2026-03-03
Exodus 18:18 NIV
The Bible says: “The people… stood around him from morning till evening… Moses’ father-in-law replied, ‘What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone'” (vv. 13, 17-18 NIV).
You may have noticed on the back of tractor-trailer rigs a sign that communicates their load limit. Highways have weigh stations to make sure these trucks aren’t carrying too much weight. If a tractor-trailer with a huge engine has load limits, then it makes sense that we do too. Moses had exceeded his load limit. Eating on the run, running from one end of the camp of Israel to the other, scheduling meetings, hitting deadlines, and seeing everyone who asked was too much. On the inside he was dying. He had two options: collapse, or share the load.
Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, told him to evaluate what only he could do, and delegate the rest. Anytime you are staring at a job that looks larger than you can handle alone, understand that God is telling you, “Don’t try it alone.” But Jethro didn’t tell Moses to ditch the work and throw it on just anybody. That’s a formula for disaster. To delegate successfully, you have to do these three things:
(1) Get the right people.
(2) Give them the right task.
(3) Trust them to do it right; don’t micromanage them.
So, the word for you today is – do what only you can do, delegate the rest to others, and trust God for success!
Soul food: 1 Ki 21-22; Luke 12:49-59; Ps 70; Prov 6:26-28
2026-03-02
John 15:16 KJV
It doesn’t take many people to bring about change. In fact, too many people can get in the way. Gideon took 32,000 to fight, but God needed only 300. He doesn’t care how many can be counted – He cares only about how many can be counted on. The truth is that your life could be messed up because too many people are telling you what to do. Hang up the phone. Shut the door. Turn off the TV. Get down before God and ask Him to speak to you. He will give you the word you need (see Isaiah 50:4).
God doesn’t need a crowd; He just needs one who will listen and obey. If He wants to start a nation, He’ll give hope and vision to an Abraham. If He wants to bring down an Egyptian Pharaoh, He’ll reach into the bulrushes and pull out a Moses. When He wants a lineage for His Son, He’ll go to the “red light district” and find a Rahab. He’s just looking for a willing heart. Listen again: “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.”
Ethel Waters, who sang with the Billy Graham crusades, loved to say, “God don’t sponsor no flops.” Her grammar was slightly off, but her theology was “right on.” Don’t spend your life trying to be ordinary. Don’t pour your life into the mold of someone else’s expectations. God has an agenda for you. The reason He’s brought you through so much is that He has a higher plan and purpose for your life. Get into His presence today and ask Him about it.
Soul food: 1 Ki 18:16-20:43; Luke 12:35-48; Ps 66:13-20; Prov 6:23-25
2026-03-01
James 5:16 AMPC
Because of the connection we have with those we love, when they hurt, we hurt. One of the greatest things we can do is intercede in prayer for those who need healing. God can use us as an agent of healing: “Pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]” (AMPC). We see this principle throughout the Bible.
A Roman centurion went to Jesus for the healing of his servant, and Christ did not disappoint him (see Matthew 8:5-7). Four people tore the roof off a house to get their sick friend into the presence of Jesus so he could be healed of palsy. And Jesus said to him, “Arise, take up your bed and walk” (see Mark 2:1-11). A concerned father went to Jesus when his daughter was at the point of death. Because Jesus was delayed, the little girl died anyway. Jesus walked to her bedside and said: “‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’ Immediately the girl arose and walked… And they were overcome with great amazement” (Mark 5:41-42 NKJV).
One of the last promises Jesus gave us before leaving this earth was: “These signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will… lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-18 NKJV). Confession: “As a believer in Christ, I have the authority to pray, to lay hands on the sick, and see them recover because the Spirit of God lives in me.”
Soul food: Gal 5:22-23; 1 Cor 10:13; 2 Tim 1:7;
Jam 1:19-20
2026-02-28
Proverbs 22:7 NIV
Good credit establishes your future buying power. But when you misuse debt, you experience anxiety each month as you pull the envelope from the mailbox with the credit card bill that says you’ve spent more than you can afford. And what about the unexpected challenges of life? Your car needs a new transmission, or you need a medical procedure not covered by your insurance. The things you buy don’t just cost you money; there are other less tangible costs such as your peace of mind and your sense of security.
You forfeit these things when you continue to live beyond your means and throw good money after bad debt by taking out “interest-only” loans, no-down-payment financing, and other seemingly “easy” financing options. Like a juggler, you keep the plates in the air by making minimum payments each month. But eventually, you get tired of the stress and the plates begin to fall. You borrow money to stay afloat and then spend sleepless nights wondering how you’ll be able to keep up with the payments. Your embarrassment only compounds the situation as you hide your financial problems and put on a good face, cutting yourself off from the help you desperately need.
If you’re in debt, what’s the solution? (1) Identify the emotions that led you to purchase items you couldn’t afford in order to fill some unnamed hole within you. (2) Live on a budget. “There is desirable treasure… in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man squanders it” (Proverbs 21:20 NKJV). (3) Develop a plan for getting out of debt and staying out of it!
Soul food: 1 Ki 16:1-18:15; Luke 12:22-34; Ps 66:1-12; Prov 6:20-22
2026-02-27
Proverbs 29:25 NKJV
Sometimes we make the mistake of placing our trust in people when we should be placing our trust in the Lord. And since God cannot fail and people can, we end up getting hurt and disappointed. The Bible says that King Asa of Judah had a perfect heart toward God. Yet when an enemy nation came against him, he panicked and purchased a military alliance with another king. And he did it with funds he took from the house of God. Upon hearing the news of Asa’s coalition, his enemy retreated. Asa had figured out the solution. His plan had worked – or so it seemed. Then God sent the prophet Hanani to rebuke King Asa. Why? “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God” (2 Chronicles 16:7 NKJV).
This is often the plight of those who are highly logical and intelligent. Their confidence is in their own ability to figure out a solution to their dilemmas. Hanani continued to rebuke Asa: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars” (2 Chronicles 16:9 NKJV).
Later in life, when Asa faced a life-threatening disease, “he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians” (2 Chronicles 16:12 NIV). They could not help him, so he died. So the word for you today is – never give people the trust that should be placed in the Lord alone.
Soul food: 1 Ki 14-15; Luke 12:13-21; Ps 61; Prov 6:16-19
2026-02-26
Romans 12:1 NKJV
With the national coffers depleted from a series of costly wars, King Frederick William III of Prussia found his nation seriously short of funds as it attempted to rebuild. He refused to capitulate to his enemies and couldn’t face disappointing his people. He asked the women of Prussia to bring their gold and silver jewelry to be melted down and used in exchange for the things the nation desperately needed.
As each woman brought her jewelry, she was given a “decoration” of iron as a symbol of the king’s gratitude. On it was inscribed the words: “I gave gold for iron, 1813.” The women came to prize their gifts from the king more than their former jewels! Their decorations were proof they had sacrificed for their king. In fact, it became highly unfashionable in early nineteenth-century Prussia for women to wear jewelry but very fashionable to wear a cross of iron. It was from this that the Order of the Iron Cross was established.
There are two sides to the Christian life: blessing and sacrifice. Paul said: “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8 NLT). Jesus spelled out the cost of discipleship: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24 NKJV). The hymnist wrote: “‘Take up thy cross and follow me,’ I hear my blessed Saviour call. How can I make a lesser sacrifice when Jesus gave his all?”
Soul food: 1 Ki 12-13; Luke 12:1-12; Ps 58; Prov 6:12-15
