September Devotions: Filling Your Heart with Hope
Photo by Joel Muniz
MONDAY
YOU HAVE HOPE! Because God Is Working in Your Life
Isaiah 64:3–4 (NLT)
When you came down long ago,
you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations.
And oh, how the mountains quaked!
For since the world began,
no ear has heard
and no eye has seen a God like you,
who works for those who wait for him!
Whatever you’re dealing with today, take your requests to God and trust that He hears you. He has great plans in store for you and your family. That’s the simple truth.
The Bible says the Lord performs miracles and wonders that are better and higher and MORE than anything we expected—things we’ve never seen before. That is the description of the God who is working in your life!
Even the “small” things He does on our behalf are beautiful in ways the world doesn’t understand. When we pay attention to the small things He does, we start to realize how special they actually are. Everything He does draws us closer to Him.
Don’t be afraid to put your trust in God today. Have hope and rest in the truth that His story for you is good.
Today’s prayer: Father, I know You have great things in mind for my family and me, and I choose to trust You with all my heart. No matter what happens, I know Isaiah 64:3–4 will always be true about who You are and how You work in my life. In the name of Jesus, amen.
May your Monday be blessed!
TUESDAY
YOU HAVE HOPE! Because God Fully Accepts You
1 John 4:16 (TPT)
We have come into an intimate experience with God’s love, and we trust in the love he has for us.
You are worth SO MUCH to your heavenly Father, even in those times and seasons when it doesn’t seem like it’s true.
Even in those moments when you feel like a complete fool or failure, He wants you.
Even when you’re angry to the point of walking away from something or someone, His love for you doesn’t change.
At your very worst, you are accepted and treasured by the God of Heaven.
Some of us look at our lives and say, “God would never want this.” But that isn’t true. It is time to stop listening to internal negative voices that say you aren’t good enough.
The enemy will try to tell you who you are—but he lies. Sit down with your Bible and find out what GOD is saying about you. Come to trust His love.
Today’s prayer: Father, please open my eyes to see what Your Word has to say about Your heart for me. Help me to see Your love clearly this week! In the name of Jesus, amen.
May your Tuesday be blessed!
WEDNESDAY
YOU HAVE HOPE! Because You Speak the Truth
Proverbs 18:20 (NIV)
From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled;
with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.
It’s interesting to stop and think about the words we say and how we actually feed ourselves with their “fruit.” The words we speak eventually become part of who we are—they live in our bones, blood, and all the other parts of us.
Spend a few minutes considering these questions:
When you talk about yourself, do you usually use good, positive words? Or do you subtly tear yourself down?
When you talk about your future, do you use words that fill you with hope? Why or why not?
Do you actually BELIEVE God has good in store for you?
When you have conversations with other people, do you use words you want to be a part of your system? Because that’s where they’re headed!
When God gave us speech and the ability to communicate our thoughts, He knew we would be able to speak good or bad, positive or negative. The words we speak eventually circle back around and become part of who we are, so we need to feed ourselves well.
Try to speak words of life and hope today. Feed yourself with what’s good for your soul.
Today’s prayer: Father, please make me more sensitive to the words I say and how they affect Your heart. I want to fill myself with good things and speak blessing into my life. In the name of Jesus, amen.
May your Wednesday be blessed!
THURSDAY
YOU HAVE HOPE! Because God Loves You
Luke 12:6–7 (TPT)
What is the value of your soul to God? Could your worth be defined by an amount of money? God doesn’t abandon or forget even the small sparrow he has made. How then could he forget or abandon you? What about the seemingly minor issues of your life? Do they matter to God? Of course they do! So you never need to worry, for you are more valuable to God than anything else in this world.
When we don’t understand how much God loves us, it’s easy to start thinking in ways that aren’t true. We say things like, “Nothing in my life is ever going to change. God doesn’t care about me. He’s forgotten me. I am outside His notice.”
But not even a sparrow is outside His notice! He takes care of these tiny, inconsequential birds and sees to their needs, and you are worth infinitely more to Him than they are.
When you feel forgotten, rejected, lonely, or hurt, remember God’s great love for you. Go find the verses in the Bible that talk about His love, and write them down. Meditate on them—think about them again and again over the course of your day.
Then approach your heavenly Father with full confidence, knowing He loves you more than you love yourself!
Today’s prayer: Father, right now I pause and acknowledge Your love for me. With full trust I declare it is beyond measure! I ask that You would uncover my eyes where Your love is concerned, so I can start to see it more clearly. In the name of Jesus, amen.
May your Thursday be blessed!
FRIDAY
YOU HAVE HOPE! Because of God’s Word
Romans 10:16–17 (ESV)
For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
The Bible is a love letter from God’s heart to ours. Like it is with any love letter, the more we read it, meditate on it, and consider what it might mean for us, the more true it starts to seem. That’s faith rising.
Faith comes from hearing God’s truth. So anytime it seems like our fears are more real than God’s love for us, we need to turn to His truth and remind ourselves of what the Bible says.
Here are just a few examples of the hope found in God’s Word:
God will always treat me with love! (Jer. 31:3)
I expect the Lord to care for me! (Luke 12:27–28)
I know God has good plans for me! (Jer. 29:11)
God is my lasting hope! (Heb. 6:17–19)
Read, reflect, and take action on the Word of God. Treat it like the foundation of your life.
(For more on the trustworthiness of God’s Word, read Proverbs 30:5 and Isaiah 40:8.)
Today’s prayer: Father, I want to love the Bible more. Please help me to hear Your words at a greater depth. Uncover my eyes so I can see the amazing, glorious things in Your Word. In the name of Jesus, amen.
May your Friday be blessed!
SATURDAY
YOU HAVE HOPE! Because You Listen to God’s Voice
John 10:4 (NIV)
When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
One of the most important things we can do each day is listen to the Holy Spirit. He loves to talk to us.
Imagine the best father in the world and what that man would be like with his kids. That’s only a shadow of who God is toward you, and it’s what the Holy Spirit sounds like when He speaks.
His heart is so BIG toward you, and He wants to speak to you!
He can speak in different ways. He might speak through an impression, a thought, a Bible verse, a feeling, a dream, a conversation with a friend, etc. Some people even hear His audible voice occasionally, but in most cases, His voice is “quiet” and we need to use discernment to know what He’s saying.
What is the last thing God said to your heart? What is He saying to you today? How is He leading you? Write down what you sense He’s saying.
Today’s prayer: Father, I want to hear Your voice more. Please make me more sensitive to You so I can hear what You’re saying. Increase my discernment, and help me learn to distinguish between what is You and what is not. In the name of Jesus, amen.
May your Saturday be blessed!
SUNDAY
YOU HAVE HOPE! Because You Say No to Fear
Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)
You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
Fear likes to play with our minds. It can seem very, very real in the moment, and when we listen to it, we start to forget what God has said. You probably know what the voice of fear sounds like in your life.
Anytime we’re afraid, we need to turn and look at God. He wants to “distract” us from the fear that’s shouting and trying so hard to get our attention. When we look at God, we put our attention on Him instead of the fear—we “fix” our thoughts on Him and refuse to climb into the hole fear has dug for us.
As we look at God, we encounter His peace.
Today’s prayer: Father God, today I’m struggling with this fear: ___________. Please help me to look at You when I feel afraid, so I can walk in Your perfect peace. I want to worship You instead of getting trapped in fear. In the name of Jesus, amen.
May your Sunday be blessed!
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