Words of Hope Daily Devotional
START EVERY DAY WITH HOPE
Get the Words of Hope Devotional and get daily encouragement to love God, read His Word, and meet with Him in prayer. Available in print and email.
START EVERY DAY WITH HOPE
Get the Words of Hope Devotional and get daily encouragement to love God, read His Word, and meet with Him in prayer. Available in print and email.
THE DEVOTIONAL IS AVAILABLE IN YOUR EMAIL AND IN PRINT.
The Words of Hope Devotional is a non-profit, donor-supported publication whose goal is to encourage readers to grow in faith through the practice of daily Bible reading and prayer.
DINNER WITH JESUS
Breakfast on the Beach
Finding Our Safe Place
Read: Psalm 46
Be still, and know that I am God. (v. 10)
Natural disasters are scary. Destroyed homes, loss of life, and the chaos of displacement—experiencing it ourselves is devastating, but even seeing images in the news and on social media can leave us feeling vulnerable, helpless, angry, and grief-stricken in search of safety and reassurance. So, what can we do when things get out of control? Here, God asks us to do an incredibly tough thing: he tells us to “be still” (v. 10).
In difficult times, our tendency might be to try to manipulate outcomes or blot out fear through action. But instead, God calls us to do nothing. In translating the original language, to “be still” means to “sink.” Ironically enough, we are not sinking beneath the crushing waves of despair. Instead, we sink into the comforting arms and protection of God. He is not only with us but becomes our safe place right where we are. However out of control a situation might feel, God’s all-powerful hand is at work, and he remains our “refuge and strength” in times of trouble (v. 1).
Our faith empowers us to run to God when we’re in peril, and he will be there for us. And that’s because he’s “a very present help in trouble” (v. 1). So, even if disaster takes shape around us—we can be still, we can understand we cannot control the situation, and we can feel the strength and the help of our God who is our refuge in times of distress—always.
As you pray, ask God to help you sink into safety and rest in him.
About the Author
Ariana D. Den Bleyker is a Pittsburgh native currently residing in New York’s Hudson Valley. She is the author of two devotional poetry collections,To Be Held by the LightandWaking in the Light. She is an ordained deacon in the Reformed Church of America.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rev. First Last
David Bast is a writer and pastor who served for 23 years as the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope. In his more than 40 years of devotional writing and preaching, he has been encouraging believers around the world to be shaped by God and his Word.
Prior to his ministry and work at Words of Hope, Dave served as a pastor for 18 years in congregations in the Reformed Church in America. A graduate of Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, he is the author of nine devotional books and Bible studies, including Why Doesn’t God Act More Like God, Christ in the Psalms, and A Gospel for the World.
Dave and his wife, Betty Jo, have four children and eight grandchildren. Dave enjoys reading, growing tomatoes, and avidly follows the Detroit Tigers.
A Miracle
Read: Acts 12:1-19 Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. (v. 5) In 1792, cobbler William Carey dared to leave his shoe repair shop in England and move to India.
Spiritual Dryness
Read: John 5:30-47 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (vv. 39-40)
Danger Within
Read: 2 Timothy 3:1-17 Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it. (v. 14) We live in a world of spam—junk emails, scam phone calls, and conniving social media messages. Some may
The Value of Silence
Read: James 1:16-27 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. (v. 19) Have you ever regretted a conversation that turned out to be unproductive? Sometimes, I have dropped my
How Should We Pray?
Read: Matthew 6:5-15 Pray then like this . . . (v. 9) During the pandemic, people prayed regularly—for quick healing and relief, turning everything over to God. It’s always good to turn to God in prayer and cry out to
The Pain of Waiting
Read: Luke 2:25-35 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. (v. 25) Waiting can be excruciating,