I Choose Today...

I Choose Today to Receive God’s Comfort in the Valley

There are seasons in life where it seems like everyone around you is walking through some kind of valley. Fear. Grief. Uncertainty. Loss. The kind of situations that remind us how fragile life really is. Lately, I’ve found myself sitting with a lot of hurting people. Not fixing. Not rescuing. Just sitting with them in hard places. And it has reminded me of something I learned in one of the deepest valleys of my own life after losing my son Bobby. God comforts people in valleys. Not always by immediately removing the valley… but by being present in it. I think many of us expect comfort to feel dramatic. We expect some overwhelming emotional moment where suddenly everything feels peaceful again. And sometimes God absolutely does bring supernatural peace in that way. But often, His comfort comes through people. A phone call. A meal. A text message. Someone sitting beside you. Someone praying for you when you don’t have the strength to pray for yourself. That’s still the comfort of God. After Bobby died, people began showing up at our house within hours. Some cleaned. Some mowed the lawn. Some brought food. Some simply sat with me. And I’ll never

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I Choose Today to Believe God Brings Order from Chaos

Chaos… it seems to come from every direction of life: culture, economy, weather, evil. It collides with our day-to-day too—our workplaces, highways, schools, even our homes. And if we’re honest, it presses in on our thoughts: questions about purpose, worries about the future, doubts that spiral into anxiety. Chaos feels pervasive everywhere we look. When will it stop? As I was reading Genesis 1, I noticed something right away: “The earth was completely chaos, and darkness covered the face of the deep…” (NRSVUE). That phrase grabbed me. But as I studied further, hope began to surface. Because while chaos was present, it wasn’t permanent. It wasn’t menacing. It simply meant God’s creative work hadn’t begun yet. And there, right in the middle of the chaos, ruakh—God’s breath, His Spirit—was hovering. Not passively, but like an electric charge, full of expectant energy. One commentary describes it as fluttering, vibrating, actively moving over the waters, ready to bring order out of chaos. The same word appears in Deuteronomy 32:10–11, where Moses describes God watching over “the apple of His eye.” That’s you. That’s me. Just as an eagle hovers and flutters over its young to guard and protect, God hovers over His

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I Choose Today to Trust God’s Promises: You Are Not Alone

Promises—those declarations or assurances that something will happen—are so often broken. When they are, trust gets harder. Depending on the promise and who broke it, a relationship can feel damaged beyond repair. And if we’re honest, those wounds can make it hard to trust again in other relationships too. But here’s the good news, friend: God always keeps His promises. Always. Numbers 23:19 reminds us, “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” And Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” If God has said it, He is faithful to do it. So when He says, “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:8), you can count on it. That means when you feel alone, abandoned, or like His presence is far away—you don’t have to stay stuck in fear. Take courage. He is already ahead of you. He is beside you. He is

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I Choose Today to Meet God at the Table

Sometimes it’s not the mountaintop moments that change us, but the quiet, ordinary places — like the kitchen table. That’s where God met me, and it’s the story I share today with (in)courage. I’d love for you to join me there, pull up a chair, and see how He speaks in the everyday moments we often overlook. 👉 Read the full devotion here And while you’re there, don’t forget you can sign up to receive daily encouragement from (in)courage right to your inbox. It’s such a gift to have words of hope arrive exactly when you need them most. ✨ Sign up here

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I Choose Today to Let the River Flow Through Me

Have you ever walked through a season where your soul felt dry? Where no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t muster up energy or connection with God? I’ve been there. And in those moments, I’ve often found myself asking: “Lord, do You still see me? Do You still move in places like this?” That’s why I love the imagery of the river of God that flows all throughout Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, the river represents His presence — and what strikes me is that it always moves toward the broken, the weary, and the hurting. It’s not a river you have to chase down. It’s not reserved for the people who “have it all together.” God’s living water flows toward those who need it most. And that means you. When life feels barren, His Spirit is still flowing. When the landscape of your heart looks more like a desert than a garden, His presence hasn’t stopped moving. The river of God brings healing, renewal, and life — and it flows right into your everyday, ordinary moments. And here’s the part that takes my breath away: as followers of Jesus, we’re not just standing beside the river. We’re carriers

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