This is a short devotional series on loneliness. We all feel lonely at times. • Being without company – experiencing too many lonely nights at home. • Being cut off from others – feeling that everybody has friends except us. • Feeling sad from being alone – lonely without family around us. Sometimes loneliness is…

I have often recalled these words: “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” Fear is a natural human reaction to any difficult or dangerous undertaking. God doesn’t condemn it. But he doesn’t want us to be dominated by fear. The prophet Elijah is an example of this. He stepped onto Israel’s stage…

Ahab was an evil king in Israel’s history who “did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him” (1 Kings 16:30). Elijah the prophet burst on the scene, boldly confronting him: “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve. . . .” (1 Kings 17:1). We…

Old Testament Elijah was marked with courage. “Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives. . . .’” (1 Kings 17:1). Before considering the full conversation, I’m impressed with Elijah’s assurance that God is alive! In this story, King Ahab and Queen Jezebel lived…

A.W. Tozer wrote: “When entering the prayer chamber, we must come filled with faith and armed with courage. Nowhere else in the whole field of religious thought and activity is courage so necessary as in prayer.” Here are five occasions the Holy Spirit especially prompts us to pray with courage. ❒ Exercising spiritual authority. I’m…

Frances Roberts wrote, “The coward seeks release from pressure. The courageous pray for strength.” Where do you and I need to pray for strength and fresh courage take? I can think of four possibilities. ❒ Step out in faith. When the Holy Spirit nudges you toward something or someone, you do what God wants you…

If there was ever a season in which we need courage, we certainly need it now! God wants his people to rise up in the face of all the challenges we face and be Christ followers who are marked by a courageous spirit. The dictionary defines courage as the “mental or moral strength to venture,…

During the last three weeks, I’ve been writing about forgiving others. In this final devotional for this series, I’m listing all eight steps together. Step One: Acknowledge. In your journey to forgive someone, acknowledge that you have been hurt and express it to God. Step Two: Admit. Admit that you are angry toward or resent…

A final step in forgiving others is praying God’s blessing on those who mistreated you – affirm. Jesus instructed us, “Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:28). Old Testament Job was a righteous, wise, wealthy, respected leader in his community. Yet calamity struck his herds, house, and family. Then…

Forgiveness can be an ongoing process. When we have forgiven someone for an offense, sometimes our feelings return. A wound from the past can remain sensitive. I’ve noticed three ways for handling lingering forgiveness issues and learning to abide in my forgiveness – the place of the will, a lie of the devil, and a…