January

JANUARY 1

Goodness Awaits

Things never discovered or heard of before, things beyond our ability to imagine-these are the many things God has in store for all his lovers.

1 CORINTHIANS 2:9 TPT

All God has in store for you is based on his goodness. God is a loving Father who meets the needs of his children. He doesn't only provide for your needs, though. He has greater things in store that you cannot even begin to imagine! He loves to astound you with his kindness, and he will always meet you with generosity.

If you have been waiting for an answer to prayer, take hope. God has the key to every locked door; he has the solution to every problem, and he has the antidote to every illness. He is able to do far more than you can dream up, and you can't upset him with your expectations. Know this: God's ways are better than our ways. He is not too late, and you are not behind. He will meet you with the wisdom of his perfect love. Look to him today and ask for a glimpse into the goodness he is already working out in answer to your prayers. He is actively putting the puzzle pieces into place even now.

Ask God to open your eyes to his mercy at work in the details of your life.

JANUARY 2

New Approaches

God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul.the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.

ACTS 19:11-12 NKJV

Today's verse doesn't just talk about how Paul healed people by laying his own hands on them. "Even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick," verse 12 also says. When items that he touched were brought to the sick and the tormented, they were healed and set free. How amazing is this! God can certainly do much more than we expect. But even though God used physical objects to relieve the suffering, we should remember that healing isn't a formula. It's a miracle of faith.

Are you stuck in a rut in your belief? Do you expect God to answer the same way every time you ask him to move? God is creative, and it is this creativity that breaks the mold of our limitations. God is not bound to the way we do things. He is not even bound to the way he has done things before. Though his nature never changes, the way he chooses to bring his love to his children is different for each of us. Let's raise our faith and ask God to move outside the box of our experience. After all, he isn't limited by our limitations.

Follow the Spirit's leading, no matter how strange it may seem.

JANUARY 3

The Home of Jesus

This is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

COLOSSIANS 1:27 NLT

If you are in Christ, Christ is in you. Once you have given your life to him, he makes his home in you. That means you don't ever have to wonder if he's near. You don't have to question whether his grace is enough. His presence is full of the glory of God, and his presence lives in you through the Holy Spirit.

Don't forget just how much power you carry in you as a child of the living God. The same power that raised Christ from the grave is alive in you today. Let every doubt, fear, and hesitation fall as you turn your attention to the miracle of God's nearness. Instead of merely focusing on what you can do for God today, remember that you are God's home. Make your heart, your body, and your mind a resting place for his love. Open your heart to him, let your body receive his peace, and remember who Christ was, is, and always will be.

As you go about your day, remember that God chooses to make his home in you.

JANUARY 4

Fresh and New

If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 NIV

When you're tempted to give up, turn your attention to Christ. He is the hope of glory, the fulfillment of your heart's desires, and he is the one who can lift you up over and over again from the miry clay. Jesus has wrapped you up in his living love, and he has made you new.

You don't have to keep repeating the same old self-destructive cycles. God has broken the loop, and he makes a way for you to begin again. Today is the perfect moment to take hold of the promise of God. He makes all things new, including you! It doesn't matter what your past says about you. God is a master restorer. Step into the light of his mercy today and follow the lead of his Spirit. He will not let you down. He is the God who makes a way in the wilderness (Isaiah 43:19). He is the one who delivers us from our fears (Psalm 34:4). He is our healer, Redeemer, and life-giver.

Move into this day as if you were brand-new, not held back by any fear, doubt, or pain.

JANUARY 5

Much, Much More

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory.

EPHESIANS 3:20-21 ESV

How often do you keep yourself from dreaming, asking, or reaching out because you think the end is out of reach? When it comes to God, there is no limit to the power of his love. He "is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think." Don't let your own hesitation keep you from reaching for your breakthrough!

In Christ, all things are possible. There is nothing God can't do. If God is able to do all things, and those who believe will receive what they ask for (Mark 9:23), there is nothing stopping us from receiving the extravagant kindness of God. Nothing, that is, except ourselves. God will not force us to know his love, but it is ready and waiting for us at all times. Let's stretch our imaginations and ask God to meet us in the unknown parts of our lives-out beyond the fear, doubt, and pain. He is good and able, and we have only to ask and believe.

Ask God to overwhelm your expectations with his miraculous love in a way you can clearly recognize today.

JANUARY 6

Heart Transplant

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

EZEKIEL 36:26 NASB

The pain of a broken heart is real. We are whole beings, and when our hearts break, our bodies are often affected too. When we are in the valley of despair, we need the one who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). We need a friend who will not leave us and who knows the unspoken pain of our loss. He grieves with us, yes; he comforts us in our sorrow. But that is not all he does!

God promises to give you a new heart. He doesn't put an old patch on your fresh wound and leave it at that. Even if your heart is calcified by trauma, God "will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." God is able to walk into the room you are in, wrap his arms around you, and love you to life with his healing mercy. He will give you a heart transplant if that is what you need.

Pray and ask God to wrap around you with the presence of his Spirit and to bring new life to your heart today.

JANUARY 7

Great Reward

After these things happened, the LORD spoke his word to Abram in a vision: "Abram, don't be afraid. I will defend you, and I will give you a great reward."

GENESIS 15:1 NCV

God honors our faith. When we depend on him, listen to his voice, and obey his instructions, we can be fearless. Still, hard times will come. We can't expect an easy life with no resistance. That is not what Jesus told us would happen, and it simply isn't reality. The thing we can be sure of is God's unwavering help.

God told Abram, "Don't be afraid. I will defend you." But that's not where his promise ended. He went on to tell Abram, "I will give you a great reward." Abram had been faithful to God's leading, and his reward was a close relationship with God himself. Though walking in God's ways isn't an easy path, it is worthwhile. The reward for following him is that we get to know him. It is better than anything we could trade for it. Paul knew this, too. In light of Christ, he counted everything else as loss (Philippians 3:7). In other words, nothing was more important, more beneficial, or more precious to Paul than the relationship he found in Christ. Do you know your great reward?

Spend time in prayer and ask God to show you the reward of knowing him.

JANUARY 8

Awestruck

He does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.

JOB 9:10 CSB

When God moves, the earth quakes. When he whispers, new life is formed. He created the stars in the heavens and the earth below. He made each of us with intention. God is always moving in mercy. Anywhere his Spirit is, there is miracle-making power.

There is a lot of bad news out there-wars, poverty, sickness. We don't have to look far to be confronted with troubles. Still, this is not all the news...