of unrealistic ideas of what “the perfect relationship” is. But whatever we need to surrender in order to follow God’s ways—He’s worth it. And, more than any...

Do you have some behaviors and habits that feel like never-ending cycles? Maybe something you do to yourself or to others that continues to discourage you, but you don't seem to be able to change? Well, I want to encourage you. We all have them. Even the greatest writer of the New Testament, the apostle Paul. He wrote these words in the Book of Romans—he said, I do not understand what I do. The th...

Have you ever been in a tough season of a relationship and wondered, “How can I get this person to change?” It’s a tempting thing to think about— “If I could only fix this one thing about them…everything would work out.” But the hard truth is—we can’t make others change. We can only choose how we want to respond, grow, and change ourselves. How do you think God would want you to behave when your r...

If you died today, do you think you would just cease to exist? Or do you believe there’s something more? Some say that your fate depends on whether you were a good person in life. If that’s true, a lot of us are doomed. We’ve all done bad things. We’ve made so many mistakes. And in many cases, there’s no way to undo the damage. But the Bible says that when Jesus died on the cross, He paid for the...

We're doing some work on our house right now, and the builder was at our home yesterday. And we were talking about his life and how he came to know Jesus. Then he said to me, This house…it will not last. Only one thing will last—we will live for eternity in heaven with God. As I walked away from this conversation, I was reminded of the power of this truth. We are eternal souls. We will live foreve...

The world in its present state cannot last forever. And people drive themselves crazy wondering when and how it’s all going to come to an end. The Bible talks about Jesus coming back to remake the world into something new. People were wondering about it even in the time of Jesus, and they asked Him—When will it all happen? And this is what He said: …no one knows the day or hour when these things w...

Do you know that you are made to love God? I remember as a teenager I had a friend who said to me, Why does God tell us to love and worship Him? It seems selfish and proud. Is God selfish and proud? Ah! As I've come to know Him and love Him so deeply, the truth is the opposite. God offers us a way to love Him and to know Him—to be in relationship with Him. Not only that, He humbled Himself in the...

Have you ever seen a picture of the Earth taken from space? In the vastness of the universe, we are so small that it’s easy to feel like our lives are insignificant. Though the small choices we make today will have ripple effects, it’s highly unlikely they will impact all 8 billion people on Earth. That’s okay! But today still matters, and you matter to God, the one who made it all! In Psalm 139:1...

Have you ever put together a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle? No one can deny there’s satisfaction in placing the final piece of the puzzle. At last, the picture that was scrambled becomes clear. Chaos is brought into order. I wish we could do that with life, don’t you? Somehow figure it out and miraculously fix everything? Well, we can’t. But there’s someone who can—and it is Jesus. Isaiah 61 is an anc...

Are you ruled by fear? Fear is a powerful thing, and living in fear is debilitating. Everything feels hard. Our lives become small. We lose relationships, and we struggle to have the boldness to take risks. The truth is that the enemy of our souls loves fear. Jesus offers us something else. By the power and presence of His Holy Spirit, He calls us and offers us an option—a beautiful option—a life...