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And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.
Daniel 2:21

Recommended Reading: Daniel 2:20-23

Journalists believe they know what is going on in the world, and historians think they can explain what has happened in the past. But a true understanding of the unfolding events in world history requires wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. It requires knowing that God has a plan for this planet and that everything in the past has been orchestrated under the governing eye of His Providence. Everything occurring now is aligning with His long-term intentions. And the Most High rules over the affairs of men (see Daniel 4:17).

We can gain understanding in these things by reading the books of Daniel, Esther, and Revelation. Yet we would also be wise to look over the course of our own individual lives and see how the guiding goodness of God has led our steps, our stops, and every stage along the way. Whatever season you are in, ask the Lord for wisdom to discern His ways and to trust His guidance.

God has a plan and a purpose for the world and governs history such that everything from the least to the greatest contributes to the achievement of that plan and purpose.
Robert Rothwell

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart?
Job 38:36

Recommended Reading: Romans 8:7-11

Your brain is composed of about 60% fat, floats in cerebrospinal fluid, and weighs about three pounds. It contains 86 billion neurons, consumes 20% of your body’s energy, and operates at speeds of 268 miles per hour.

The most important thing about your brain though is the thoughts that dominate it. The Bible says, “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6 NIV).

We must make a conscious effort to fill our mind with Scripture—to read it, study it, and memorize it. We need to meditate on the words of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. God will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are fixed on Him (see Isaiah 26:3). It is our God who can put wisdom in our minds and understanding in our hearts.

Biblical meditation on Scripture acts as a believer’s medicine because God’s Spirit always uses the balm of His truth to provide lasting comfort and help.
David Saxton

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
Romans 8:5

Recommended Reading: Galatians 5:19-25

Believers sometimes find themselves doing things they don’t want to do and not doing things they do want to do. The apostle Paul confessed that was his experience as well (Romans 7:7-25). So how can that happen to a born-again Christian?

Paul explains in Romans 7–8 that the sinful fleshly nature is still present in us. When we set our minds on things of the flesh, we find ourselves doing those things that are contrary to life in Christ. But if we set our minds on living according to the Holy Spirit, we find ourselves living a life pleasing to God. We cannot have our minds set on both flesh and Spirit at the same time. It is up to us to choose to live according to the Spirit and not the flesh.

Pray today for the filling of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Set your mind on following His leading that you may manifest the fruit of His presence (Galatians 5:22-23).

Anticipate your battles, fight them on Your knees before temptation comes, and you will always have the victory.
R. A. Torrey

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1 John 2:15

Recommended Reading: Matthew 6:31-33

If your house was on fire and you could only escape with one or two things, what would you save? We could ask the question a different way: When it comes time to depart this life, what would you like to take with you? In response to that question, we often hear it said, “You can’t take it with you.”

The truth is that we can’t take anything with us from this world. And our departure from this world will be made much easier if we have not loved the things of this world. After all, “the world is passing away, and the lust of it” (1 John 2:17). As evidence of the temporary nature of this world, “the grass withers, the flower fades” (Isaiah 40:8). Why are we told not to love the world we live in? Because “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19), and we are not to be “conformed” to it (Romans 12:2).

Ask God to help you be attached to His Kingdom (Matthew 6:33) and detached from the things of this world.

To forsake Christ for the world is to leave a treasure for a trifle.
William Jenkyn

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Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Genesis 6:5

Recommended Reading: Genesis 6:1-8

Sometimes you can’t turn the screen off fast enough. You thought it was a safe show; you were scanning social media; you were listening to a book on audio. Suddenly you were subjected to unwanted sexuality, profanity, or violence.

Because of the sinful nature within us, our imaginations run toward evil as in the days of Noah. We must guard against external temptations, but the bigger problem is our own heart and mind. In the battle for our souls, the war with the flesh is prominent. It takes a deliberate effort to be filled with the Spirit of God and with the Word of God.

Romans 8:13 says, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Through Christ, you can be victorious if you never give up. Fill your mind with Scripture and ask Him to fill your soul with His Spirit of victory.

Only the Spirit…can give us the desire, determination, and discipline to reject evil.
John Stott

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, “The Lord is righteous.”
2 Chronicles 12:6

Recommended Reading: 2 Chronicles 12:1-12

During the 2026 World Cup, international fans began sharing on social media about their time in the United States. Soon social media feeds were flooded with people from all over the world telling others what they loved about the U.S. and what they found different from their own countries. For several weeks in the summer, the way to go “viral” and become famous was through sharing this type of content. And many fans shared as a way to become “famous” and gain followers.

Since the rise of the entertainment business, people have craved fame in a new way. It affects each one of us in some little way. But the Lord’s way is humility. He was pleased when the Israelites humbled themselves and sought Him when invaded by Egypt. He is pleased when we humble ourselves too.

Humility is a decision to listen, not dominate. To give credit rather than take it. To find a way to serve others. If you practice humility intentionally and humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, He will lift you up, and your relationships will be better for it. Faith is better than fame, just as humility is better than pride.

Humbly but confidently give yourself up to God to do all His will.
Andrew Murray

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:19

Recommended Reading: Isaiah 43:16-19

Without the Lord, our lives are scattered events leading to the grave. Not for the followers of Jesus! He plans our days, orders our steps, and arranges the seasons of our lives. We discern His hand on the years gone by and trust His hand for what is yet to come.

Changes can still upset us, especially if unplanned or unanticipated. We lose jobs, encounter accidents, and face problems. But the Christian understands that God is still in control and that our future is under His management. We look ahead knowing He is doing a new thing, leading us in a new way. He will make a road in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

The apostle Paul said, “One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

Make up your mind to face the future like that!

Let us never despair while we have Christ as our leader!
George Whitefield

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Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
1 Peter 5:6-8

Recommended Reading: 1 Peter 5:5-11

You probably don’t think of yourself as proud. Oh, you might say you’re a proud parent or grandparent or that you are proud of some achievement. We’re often proud of our communities or teams. But that ugly pride we dislike in others? We seldom recognize it in ourselves.

That’s why Peter told us to be sober and vigilant and to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. In spiritual warfare we often think of external threats like temptation. But pride is an internal enemy. It has a way of turning our eyes sideways to compare ourselves with others, rather than upward. But our calling isn’t to compare ourselves with others. It’s to be faithful to the Lord. Draw near to Him today, and He will fill you with the grace you need to walk humbly with Him.

Whoever is truly humbled will not be easily angry, will not be positive and rash… And under all trials and afflictions, he will look to the hand of the Lord.
John Newton

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 4:15

Recommended Reading: Matthew 4:1-11

The New Testament clearly teaches that Jesus was “in all points, tempted as we are, yet without sin.” “In all points” means Jesus was tempted with every temptation we are. He was tempted in the wilderness of Judea by the devil, but He resisted each of the three temptations by quoting Scripture, “It is written…. It is written again…. For it is written” (Matthew 4:1-11). And He suffered when He was tempted, just as we suffer (Hebrews 2:18). Because He is able to identify with our sufferings, He is able to help all who are tempted. And His temptations had the same purpose as do ours: “Yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).

God wants us to learn obedience and to gain maturity. And although we know from James 1:13 that He doesn’t tempt us to sin, He does use temptations to help us learn and grow. Not so we will sin but so we will depend on Him and His provision for resisting temptation.

Temptation always promises more than it produces.
John Blanchard

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

Recommended Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:6-13

We read the story of the Hebrew slaves coming out of Egypt as history. But the apostle Paul told the Corinthians that within the story there is found an example—an example for us about the dangers of yielding to temptation (1 Corinthians 10:6-11).

The Israelites had the opportunity to avoid sin in the wilderness, but they failed to take advantage of it. Paul warned the Corinthians to be careful: If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall (verse 12). We, like the Israelites in the wilderness, will be tempted to sin. Also like the Israelites, God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to endure but will provide a way of escape. It is up to us to take the way of escape that He provides.

Do not be surprised when you face temptation; every person is tempted. Look immediately for the way of escape God has provided.

Wherever temptation is, there is God also.
Hannah Whitall Smith

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.
Psalm 43:5

Recommended Reading: Psalm 47:6-9

If you have ever been disappointed in a friend or family member, you have probably found it a challenge to pray for them. But it is hard to stay angry with another person when we are praying for them. The same could be said about our relationship with God. If we find ourselves disappointed in our circumstances, the surest remedy is to praise God.

Psalms 42–43 were likely originally one psalm later divided into two for purposes of liturgical worship in the temple. They recount a period of disappointment by the psalmist who thought God had forgotten him and was not going to rescue him from his oppressors. But both psalms end the same way: “Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him” (Psalm 42:11; 43:5). The psalmist didn’t let his disappointment keep him from praising God and hoping in Him.

Being disappointed with our circumstances ultimately means being disappointed with God. The most direct way to counter those feelings is to praise Him for His goodness and His love.

Praise is the best of all sacrifices and the true evidence of godliness. 
John Calvin

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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O my God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, and from the heights of Hermon, from the Hill Mizar.
Psalm 42:6

Recommended Reading: 1 Samuel 30:6

Think of all the ways we keep track of the past: photo albums, folders of papers related to important events, personal diaries or journals, keepsakes and mementos from years gone by, and more. When we are discouraged about our present circumstances, looking back over the past can encourage us.

That same practice can help us spiritually when we experience discouragement. By remembering and reviewing how God has sustained us in the past, we find hope in our present circumstances. The writer of Psalm 42 used his memories of God’s faithfulness in the past to sustain him at a time when his soul was “cast down.” The longer we walk with God, the more memories we will have about His faithfulness in the past—and, therefore, the more reasons we will have to trust Him in the present and in the future.

When you find your soul cast down within you, take time to remember how God has sustained you in the past. Let God’s faithfulness in the past give you hope for the future.

How worthy it is to remember former benefits when we come to beg for new!
Stephen Charnock

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1

Recommended Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

As Anne gazed at the glory of autumn in Anne of Green Gables, she couldn’t contain her delight. “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers,” she said.

When God created the world, He built seasons into the rotation. We experience them differently depending on where we live, but most of us recognize summer and winter, springtime and harvest (see Genesis 8:22).

In the Lord’s brilliant design, the shifting of the seasons also represents the cycle of our lives. What season of life are you in? If you look closely, you’ll find it’s beautiful. God does all things well. When He leads us through the seasons, two things happen. We grow in our maturity, and He grows more precious to us every day.

Look around you today and find some beautiful spot to rest your eyes—and praise the Lord. Look within you today, and find some sweet blessing to rest your heart—and praise the Lord.

It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November…. The world looks like something God had just imagined for his own pleasure, doesn’t it?
Anne of Green Gables

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The hidden person of the heart.
1 Peter 3:4

Recommended Reading: 1 Peter 3:1-7

Research shows that Americans are spending vast amounts of money on personal wellness. As much as $2 trillion. This money is spent on maintaining our physical activities, good nutrition, weight loss products, personal care, beauty, spas, and wellness tourism. It amounts to $6,000 per American each year. China, Germany, and Japan are close behind.¹

But what about spiritual wellness?

We are in a battle for our souls. Satan wants to devour us and to hinder our work for the Kingdom. While we need to care for our bodies, we particularly need to be attentive to the condition of our souls. The Bible says that physical exercise is useful, but it’s far more important to exercise our souls in godliness (1 Timothy 4:8). Looking nice outwardly is important, but what really matters is “the hidden person of the heart…the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit” (1 Peter 3:4).

Make sure you can say, “It is well, it is well with my soul.” Pay attention today to the hidden person of your heart.

Christ bounds and terminates the vast desires of the soul.
John Flavel

1. “New Research Shows the US Wellness Economy—Valued at $2 Trillion—Now Represents One-Third of Entire Global Wellness Economy,” Global Wellness Institute, March 4, 2025.

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Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:16, NIV

Recommended Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Last year in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, the 35th Annual International Water Tasting Convention took place. Judges, who tasted eighty waters from four continents, gave the Gold Medal to water from the Goura Spring in Greece. This is some of the purest water on earth.¹

The Lord Jesus is the water of life that satisfies our thirsty souls. He renews us day by day. As Christians, we have learned that only Jesus quenches our inner thirst. He satisfies our deepest longings better than the purest, sweetest water on earth. All our springs are in Him.

Give thanks that the Lord renews your soul day by day. Enjoy your time of Bible study and prayer because that is where your soul drinks in the refreshing water of life.

Soul-restoration is peculiarly the work of God. He alone knows that wonderful instrument, and He only can keep it in tune. The inward man is renewed day by day!
Joseph Parker

1. Ashley Epperson, “The Best Spring Waters in the World: Highlights from the 2025 Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting,” Salacious Drinks, February 24, 2025.

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A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
Proverbs 16:9

Recommended Reading: James 4:13-17

It is true that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. But it is also true that straight lines rarely exist in real life. More often than not, the plans we make involve many twists and turns that we had not planned on encountering. One measure of our trust in God is seen in how we navigate the unexpected changes in our plans.

Jonah had a plan—rather than obey God and head east to Nineveh, his plan was to go west to Tarshish (modern Spain) in order to avoid meeting his enemies face-to-face. But God’s original plan did not change. Instead, God changed Jonah’s plan by casting him into the sea and having him swallowed by a great fish. When faced with the likelihood of dying as fish food, Jonah repented of his disobedience and decided to submit to God’s original plan. Even then, Jonah’s story does not end well. He was not happy with God’s mercy toward Nineveh, and Scripture leaves him in a state of self-pity.

A valuable lesson from Jonah’s life is that God’s plans will not be foiled by human failure or intervention. If God changes your plans, seek His will and follow His lead.

God has no problems, only plans.
Corrie ten Boom

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?
Jonah 4:9

Recommended Reading: 2 Corinthians 3:12-18

The book of Jonah is a remarkable testimony of a man who learned valuable lessons in unusual ways. The fact that he wrote his story indicates he came to understand what God was teaching him. God wanted to pass the lessons on to us. One of the greatest lessons has to do with God’s compassion even when we’re in rebellion against Him or when we are feeling resentful toward Him. Just as we help our own children when their emotions spiral one way or the other, so the Lord helps us.

No matter where we are in life, God is always with us—when we are obeying Him, when we are running from Him, when we are struggling to view others as He views them, and even when we are sulking about something as ordinary as a wilting plant.

Lift up your heart and rejoice today that you have a God who understands your moods and who intends to transform you into the image of His Son from one degree of glory to another as you gaze on Him and contemplate His beauty (2 Corinthians 3:18).

When our trials come…it is our joy and comfort to lift our faces heavenward and to go on, standing on the promises of God.
W. A. Criswell

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry.
Jonah 4:1

Recommended Reading: Jonah 4

When Christian author Jennifer Rothschild was a teenager, the doctor told her she was going blind. Returning home with her parents, everyone was silent in the car. Jennifer recalls, “When we got home, I went straight to our old upright piano…. I started to play a song I had never played before. I could no longer see to read music. I played the song by ear. Yes, that was a gift from God, that ability to play by ear. But the greater gift to me was what I played…. I played ‘It Is Well with My Soul.’ I think God, even then, was reminding me what He had already embedded in my spirit—that while it was not well with my circumstances, it was probably not ever going to be well with my circumstances, but because of Jesus, He really had already made it well with my soul.”¹

Jonah became very upset with the way he perceived God was treating him, but he was wrong. The Lord was blessing him, molding him, and using him in ways we are still talking about today. Even when you feel upset with the events of life, you can trust the Lord.

So I chose, even then, to believe He was good and to trust Him.
Jennifer Rothschild

1. Jennifer Rothschild, “Is God Just, Not Fair?” C. S. Lewis Institute, May 15, 2025.

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Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

Recommended Reading: John 14:1-4

We often experience the sorrow of separation—a child leaving for college, friends or family moving to another city, children getting married and leaving home. In each of these cases our sorrow is tempered by the fact that we know we will likely be reunited with them.

At Thessalonica some of the Christians were concerned about fellow believers who had died prior to the return of Christ. Paul wrote to them to assure them that they would be reunited with their deceased loved ones. At what we refer to as the Rapture of the Church, Christ will raise deceased believers from the grave, followed by those who are alive. “And thus we shall always be with the Lord”—deceased and living believers reunited in heaven.

Take comfort in Paul’s words if you long to be reunited with deceased friends or family who died in Christ. A great reunion is coming which will last for eternity.

The church is the only society in the world that never loses any of its members, even by death.
John Blanchard

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

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So [Jonah] prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”
Jonah 4:2-3

Recommended Reading: Philippians 2:3-5

The Assyrians were powerful and brutal. Jonah disobeyed God’s command to go and preach to them because he was afraid of what they might do to him. When he eventually went and the Assyrians repented, Jonah was not happy because they were spared judgment.

Jonah fell into the trap of being more concerned about himself than about others. His very words—“It is better for me”—indicate that his priority was on his own desires rather than the well-being of others—even others who had been his enemies in the past. Instead of rejoicing at the Assyrians’ repentance, Jonah was mad at God for having mercy on them.

The apostle Paul wrote that we should look not only to our own interests but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-5)—the very attitude that Jesus Himself demonstrated.

Forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, and the waste of spirit. 
Hannah More

https://www.davidjeremiah.org