2026-10-21
2 Samuel 7:28 NIV
We strive each day to ‘walk by faith, not by sight’ (2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV). But it doesn’t come easily. It takes a mind saturated in scripture to make a faith choice when you’re staring down the barrel of a situation that seems impossible. So how do you develop that kind of faith? For a relationship to thrive, both parties must invest time and energy into getting to know one other. Lasting connections are based on trust, and an intimate knowledge of the other person’s habits and character.
And it’s the same with God. Over time, as you prove His faithfulness it becomes easier to let go of your fear and replace it with trust. One author writes: ‘Getting to know God means walking with Him, spending time in His Word, getting to know His spotless character and the countless examples of His unfailing love illustrated in His ironclad promises. It means praying, talking, sharing all the details of your life and the inner workings of your heart. He knows it all already, but He enjoys the intimacy of the conversation.
And like any balanced relationship, we can’t always be the one talking. We have to make time to listen, to come before the Lord and get quiet, by silencing the noise of our thoughts and the rush of our emotions.’
Remember, the only place fear has to work is in the empty space where your faith should be. Fear is based on what you see and hear. Faith is based on knowing that God’s Word is reliable, and that He has promised ‘good things’ to those who believe Him for them!
Soul food: Isa 1-3; John 6:1-15; Ps 5; Pro 27:13-16
2026-10-20
Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
After falling twice in the 1988 Olympic speed-skating races, Dan Jansen sought out sports psychologist Dr Jim Loehr, who helped him find a new balance between sport and the rest of his life and to pay more attention to the mental aspects of skating. Peter Mueller became his coach, putting him through workouts that he described as ‘the toughest I’ve ever known’.
By the time the 1994 Olympics arrived, Jansen had more confidence than ever. He had set a 500-metre world record just two months previously, so that race seemed to be all his! Then the unimaginable happened, and he fell during the 500-metre race. Dr Loehr advised him, ‘Start preparing for the 1000-metre race. Put the 500-metre race behind you immediately. Stop reliving it. Think 1000!’
For years Jansen didn’t believe he could win that distance, as he had always considered it his weaker event. Now it was his last chance at an Olympic medal. As the race began, Jansen said, ‘I just seemed to be sailing along,’ and then he slipped and came within an inch of stepping on a lane marker. Still, he didn’t panic; he raced on and recorded a world-record time that won him the gold medal.
There’s an important lesson here for you. Put the past behind and believe that God has greater days in store for you – because He does. So the word for today is this: ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!’
Soul food: Exo 39-40; John 5:31-47; Ps 15; Pro 27:10-12
2026-10-19
Joshua 24:15 NKJV
Joe was a carpenter who worked for a building contractor. One day, the contractor said to him, ‘Joe, I’m putting you in charge of the next house we build. I want you to order the materials and oversee the job.’ Joe accepted the assignment with great enthusiasm. He studied the blueprints and checked every measurement and specification. Then he had a thought: ‘If I’m really in charge, why couldn’t I cut a few corners, use less expensive materials, and put the extra money in my pocket? Who will know? Once the house is painted, it will look great.’ So Joe ordered second-grade lumber and inexpensive concrete, put in cheap wiring, and cut every corner he could.
When the home was finished, the contractor came to see it. ‘What a fine job you have done!’ he said. ‘You have been faithful to me all these years, and I have decided to show you my gratitude by giving you this house that you just built as a gift.’ Night after night, as Joe lay in bed listening to the roof leaking and the floor creaking, the message came through loud and clear: The house you built is the house you will live in!
Are you short-changing your spouse and your family in love, time, example, and instruction? Count on it: there will come a time when you will regret what you have done and have left undone. And depending on time and opportunity, you may or may not have a chance to undo it. So make this your prayer: ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’
Soul food: Exo 36-38; John 5:16-30; Ps 41; Pro 27:7-9
2026-10-18
Nehemiah 6:3 NIV
Like David’s older brother Eliab, there will always be people who try to discourage you from killing the giant in your life or taking on any other God-given assignment (see 1 Samuel 17:28). Their resistance could be due to the fact that ‘misery loves company’. Or that they’re projecting their fear and lack of faith onto you. Or it could be envy; they resent your attempt to do what they are afraid to do. And this is even more so when you succeed where they have failed. Whatever their motivation and intention may be, you may have to stand alone in your quest.
Nehemiah’s enemies tried every trick in the book to deter him from rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. They were relentless. Notice how he handled their opposition: ‘Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together.”…But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent… this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer’ (Nehemiah 6:2-4 NIV).
Nehemiah remained steadfast in what he knew God had called him to do, and you must too. You must be willing to take the put-downs, the envy, the distractions, the discouraging words, and all other opposition and stand on God’s Word: ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’ (Romans 8:31 NIV). So the word for today is – be careful to whom you listen.
Soul food: Isa 61:1-9; Mark 12:41-44; Jam 2:14-23
2026-10-17
Psalm 118:24 NKJV
In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis demonstrated that God wants humankind to attend chiefly to two things: ‘To eternity itself, and to that point of time, which they call the Present. For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity.’ In light of that truth, Screwtape, the veteran demon, advised a novice named Wormwood with these words: ‘Our business is to get them away from the eternal, and from the Present. With this in view, we sometimes tempt a human…to live in the Past.’
Screwtape then advised Wormwood about another demonic tactic – getting people to live in the future. ‘We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow’s end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now, but always using as mere fuel wherewith to heap on the altar of the future every real gift which is offered to them in the Present.’
Whether we are overcoming lifelong addictions or going after life goals, one key to accomplishing things is breaking them down into manageable and measurable steps. A goal is a dream with a deadline. And without a deadline, the dream is dead in the water. Successful programmes that help alcoholics and addicts find sobriety and strength use the slogan: ‘One day at a time!’ If you want to break a habit, break it down into day-tight compartments. Just like boxing, you’ll win some rounds and lose some rounds. But you’ve got to fight one day and one round at a time. Before you know it, your winning streaks will get longer, and your losing streaks will get shorter.
Soul food: Exo 33-35; John 5:1-15; Ps 87; Pro 27:4-6
2026-10-16
Matthew 6:34 TLB
Sir William Osler was the most famous physician of his generation. He organised the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and served as a professor of medicine at Oxford University. Considered the father of psychosomatic medicine, his textbook, The Principles and Practice of Medicine, was the principal reference book for medical students for three decades. But Osler’s medical career almost ended as soon as it started because of a nervous breakdown. He was trying to finish his academic requirements, start a medical practice, and make ends meet – all at the same time. It nearly killed him.
Then he came across something that Thomas Carlyle wrote: ‘Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.’ Those words revolutionised Osler’s life. In a commencement address at Yale University, Osler told the students he owed his success to a simple principle: living in day-tight compartments. He told them that they needed to let go of dead yesterdays and unborn tomorrows. ‘The load of tomorrow,’ he said, ‘added to that of yesterday, carried today, makes the strongest falter.’
David said: ‘This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it’ (Psalm 118:24 TLB). Jesus said: ‘Don’t worry at all about having enough food and clothing… your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them, and he will give them to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to. So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time’ (Matthew 6:31-34 TLB).
Soul food: Exo 30-32; John 4:39-54; Ps 32; Pro 27:1-3
