2026-05-30
Job 33:14-15 KJV
Job the patriarch said: “For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night… while slumbering on their beds, then He opens the ears of men” (Job 33:14-16 NKJV). A dream can be an important message from God or an answer to your prayer. God gave Paul a dream in which a man from Macedonia appeared to him saying, “Come over and help us” (see Acta 16:9). And Paul went there and preached the gospel. Solomon’s reign as king of Israel begins with these words: “In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee” (1 Kings 3:5 KJV). Solomon asked God for great wisdom, and God gave him wisdom, honour, and riches.
Would God still speak to us today in dreams? Yes. He says: “I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6 KJV). The Hebrew word for dream is “chalom.” It has five meanings:
(1) “To bind firmly.” This pictures you being wrapped securely in God’s love.
(2) “To be or make plump.” In the Bible, fatness or plumpness is a picture of health, well-being, and prosperity.
(3) “A sense of dumbness.” When God gives you a dream, He is sharing with you information about things of which you are ignorant.
(4) “To be in good liking.” When God gives you a dream, He is showing favour toward you.
(5) “To recover.” When God gives you a dream, He is working on restoring what you have lost. So, ask God for a dream.
Soul food: Lam 3:40-5:22; Matt 14:1-12; Ps 82; Prov 14:5-8
2026-05-29
John 17:26 NIV
Just before He was arrested and taken to the cross, Jesus prayed: “[Father], I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” When it comes to recognizing and responding to God’s presence in our lives, Christian author, John Ortberg, says he lives by these twelve truths:
(1) God is always present and active in my life, whether or not I see Him.
(2) Coming to recognize and experience God’s presence is learned behavior; I can cultivate it.
(3) My task is to meet God in this moment.
(4) I’m always tempted to live “outside” this moment. When I do that, I lose my sense of God’s presence.
(5) Sometimes God seems far away for reasons I don’t understand. Those moments, too, are opportunities to learn.
(6) Whenever I fail, I can always start again right away.
(7) No one knows the full extent to which a human being can experience God’s presence.
(8) My desire for God ebbs and flows, but His desire for me is constant.
(9) Every thought carries a “spiritual charge” that moves me a little closer to or a little further from God.
(10) Every aspect of my life, work, relationships, hobbies, errands – is of interest to God.
(11) My path to experiencing God’s presence will not look quite like someone else’s.
(12) Straining and trying too hard do not help. So, the word for you today is – God is working in you, with you, and through you!
Soul food: Lam 1:1-3:39; Matt 13:47-58; Ps 113; Prov 14:1-4
2026-05-28
Isaiah 58:6 NKJV
God gave His people the following reasons for fasting: “To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke” (v. 6 NKJV). Fasting is one of the best ways to break the power of the flesh. If you can say no to food, you can say no to just about anything. No matter what addiction you struggle with, fasting is the way to break the yoke of bondage. No matter what cause you care about, fasting invites the favour of God. When you abstain from food to seek God, it shows Him you’re serious. And He takes you seriously if the cause honours Him.
Some spiritual breakthroughs are possible only with the combination of prayer and fasting. When you fast and pray, the synergy is more than the sum of its parts. If you feel like your dream is in a holding pattern, try fasting. If your marriage is in trouble and you need things to turn around, try fasting. If your heart is breaking for your kids, try fasting. If you need a breakthrough, try fasting. If you need to make a big decision, try fasting. Fasting breaks strongholds and yields breakthroughs. It’s the way we declare to God that we need Him and want Him more than food itself.
It takes tremendous discipline to give up food, but doing so cultivates discipline in other areas of our lives. The best way to kill sinful desires is by starving them to death. That’s precisely what fasting does. It doesn’t just weaken your physical body; it also weakens your sinful flesh and simultaneously strengthens your spirit.
Soul food: Gal 4-6; Matt 13:36-46; Ps 108; Prov 13:24-25
2026-05-27
John 4:15 NKJV
She lived in Samaria, had been married five times, and was now living with a man who was not her husband. Maybe gossipers wagged their tongues about her. How else would you explain her midday appearance at the well? Other women fill their buckets at sunrise, but this woman opted for noon, preferring the heat of the sun over the heat of their scorn.
Were it not for the appearance of a stranger, her story would have been lost in the Samaritan sands. But He entered her life with a promise of living water that would quench the thirst of her soul. He wasn’t put off by her past. He told her: “‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.’
The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst’… The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, ‘Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?’ Then they went out of the city and came to Him… And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, ‘He told me all that I ever did'” (John 4:13-15, 28-39 NKJV).
No one else was willing to give her a chance, but Jesus gave her the chance of a lifetime. And what He did for her, He will do for you.
Soul food: Gal 1-3; Matt 13:24-35; Ps 101; Prov 13:20-23
2026-05-26
Daniel 10:18 NKJV
In her book A Slow and Certain Light, Elisabeth Elliott wrote: “When I lived in the Forest of Ecuador, I usually traveled on foot… Trails often led through streams and rivers which we had to wade, but sometimes there was a log high above the water which we had to cross. I dreaded those logs and was always tempted to take the steep, hard way down into the ravine and up the other side. But the Indians would say, ‘Just walk across, senorita,’ and over they would go, light-footed and confident.
I was barefoot as they were, but it was not enough. On the log, I couldn’t keep from looking down at the river below. I feared I would slip. I had never been any good at balancing myself… so my guide would stretch out a hand, and the touch of it was all I needed. I stopped worrying about slipping. I stopped looking down at the river or even the log and looked at the guide, who held my hand with only the slightest touch. When I reached the other side, I realized that if I had slipped, he would have held me. His being there, and his touch, were all I needed.”
That’s all you need too: to experience God’s presence and feel His touch. Daniel wrote: “The one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said… ‘Beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!’ So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, ‘Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me'” (vv. 18-19 NKJV).
Soul food: Judg 19:16-21:25; Matt 13:10-23; Ps 128; Prov 13:17-19
2026-05-25
Mark 6:31 NIV
One of Satan’s tactics is to take us from one extreme to the other – from laziness to workaholism. Understanding the difference between being a hard worker versus a workaholic is key. Hard workers have the wisdom to set limits on how much they will do in the course of a day.
In her book 30 Days to a Stronger, More Confident You, Deborah Smith Pegues wrote: “I was in denial about my propensity toward workaholism until I realized that I had too many of the telltale symptoms: I worked late the majority of the time. Most of my conversations revolved around the issues at the office. I rarely took lunch breaks. I was always multitasking; I rarely performed any task single-mindedly. If I talked on the phone, I would also use the time to tidy the house. If I watched television, I also organized papers, and on and on it went.
When I tried relaxing, I would think of all the things I should be doing. My to-do list had more items on it than I could possibly achieve during a single day. I was a slave to my overcommitted calendar; I left little or no downtime. Everybody seemed to move too slowly. I was always rushing to the next appointment. I looked forward to the accolades I received for performing well. I found little time to nurture my friendships… Today, I try to engage only in those activities I feel are part of God’s plan for my life.”
What great advice! Jesus said to His hard-working disciples: “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Is the Lord saying the same thing to you?
Soul food: Judg 16:1-19:15; Matt 13:1-9; Ps 45; Prov 13:13-16
