You are never alone.
Let that sink in for a moment. Whatever situation you face, hardship you endure, trial you encounter, or celebration you experience—you never go through life alone.
Because Jesus gave up His life for you, you get to experience life with Him by your side … forever. Nothing can separate you from His love, and nothing you do will ever earn His approval. He loves you because He created you, and He has determined to remain faithful to you.
In Philippians 2, Paul reminds us that Jesus’ death on the cross leads to our salvation. Jesus is Lord. He has authority over our situations, our problems, our circumstances, our fears, our failures, and our successes. Jesus can cast out darkness, overcome addiction, reject temptation, heal the sick, set people free, and redeem our brokenness. And He has given us His Holy Spirit.
Because of the Holy Spirit, God lives in us, and He will work through us.
Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, but Philippians 2 reminds us that just because our salvation is free, doesn’t mean we can take it for granted. God will help us display His love to others, but we need to actively choose to let God work in us. God wants us to partner with Him as He works through us to reach a broken world.
When you submit to God, He frees, transforms, and redeems you. He dreams with you, and for you. He formed you, and He will finish what He has started in you—if you let Him. Nothing is impossible for God.
So right now, ask God to show you how He is at work in your life. Allow Him to reveal where He has gifted, guided, and healed you. Take some time to thank Him for His faithfulness, and then brainstorm some ways to faithfully live out the plans He has for your life.
A Call to Believe
In John 20:19, after Jesus’ prophesied death and resurrection, we see that all of Jesus’ disciples have gathered, and Jesus went to see them. That is to say, almost all of them—Thomas wasn’t there. And when those who were present told Thomas that they had seen the Lord, Thomas did not believe it.
“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
John 20:25 NIV
A week later, when the disciples were gathered together again, Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27 NIV)
Thomas immediately acknowledged that Jesus has, in fact, risen from the dead and is with them again. It’s here that Jesus says, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are ...