For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes. – Hebrews 12:6

When we need correction—and there are times when we all need it—I believe it is the Lord’s first desire to correct us Himself. Whom the Lord loves, He chastens. God’s correction or chastisement is not a bad thing; it is always and ultimately only for our good.

The fact that it works toward our good does not mean it always feels good or that it is something we enjoy immediately: For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness—in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God]. (Hebrews 12:11)

Correction is probably one of the most difficult things for most of us to receive, especially when it comes through another person. Even if we have problems, we don’t want others to know we have them. I believe God prefers to correct us privately; but if we won’t accept His correction or if we don’t know how to allow Him to correct us privately, He will correct us publicly, using whatever source He needs to use. We may not always like the source God chooses to use, but it is wisdom to accept correction in order to avoid “going around the mountain one more time” (see Deuteronomy 2:3).

Brethren, for this reason, in [spite of all] our stress and crushing difficulties we have been filled with comfort and cheer about you [because of] your faith (the leaning of your whole personality on God in complete trust and confidence). – 1 Thessalonians 3:7

Go with the flow, and stop being anxious about things that may never happen. If you really trust God, you don’t need a backup plan. Faith means that you have peace even when you don’t have all the answers.

Life will always be stressful if you constantly try to rearrange it. For example, getting upset in a traffic jam doesn’t get you out of it any sooner. But planning for obstacles will inspire you to leave a little earlier for your appointments and keep you from hurrying. Grow in wisdom, and place high priority on keeping your peace in spite of any jams you get into today.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. —Philippians 4:6 NLT

How many problems have you solved by worrying? How much time have you spent worrying about things that didn’t end up happening? Has anything ever gotten better as a result of your worrying about it? Of course not!

The instant you begin to worry or feel anxious, give your concern to God in prayer. Release the weight of it and totally trust Him to either show you what to do or take care of it Himself.

Prayer is the blueprint for a successful life. During His time on Earth, Jesus prayed. He entrusted everything to God—even His reputation and life. We can do the same. Don’t complicate your communication with God. Believe in Him and ask Him for what you need through simple, confident prayers.

Power Thought: Worry accomplishes nothing. I trust in the Lord.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and dense darkness [all] peoples, but the Lord shall arise upon you [O Jerusalem], and His glory shall be seen on you. – Isaiah 60:2

I believe the lives of God’s people are going to get better and better, but the lives of those who are still in bondage to the world will get worse and worse as they sink deeper and deeper into despair and depression. The light of God will intensify in us as we allow Him to work in us and make us the kind of vessels through which His glory can shine.

God is willing to purge us and cleanse us of the things in our lives that are not like Christ, if we will welcome His fire into our lives. Ask Him to work in you and cleanse you of anything that is hindering Him from flowing through you. Like a gardener, God wants to prune off all the dead things in our life so we can bear good fruit for Him.

I believe God has strategically placed His people all over the world, in every company, every marketplace, every hospital, school, and so on. As the darkness in the world becomes darker in these last days, His glory will shine brighter on those who belong to Him. Then we will be able to help the lost find their way.

This is the day for believers to shine and be used by God as never before. The world will not be won through a handful of preachers. We desperately need an army of people available for one-on-one ministry in their neighborhoods, at their work, and in the marketplace. This is why I implore you today to make a deeper commitment to God than ever before. Not only do you need God; He also needs you!

Don’t discount yourself by believing that God could not possibly use you. He can; He wants to; and He will!

Love Others Today: God has strategically placed you where you are right now. Be a light that shines in the darkness.

I have given and delivered to them Your word (message) and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world [do not world], just as I am not of the world.- John 17:14

The verse for today teaches us that as believers we are in the world but not of the world, which means that we cannot take a worldly view of things. Not becoming like the world in our ways and attitudes requires constant vigilance. Watching too much graphic violence in the form of entertainment, as happens in the world, can sear or harden our consciences and reduce our sensitivity to God’s voice. Many people in the world today are desensitized to the agonies real people suffer because they see tragedies portrayed so often on television.

The news media frequently delivers negative reports or tragic stories in unemotional, matter-of-fact ways and we often see and hear these things without feeling. We hear of so many terrible things that we no longer respond to it with the appropriate emotions of compassion or outrage we should display.

I believe these things are part of Satan’s overall plan for the world. He wants us to become hard-hearted and unengaged emotionally when we become aware of horrible events that take place around us. He does not want us to care about those affected by such things. But, as Christians, we should care, we should feel, and we should pray. Whenever we hear about what is happening in the world, we should ask God for His perspective and inquire as to how He wants us to respond. We then need to listen for His response and act accordingly. This is one way we can be in the world but not of the world.

And He said, Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice.- 1 Kings 19:11-12

Someone once told me of a one-act play with three characters-a father, a mother, and a son who had just returned from Vietnam who are sitting at a table to talk The play lasts thirty minutes, and they all get their chance to talk. There’s only one problem: No one listens to the others.

The father is about to lose his job. The mother had once held just about every office in their church, and now younger women are pushing her aside. The son struggles with his faith. He had gone to war, seen chaos and death, and now is bewildered about life.

At the end of the play, the son stands and heads toward the door. “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said,” is his parting remark, as he walks out of the room. The parents look at each other, and the mother asks, “What did he mean?”

What the parents didn’t get and the audience obviously does is that the son struggles to believe in a loving, caring God. Every time he tries to explain, one of the parents interrupts with something they want to say. The soldier needed to hear from God. Hoping his mother or father would be the channel through which God would speak, he went to them. However, they were not available for God to use because they were not quiet enough to hear Him. All three of them were so distraught and noisy that they all left the same way they came. What might have happened had they really listened to one another, and then quietly prayed and waited on God? I am sure the outcome would have been very different and much more rewarding.

In the opening scripture, I quoted part of the story of Elijah to make this point clear. That deeply committed prophet had defied the wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel for years. The big moment came on Mount Carmel when Elijah destroyed 450 prophets of Baal. Later, when Queen Jezebel threatened to kill him, he ran away, apparently in terror.

He must have been worn out by the powerful events. Then suddenly the man was alone, with no crowds, no one trying to kill him, and no one to talk to. Just before the two verses mentioned above, Elijah had gone into a cave to hide out. When God asked him what he was doing there, he spoke of his zeal for God. Then he told God that the children of Israel had gone astray, killing prophets, And I, I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away (v. 10).

God brought strong winds, falling rocks, an earthquake, and fire. I think that was the way Elijah expected God to appear in the miraculous and powerful. But the writer tells us God wasn’t in those things.

This is really the spiritual principle of God at work. We can find the devil in the noise and the shouts. We can find the devil with big attractions to lead us astray. But God likes to speak in the still, small voice the voice that not everyone will hear the voice that only the committed will listen for.

As long as Elijah sought the dramatic, he wouldn’t hear God. But when he pulled back and listened for the inner voice, the soft, non-demanding voice of the Holy Spirit, Elijah could communicate with God.

What kind of voice from God are you listening for? Will you recognize the still, small voice when you hear it? Do you take time to be quiet and just listen? If not, there is no better time to begin than right now.

Wise God, like Elijah and many others, I often look for the loud, the exciting, and the showy. I know that You sometimes use healings and miracles, but I ask You to help me listen most of all in the soft stillness for the quiet ways in which You speak. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.- Proverbs 3:6

Acknowledging the Lord in all your ways means submitting all your plans to Him and allowing Him to work them out according to His will and desire for you. He wants you to come to know Him in the power of His resurrection (see Philippians 3:10).

It is a sign of maturity to seek God for who He is and not only for what He can do for you. So as you pause at the end of your day, seek God’s face (His presence) and get to know your wonderful, loving heavenly Father better. Acknowledge His power and experience the joy of walking in the paths He chooses for you.

I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. – John 15:5

Have you ever responded unbecomingly to a situation (with anger or impatience, for example) and thought, Who is this person? I thought I was nice and sweet!

Sometimes we think we already have the fruit of the Spirit fully developed in us simply because we are Christians (see Galatians 5:22–23). But when we are caught off guard, or our fruit is “squeezed,” we find out just how undeveloped the fruit in us actually is. These incidents are tests that are actually very good for us because they help us know the areas where we are weak and still need to grow.

The more you practice displaying the fruit of self-control in your thoughts, words, and actions, the riper the fruit will become. I encourage you to depend on God’s grace (underserved favor and blessing) to work through you to produce the fruit needed. If we “try” outside of Him, we will fail, but when we partner with Him, we see His will come to pass. Stay attached to the Vine (see John 15), and your fruit will appear at the right time.

Power Thought: I have self-control over my thoughts, words, and actions.