My six-foot-three son, Xavier, lifted his giggling toddler, Xarian, into the air with ease. He wrapped his large hand around his son’s tiny feet, securing them firmly in his palm. Stretching out his long arm, he encouraged his son to balance on his own but kept his free hand at the ready to catch him if necessary. Xarian straightened his legs and stood. With his smile wide and his arms resting at his side, his eyes locked on his father’s gaze.

The prophet Isaiah declared the benefits of focusing on the Father: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you” (Isaiah 26:3). He encouraged God’s people to be committed to seeking Him in the Scriptures and connected with Him through prayer and worship. Those faithful ones would experience a confident trust built through their established fellowship with the Father.

As God’s beloved children, we can cry out with boldness: “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal” (v. 4). Why? Because our Father in heaven is trustworthy. He and the Scriptures never change.

As we keep our eyes fixed on our heavenly Father, He will keep our feet planted firmly in His hands. We can count on Him to continue being loving, faithful, and good. Forever!

How does keeping your thoughts on God help keep you at peace? What have you done to help keep your thoughts on Him throughout the day?

As I prepared for my mom’s celebration of life service, I prayed for the right words to describe her “hyphen years”—the years between her birth and death. I reflected on the good and not-so-good times in our relationship. I praised God for the day my mom accepted Jesus as her Savior after she saw Jesus “changing” me. I thanked Him for helping us grow in faith together and for the people who shared how my mom encouraged and prayed for them while showering them with kindness. My imperfect mom enjoyed a meaningful hyphen—a life well-lived for Jesus.

Not one believer in Jesus is perfect. However, the Holy Spirit can enable us to “live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way” (Colossians 1:10). According to the apostle Paul, the church of Colossae was known for their faith and love (1:3–6). The Holy Spirit gave them “wisdom and understanding” and empowered them to “[bear] fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (vv. 9–10). As Paul prayed for and praised those believers, he proclaimed the name of Jesus, the One “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (v. 14).

When we surrender to the Holy Spirit, we too can grow in our knowledge of God, love Him and people, spread the gospel, and enjoy a meaningful hyphen—a life well-lived for Jesus.

I greeted our youth group as my husband and I handed out Bibles. “God will use these priceless gifts to change your life,” I said. That night, a few students committed to reading the gospel of John together. We continued inviting the group to read Scripture at home while we taught them during our weekly meetings. More than a decade later, I saw one of our students. “I still use the Bible you gave me,” she said. I saw the evidence in her faith-filled life.

God empowers His people to go beyond reading, reciting, and remembering where to find Bible verses. He enables us to “stay on the path of purity” by living “according to” the Scriptures (Psalm 119:9). God wants us to seek and obey Him as He uses His unchanging truth to free us from sin and change us (vv. 10-11). We can ask God daily to help us know Him and understand what He says in the Bible (vv. 12-13).

When we recognize the priceless value of living God’s way, we can “rejoice” in His instruction “as one rejoices in great riches” (vv. 14-15). Like the psalmist, we can sing, “I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word” (v. 16). As we invite the Holy Spirit to empower us, we can savor each moment spent prayerfully reading the Bible—God’s life-changing gift to us.

When the Titanic hit an iceberg in April 1912, Pastor John Harper secured a spot for his six-year-old daughter in one of the limited number of lifeboats. He gave his life-vest to a fellow passenger and shared the gospel with anyone who would listen. As the vessel sank and hundreds of people awaited an unlikely rescue, Harper swam from one person to another and said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31 kjv).

During a meeting for survivors of the Titanic in Ontario, Canada, one man referred to himself as “the last convert of John Harper.” Having rejected Harper’s first invitation, the man received Christ when the preacher asked him again. He watched as Harper devoted the last moments of his life to sharing Jesus before succumbing to hypothermia and sinking below the surface of the icy water.

In his charge to Timothy, the apostle Paul encourages a similar urgency and dedication to selfless evangelism. Affirming God’s constant presence and the inevitable return of Jesus, Paul charges Timothy to preach with patience and precision (2 Timothy 4:1-2). The apostle reminds the young preacher to remain focused, though some people will reject Jesus (vv. 3–5).

Our days are limited, so every moment counts. Like Paul and Pastor Harper, we can be confident that our Father secured our spot in heaven as we proclaim, “Jesus saves!” (vv. 6-8).

During our wedding ceremony, our minister said to me, “Do you promise to love, honor, and obey your husband, until death do you part?” Glancing at my fiancé, I whispered, “Obey?” We’d built our relationship on love and respect—not blind obedience, as the vows seemed to suggest. My husband’s father captured on film the wide-eyed moment I processed the word obey and said, “I do.”

Over the years, God has shown me that my resistance to the word obey had nothing to do with the incredibly complex relationship between a husband and wife. I’d understood obey to mean “subjugated” or “forced submission,” which Scripture doesn’t support. Rather, the word obey in the Bible expresses the many ways we can love God. As my husband and I celebrate thirty years of marriage, through the power of the Holy Spirit we’re still learning to love Jesus and each other.

When Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15 nlt), He showed us that obedience to His Word would be the result of an ongoing loving and intimate relationship with Him (vv. 16-21).

Jesus’ love is selfless, unconditional, and never forceful or abusive. As we follow and honor Him in all our relationships, the Holy Spirit can help us see obedience to His Word as a wise and loving act of trust and worship.