My heart sank. My mind started to swirl. A friend who’d been helping set up my new laptop accidentally deleted all the photos and videos I’d transferred to it. Years of precious memories with family and friends were all gone in an instant. Panic set in.  I’d never be able to recreate those cherished moments from past holidays, travels, and special occasions. Before sentimental me could have a complete meltdown, my friend said he was hopeful he could recover my files. Thankfully, a few agonizing hours later I was overjoyed to see my special files reappear.

I waited anxiously for only a few hours, but the fear was real. Loss can be scary and painful. In chapter two of the book of Joel, the prophet is calling Judah to repentance after it has been devastated by a horde of locusts that destroyed the grain fields, vineyards, gardens, and trees. The prophet had warned the people of the impending consequences of their rebellion against God. But God hadn’t abandoned them. He would help and bring restoration if they placed their trust in God: “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten” (2:25).

God restored Judah when they turned to Him. God wants to restore you as well.

Whatever circumstances you’re in, you can turn to God and trust Him—knowing that He’s “the Lord your God, and that there is no other” (v. 27). He is faithful to help you recover from what was lost and bring you into a relationship with Him.

Recently, my mom gave me a play-by-play of a surprising confrontation she saw on a live webcam feed from a watering hole in Africa. The Gemsbok, a large antelope found in Namibia’s Namib Desert, has horns that can be more than two feet long making it a formidable animal that doesn’t seem to scare easily. That is unless it comes across a group of brave and rowdy ostriches.

The lead ostrich, which was taller than its foes, shook its large feathers, roared, and stomped toward three Gemsbok, causing them to flee.

“I guess they didn’t realize how powerful their horns are,” I said to my mom.

Believers in Jesus can forget the power we have when faced with attacks from our spiritual enemy, Satan.  We have the Holy Spirit who lives inside us (Romans 8:11) and the armor of God to help us:  “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11). Satan wants to challenge our belief in God’s Word, question our identity in Christ and tempt us to sin.

But we can stand strong because God’s armor includes: “the belt of truth, . . . the breastplate of righteousness, . . . the shield of faith, . . . the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (vv. 14-17).

When the enemy attacks us with feelings of fear, condemnation, or despair, let’s remember we are God’s children. He has given us His armor of truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, His Word, and prayer to stand strong when we face spiritual battles.

The man was busy harvesting onions when we prayerfully approached him during the home visits we were conducting on our mission trip in Ecuador. In broken Spanish, I told him my friends and I’d like to briefly speak to him about the Bible. He paused to listen as we shared our testimonies with him. One of my teammates took out his Bible and started reading Scripture aloud (in English). What a sacred moment it was to hear Scripture being read on the side of the Andes mountains and to see the man reading along in Spanish with the booklet we had given him!  We talked with him and his family who’d been working off in the distance, prayed for them, and continued to the next house.

As we walked along the mountainside reading Scripture and talking to people about Christ, I thought of Jesus and His disciples walking along the hills and valleys of Israel during His earthly ministry.

Isaiah 52:7 says, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation.”  The prophet was referring to the time when God’s people would return to their homeland after years in exile, but it still applies to us today whenever we share the Good News of Jesus with others.   

Our opportunities may not be in the spectacular Andes, but wherever God has placed us, the Holy Spirit can help us share the message of salvation with those He puts in our path.

Once the Christmas season rolls around, the popular "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" song can be heard everywhere. The song hit a milestone in 2023 when it rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA for the first time—sixty-five years after its release.

Singer Brenda Lee was just thirteen years old when she recorded the song in 1958. She was seventy-eight years old when she got to celebrate the song’s latest success. It broke many records including the longest wait from a song’s release to its reaching number one on the music industry’s prestigious list.

This song’s accomplishment reminds us that many breakthroughs are years in the making. We like instant results for our hard work. But God works according to His own calendar. We may not understand God’s timing or why we have to wait so long, but in the book of Ecclesiastes King Solomon reminds us that God’s timing is perfect. “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven” (3:1). As we follow God’s lead instead of being in a hurry to reach the next milestone in our personal or professional life, we can agree with Solomon that “God has made everything beautiful for its own time” (v. 11).

Even the first Christmas culminated a time of waiting many centuries for the Christ child. Whether we have to wait weeks, months, or years to experience breakthroughs, let’s not grow weary as we wait. We can trust God and the gift of His beautiful timing.

Two pilots fell asleep in the middle of their flight over Indonesia. While the commanding pilot had permission to nap once the plane reached cruising altitude, he woke up to find that his co-pilot had also dozed off. The two were asleep for about thirty minutes with more than 150 passengers and crew on board and while at approximately 36,000 feet altitude. The plane had veered off course, but thankfully, the plane still arrived at its destination safely.

Human pilots may snooze mid-flight, but we can rest assured that God never falls asleep.

I find such comfort in the words of Psalm 121. In eight verses, we’re reminded that God is omniscient, or all-knowing, about our life; omnipresent, or present all throughout our day; and omnipotent, or all-powerful, and can protect us. The psalmist declares that our help comes from God (v. 2). He is our keeper and shade (v. 5), and He guards us from all evil while preserving our soul (v. 7).

God never gets tired. “He will not let your foot slip; he who watches over you will not slumber” (v. 3). “The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore” (v. 8).

When we’re wondering if God has forgotten us, we can rest assured that He is at the wheel. He is always awake and watching over us.

As a young journalist, I quickly learned about the power of a “press pass.” That one credential—displaying my name, picture, and media outlet—unlocked countless doors by allowing me to meet and interview athletes and celebrities before or after major events.

While I enjoyed having special access to public figures, the allure soon faded after I received Jesus as my Savior and started living for Him. I realized sports and my career had become my idols. When God called me out of my journalism career, I lost my press pass but gained the access that truly matters— access to God’s heavenly throne room through prayer because of Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection.   

The writer of Hebrews points out that a high priest was selected from among the Israelites, specifically one of Aaron’s descendants, and appointed for the sacred duty of representing the people before God. He was the only one who could enter the Most Holy Place in the temple once a year “to offer gifts and sacrifice” to atone for his and the people’s sins (5:1) for he too was a mere mortal man.

Then Christ came, our great and perfect high priest. When He died, the veil in the temple was torn and the barrier that existed between God and humanity was removed (Matthew 27:51).

Because our loving Redeemer has reconciled us to His Father, we can freely pray to God: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

What a privilege to have access to God’s throne room as we talk to Him in prayer.

Football fans were stunned when Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills collapsed on the field on live television after executing a seemingly routine tackle in January 2023. The twenty-four-year-old was in sudden cardiac arrest. His heart stopped beating but was restored by medical professionals while on the field. Amazingly, three months after dying and being resuscitated on the field, Hamlin was cleared to play football again.

Hamlin has stated that he’s grateful to God and the medical staff for saving his life. He plans to continue being an inspiration to others. In John chapter 11, Lazarus also had a remarkable recovery.

By the time Jesus had arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for four days. His distraught sisters, Mary and Martha, witnessed Jesus’ power over death and that He is “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). “Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face” (vv. 43-44).

We’re also examples of Christ’s resurrection power. We were once dead in our sins, but we’re now alive in Christ (Romans 6:1-11). As believers, the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives inside of us (8:10-11). Be encouraged. While we’ll all die a physical death, that’s not the end of our story. We’re promised eternal life with Jesus.

such things. Philippians 4:8

Lap after lap, Katie Ledecky was in a familiar spot during the 1500-meter freestyle race at the 2024 Paris Olympics. For some fifteen minutes, she was far ahead of the rest of the swimmers and alone with her thoughts. What was Ledecky thinking about during the long race? In an interview conducted immediately following her gold-medal-winning performance in which she set a new Olympic record, Ledecky said she was thinking about her training partners and saying their names in her head.

Distance swimmers aren’t the only ones who need to focus their minds on the right things. We as believers in Jesus also need to guard our thoughts throughout our faith journey.

The apostle Paul encouraged the Philippian church to “rejoice in the Lord,” not be “anxious about anything, but pray about everything (Philippians 4:4, 6). The result? “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (v. 7). Jesus, the Prince of Peace, helps put our worries and troubles in perspective.

Paul also encouraged believers: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (v. 8).

As we go about our day, let’s be aware of our thoughts. When we see God’s hand in our life, we can count our blessings and worship Him.

After I took a genealogy test a few years ago, I became curious about my ancestors. I’m grateful I got to hear stories about a few relatives from my late father and from my mother. Hearing about my ancestors helps me feel connected to my family’s roots (all the way back to one great-great-grandfather) and helps me to learn from their experiences.

When it comes to our spiritual roots, what a gift that Jesus’ earthly genealogy is recorded in Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38. Jesus’ genealogy establishes that He is the Messiah and a direct descendant of Abraham.

As we read Jesus’ genealogy, we see God’s faithfulness in keeping His promise to Abraham to make him the father of many nations (Genesis 17:1-8). Two thousand years after that promise was fulfilled, the apostle Matthew wrote, “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1).

As we study the stories in the Bible about Jesus’ ancestors, the genealogy list comes to life. We see the names of royalty such as King David and ordinary people such as a carpenter named Joseph. And Matthew includes five women: Tamar, Bathsheba (Uriah’s wife), Rahab, and Ruth (who some scholars believe were all gentiles) and Mary.

Whether or not we know much about our biological ancestors, we can—because we’re part of God’s family—learn about our spiritual ancestors throughout the Bible. We gain courage from seeing how faithful God was to them.

Over the years, I’ve encouraged and prayed for many battling loneliness for various reasons: nursing home residents whose family members don’t visit, the widow who spends her days outside so as not to be alone in her empty house, ministry leaders who don’t have anyone to confide in, and homeless people who feel ignored and alone.

Loneliness can strike anyone at any time. Isolating during the pandemic unfortunately, only compounded those feelings of loneliness for many. The US Surgeon General released an advisory in May 2023 alerting the public about the epidemic of loneliness. About half of U.S. adults say they’ve experienced loneliness, which can be as deadly as smoking a dozen cigarettes daily, according to the advisory.  

When Moses was getting ready to pass the torch to his successor Joshua, he wanted to make sure the Israelites knew they wouldn’t be facing any battles alone as they entered the promised land: “Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). He also reminded their new leader, Joshua, that “the Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (v. 8).

And he concluded with words that can encourage us today. “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (v. 8).

When we’re facing loneliness, let’s take comfort in knowing that God will never leave or forsake us.