When life gets hard it is easy to wonder where God is and if he hears our prayers. Let me reassure you, he does! Keep standing in the light! May this Bible reading plan give you the hope you need for another day.
Baker Publishing
Day 1
Scriptures: Psalms 56:8-9, Psalms 139:17-18, Psalms 46:10-11
When God Seems Silent
When unexpected trials come into our lives, it is easy to wonder where God is in the midst of the mess. I have sat and prayed for the Lord to change things in my life, but after I was done praying, nothing changed. I knew God could do it, but he didn’t.
Have you been there?
It’s when God seems silent that it feels like the darkness closes in, and we begin to wonder if God hears our prayers.
I am a woman who was raised in church, went to Bible college, and trusted in Jesus nearly all my life, but nothing could have prepared me for the day my husband walked out the door of our nineteen-year marriage. When he walked out, he walked right into a relationship with another woman. My heart was shattered into a million pieces, and I was flooded with emotions like fear, embarrassment, worry, sadness, anger, and more.
I prayed for restoration, and he came back! But then he left again. And then he came back and left again. And this cycle would repeat itself for years.
I prayed for help as a single mom, and at times I wondered how a God I could not see could help me. I mean, I knew that God was with me and that I was never alone, but when the car broke down or the toilet broke, I really wanted a person, in the flesh, to help me.
You see, the enemy—Satan—wants us to feel alone and to stop praying. He wants us to give up. He wants to keep us stuck in his darkness and confusion. He wants us to lose our faith and joy.
Do not believe his lies.
Let me assure you, God hears your prayers.
God is with you, and he loves you. Whatever is burdening you today, take it to the Lord. God is not afraid of the darkness. Invite him in and wrestle out with him your fear and discouragement. And always remember, when you are wrestling with God, the darkness cannot win!
Day 2
Scriptures: Isaiah 41:10, Joshua 1:9, Philippians 4:6-7, John 14:27, Ephesians 6:16
Overcoming the Darkness
The loss of my marriage was devastating. Waves of fear, anger, embarrassment, worry, and sadness would sweep over me regularly. Worst-case scenarios would flash through my mind as the joyful, happy life I once knew was gone.
If you are going through the worst season of your life, I want you to know that I feel your pain. I know how scary it can be to face the unknown.
In Mark 4, Jesus was sleeping in a boat with his disciples when a storm broke out. Look at what happened.
And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”
Mark 4:37–40 esv
In the midst of the storm, the disciples felt like Jesus did not care. But he did. Jesus got up and spoke to the wind and the waves and said, “Peace! Be still!” And then he looked at his disciples and essentially asked, Where is your faith?
Are you in the midst of a storm today?
Are you tempted to believe the lies of the enemy that say that God does not care?
The enemy wants to keep you in the darkness of these emotions. But you must let your faith overcome this darkness!
God cares.
So, what are you fearful about right now?
Peace is available today. Go to God and give him all your fears, and then go to him in his Word. His Word brings light into the darkness and freedom to those who are gripped with fear. His Word has the power to rid you of your anxious thoughts so you can walk in his peace, be free, and stand strong for another day.
Day 3
Scriptures: Isaiah 43:19, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 Chronicles 16:11
Standing in the Light
It’s hard to find joy when life is not enjoyable.
I heard a pastor once say that change only comes when we get sick and tired of ourselves. When the pain of staying the same is too great to bear. That was where I was at. I had spent a lot of time trying to change someone else. But I can’t control others—I can only control myself, and I was sick of living miserable. So, it was time for a change!
I sought wisdom and reorganized my life. I threw things out and cleaned up my eating. I began focusing on creating space in my life to simply rest. I began listing all the things I was grateful for each day. I changed my habits because change comes when we change our habits.
God was doing a new thing in my life!
As I implemented change, change was happening. So, I kept moving forward with change.
My kids’ father had bad seasonal allergies, so we had always kept the windows closed year-round for him. Now that he was gone, my dad came over and helped me put screens in every window of my home. Then we opened the windows and let the fresh breeze flow through the house. It was fabulous! I could hear the birds chirp, the rain hitting the pavement, and the crickets at night. It was all joyful music to our ears. We left those windows open day and night for weeks and we loved it!
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19 NIV
God continued to do new things in my life!
I was living loved. I was letting the simple gifts that God gives us each day through his creation be my joy. Life was becoming more enjoyable.
Friend, if something isn’t right in your life, fix it!
Satan wants us to feel trapped and like change will never come. Do not believe his lies. God did this for me, and you have the same God as I do. He will do it for you too if you will daily implement the change that is required for change.
With God’s help we can overcome!
Day 4
Scriptures: Psalms 34:18, Hebrews 12:14-15, Ephesians 4:32, Matthew 18:21-22
Wounded Warrior
We all have been wounded. No one gets through life unscathed. No one. When people we love, who are supposed to love us back, hurt us, betray us, reject us, or abandon us, it can take months and sometimes years to recover. The enemy loves to use our relational wounds to knock us down and keep us down.
Being wounded by someone you love can be beyond hard to recover from at times, and it is vital that we learn to allow God’s light to shine into the dark areas of our soul where we feel hurt.
Have you been there?
I had a moment when I decided to not give any private details about my life to anyone ever again. I went into protection mode, and it worked for a little while, but eventually it was a lonely place to live. Let me save you time—don’t try it. It does not work. It is mentally, emotionally, and spiritually unhealthy, and so I had to figure out how to trust again. I had to read God’s Word and let his light shine into my darkness. I had to learn to forgive, to trust, to let go of my bitterness, and to learn healthy boundaries so I could keep standing for another day.
In Matthew 9:12, Jesus presents himself as the great physician. He came for the sick. It may be painful to obey God and forgive those who have mistreated you, but he wants to heal you, and forgiveness is the only way. He does not want you to suffer in bitterness.
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Hebrews 12:14–15 NIV
You see, when we pray and are in God’s Word, our heart becomes more like God’s heart. God’s heart is full of mercy and grace toward us, and so the closer we are to him, the more grace and mercy we can give others.
Friend, be strong. Be present and feel your feelings and then let your hurt go and stand firm in your faith. God loves you.
Day 5
Scriptures: Psalms 46:1, 1 John 4:4, Hebrews 12:28-29, 1 Corinthians 15:58
Still Standing
You may feel at times like the darkness has a grip on you, but God’s grip is tighter! He is the rock at the bottom when the bottom falls out.
Let him be your refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1).
And because he is your refuge and strength, because you are trusting him with your future, and because of the truth and promise of eternal life in heaven through his son Jesus Christ—because of this, everything is going to be okay.
I mean, life might not always feel okay. But I have experienced 1 John 4:4 (niv): “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
Our God is greater! And so, we can keep standing!
I know that your life may not be going the way you thought it would. It may feel like this dark valley will never end. It may feel like the battle is raging with no relief in sight. Be assured, God is with you. He is at work even when you cannot see it.
This dark valley will end.
Do not be passive with the darkness in your life. I want you to live free. Though you cannot see it now, as you push back the darkness, you are growing stronger than you ever were before. You are going to finish well!
Let your light shine in the darkness. Your story and your testimony are needed to guide and comfort others.
Remember, on hard days, our God is a consuming fire. His kingdom cannot be shaken! “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire’” (Hebrews 12:28–29 niv).
And so my final words for you come from 1 Corinthians 15:58 (niv): “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you.”
Rise up.
Stand firm.
Let nothing move you.
Finish well as you walk with the King.