“To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity.” (2 Samuel 22:26 NLT)

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“To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity.” (2 Samuel 22:26 NLT)
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<a href="https://link.chtbl.com/A1PWfZ8W">Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast</a>
<a href="https://harvest.org/harvest-partner/">Become a Harvest Partner</a>

If you want to be successful in the Christian life, you must have a mind full of God’s Word. Refresh your mind with it daily, right here. Each day, you'll receive a verse and commentary from Pastor Greg Laurie, who offers biblical insight through humor, personal stories, and cultural commentary. Start listening and hear what God has to say to you. 

*The audio production of this podcast utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

If you want to be successful in the Christian life, you must have a mind full of God&rsquo;s Word. Refresh your mind with it daily, right here. Each day, you'll receive a verse and commentary from&nbsp;<a href="https://harvest.org/about-greg-laurie/">Pastor Greg Laurie</a>, who offers biblical insight through humor, personal stories, and cultural commentary. Start listening and hear what God has to say to you.&nbsp;
*The audio production of this podcast utilizes Generative AI technology.&nbsp;This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known." All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Greg Laurie provides commentary on the day's Bible verse.

Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions

“To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity.” (2 Samuel 22:26 NLT)

A Long-Standing Habit Continued | 2 Samuel 22:26

“May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24–26 NLT)

 

Attention is becoming a scarce commodity in our modern culture. Attention spans have become alarmingly short. Algorithms are constantly being tweaked and perfected to keep people’s focus on their screens. As a result, many people have little attention to spare for others.

How often do you find yourself talking to someone who isn’t listening—or who’s giving you considerably less than their full attention? And when you call them on it, the conversation usually goes something like this:

“Did you hear what I just said?”

“Yes.”

“What did I say?”

“Uh, something about something that happened.”

We may be tempted to wonder if we face the same challenge with God. He is the Sustainer of the universe, after all. Given the infinite number of things that concern Him, we may question whether we have His full attention. And when things aren’t going well for us, we may start to doubt that He’s even aware of our struggles.

Maybe Joseph felt that way at times. After all, he was only human. He had done all the right things, even after his brothers betrayed him and sold him into slavery. He had resisted the advances of Potiphar’s wife. And what did he get for being a person of integrity? He was falsely accused of sexual assault and thrown into an Egyptian prison.

How easily Joseph could have thought, “This is just great. You serve the Lord, you do what God wants, and this is where it gets you. If I had given in to Mrs. Potiphar, I wouldn’t be here right now. I would be living in the lap of luxury. But here I am, suffering!”

Of course, this would have been a shortsighted reaction. The truth is that God’s full attention was on Joseph, not just on his immediate circumstances, but on his long-term potential. God’s plan wasn’t for Joseph to be comfortable every day of his life and fully informed of what the future held. His plan was for Joseph to save countless people from famine and to set into motion the events that eventually would lead the people of Israel to the Promised Land.

Joseph was the ideal person for the job because he was willing to be still in even the worst circumstances. To look for the opportunities that presented themselves in prison. To use his God-given skills in surprising ways.

Even in the quietness of prison, Joseph was not outside God’s attention. He certainly didn’t understand everything that was happening to him. But he recognized that his circumstances were part of his preparation. He trusted that God was equipping him for something greater.

We too can have that confidence. Numbers 6:24–26 says, “May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace” (NLT). The idea is that the Lord gives us His full attention.

Be still and let that amazing truth give you comfort in both good times and bad.

 

Reflection question: What does it mean to you to have God’s full attention? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

—

The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

 

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

&ldquo;May the&nbsp;Lord&nbsp;bless you and protect you.&nbsp;May the&nbsp;Lord&nbsp;smile on you and be gracious to you.&nbsp;May the&nbsp;Lord&nbsp;show you his favor and give you his peace.&rdquo; (Numbers 6:24&ndash;26 NLT)
&nbsp;
Attention is becoming a scarce commodity in our modern culture. Attention spans have become alarmingly short. Algorithms are constantly being tweaked and perfected to keep people&rsquo;s focus on their screens. As a result, many people have little attention to spare for others.
How often do you find yourself talking to someone who isn&rsquo;t listening&mdash;or who&rsquo;s giving you considerably less than their full attention? And when you call them on it, the conversation usually goes something like this:
&ldquo;Did you hear what I just said?&rdquo;
&ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
&ldquo;What did I say?&rdquo;
&ldquo;Uh, something about something that happened.&rdquo;
We may be tempted to wonder if we face the same challenge with God. He is the Sustainer of the universe, after all. Given the infinite number of things that concern Him, we may question whether we have His full attention. And when things aren&rsquo;t going well for us, we may start to doubt that He&rsquo;s even aware of our struggles.
Maybe Joseph felt that way at times. After all, he was only human. He had done all the right things, even after his brothers betrayed him and sold him into slavery. He had resisted the advances of Potiphar&rsquo;s wife. And what did he get for being a person of integrity? He was falsely accused of sexual assault and thrown into an Egyptian prison.
How easily Joseph could have thought, &ldquo;This is just great. You serve the Lord, you do what God wants, and this is where it gets you. If I had given in to Mrs. Potiphar, I wouldn&rsquo;t be here right now. I would be living in the lap of luxury. But here I am, suffering!&rdquo;
Of course, this would have been a shortsighted reaction. The truth is that God&rsquo;s full attention was on Joseph, not just on his immediate circumstances, but on his long-term potential. God&rsquo;s plan wasn&rsquo;t for Joseph to be comfortable every day of his life and fully informed of what the future held. His plan was for Joseph to save countless people from famine and to set into motion the events that eventually would lead the people of Israel to the Promised Land.
Joseph was the ideal person for the job because he was willing to be still in even the worst circumstances. To look for the opportunities that presented themselves in prison. To use his God-given skills in surprising ways.
Even in the quietness of prison, Joseph was not outside God&rsquo;s attention. He certainly didn&rsquo;t understand everything that was happening to him. But he recognized that his circumstances were part of his preparation. He trusted that God was equipping him for something greater.
We too can have that confidence. Numbers 6:24&ndash;26 says, &ldquo;May the&nbsp;Lord&nbsp;bless you and protect you.&nbsp;May the&nbsp;Lord&nbsp;smile on you and be gracious to you.&nbsp;May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace&rdquo; (NLT). The idea is that the Lord gives us His full attention.
Be still and let that amazing truth give you comfort in both good times and bad.
&nbsp;
Reflection question: What does it mean to you to have God&rsquo;s full attention?&nbsp;<a href="https://disciple.harvest.org/spaces/17592429/feed?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=HarvestDiscipleship">Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!</a>
&mdash;
The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology.&nbsp;This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."
&nbsp;
All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.
<a href="https://go.pddr.app/glpodcast">Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast</a>
<a href="https://harvest.org/harvest-partner/?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=HarvestPartners">Become a Harvest Partner</a>

Attention Surplus | Numbers 6:24–26

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4 NLT)

 

Years ago, our grandson Christopher was playing in our backyard. Suddenly, he came running into the house with tears streaming down his face, unable to speak because of pain.

“Christopher, what happened?” I asked. He lifted his shirt, and I could see a long, red scrape on his back. It was just deep enough to stir up those little nerve endings, leaving him in that “take-your-breath-away” agony. I scooped him up, grabbed an ice pack from the freezer, and held him in my arms. All I wanted to do was remove the pain, but I couldn’t. I could do something practical like put ice on the wound and hold him tight through his suffering, but beyond that I simply had to wait for the pain to subside.

Oh, how it breaks my heart to see my loved ones hurt. But soon enough, the tears stopped flowing and Christopher felt better. I’m sure the bowl of ice cream I gave him also helped.

So often when someone is hurting, what they want from us more than anything else is just our attention and our love: someone to put our arm around them, listen, and sit with them while they hurt. My hope, my prayer, is that we—as a church, as believers—are doing exactly that. We are coming alongside those who are hurting. We are helping each other. We are welcoming others in. This ministry of presence requires us to be still—to resist the urge to “do,” to fix, or to heal something that’s beyond our power to change.

We want the church to be a place where there’s no shame, no fear, no hiding—a safe place for people who are suffering. We’re not going to fall back on tired clichés and try to fix people. We need to remember that brokenness takes time to heal. And sometimes the brokenness may never heal, but we need to love people throughout that time.

When I was going through my season of suffering after the death of my son, the greatest gift people could give me was the gift of their presence. Of simply being there. Instead of asking me difficult and sometimes wounding questions before I was ready to open up and talk, they chose to just be present with me.

We are here to be like Jesus, to be His hands and feet. We are to show compassion and to offer the ministry of our presence. We may not understand the complexities of people’s lives, but we are believers with the Holy Spirit living within us, and He will guide us in comforting others.

Can we love somebody? Can we welcome somebody? Can we put our arm around somebody? Let’s challenge ourselves to live out a “yes” answer to these questions.

 

Reflection question: When has someone given you the gift of presence? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

—

The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

 

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

&ldquo;All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.&nbsp;He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.&rdquo; (2 Corinthians 1:3&ndash;4 NLT)
&nbsp;
Years ago, our grandson Christopher was playing in our backyard. Suddenly, he came running into the house with tears streaming down his face, unable to speak because of pain.
&ldquo;Christopher, what happened?&rdquo; I asked. He lifted his shirt, and I could see a long, red scrape on his back. It was just deep enough to stir up those little nerve endings, leaving him in that &ldquo;take-your-breath-away&rdquo; agony. I scooped him up, grabbed an ice pack from the freezer, and held him in my arms. All I wanted to do was remove the pain, but I couldn&rsquo;t. I could do something practical like put ice on the wound and hold him tight through his suffering, but beyond that I simply had to wait for the pain to subside.
Oh, how it breaks my heart to see my loved ones hurt. But soon enough, the tears stopped flowing and Christopher felt better. I&rsquo;m sure the bowl of ice cream I gave him also helped.
So often when someone is hurting, what they want from us more than anything else is just our attention and our love: someone to put our arm around them, listen, and sit with them while they hurt. My hope, my prayer, is that we&mdash;as a church, as believers&mdash;are doing exactly that. We are coming alongside those who are hurting. We are helping each other. We are welcoming others in. This ministry of presence requires us to be still&mdash;to resist the urge to &ldquo;do,&rdquo; to fix, or to heal something that&rsquo;s beyond our power to change.
We want the church to be a place where there&rsquo;s no shame, no fear, no hiding&mdash;a safe place for people who are suffering. We&rsquo;re not going to fall back on tired clich&eacute;s and try to fix people. We need to remember that brokenness takes time to heal. And sometimes the brokenness may never heal, but we need to love people throughout that time.
When I was going through my season of suffering after the death of my son, the greatest gift people could give me was the gift of their presence. Of simply being there. Instead of asking me difficult and sometimes wounding questions before I was ready to open up and talk, they chose to just be present with me.
We are here to be like Jesus, to be His hands and feet. We are to show compassion and to offer the ministry of our presence. We may not understand the complexities of people&rsquo;s lives, but we are believers with the Holy Spirit living within us, and He will guide us in comforting others.
Can we love somebody? Can we welcome somebody? Can we put our arm around somebody? Let&rsquo;s challenge ourselves to live out a &ldquo;yes&rdquo; answer to these questions.
&nbsp;
Reflection question: When has someone given you the gift of presence?&nbsp;<a href="https://disciple.harvest.org/spaces/17592429/feed?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=HarvestDiscipleship">Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!</a>
&mdash;
The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology.&nbsp;This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."
&nbsp;
All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.
<a href="https://go.pddr.app/glpodcast">Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast</a>
<a href="https://harvest.org/harvest-partner/?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=HarvestPartners">Become a Harvest Partner</a>

Sometimes the greatest gift is the gift of our presence.

Being There | 2 Corinthians 1:3–4

“Then Gideon said to God, ‘If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.’ And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water.” (Judges 6:36–38 NLT)

 

One of the crucial benefits in learning to be still is that it gives us the opportunity to become more aware of our circumstances. And that’s important because God often speaks to us through circumstances.

This is not to say that we should look for God’s hand in every unexpected encounter, every missed opportunity, and every stray comment someone makes. Sometimes circumstances are just circumstances. But I can tell you this: Although I’m not one to base major life decisions on circumstances alone, I’ve experienced occasions when I sensed that something was the will of God and then found that things fell into place circumstantially. I’ve also experienced times when circumstances have made it obvious that God was saying no to something.

A classic example of God graciously confirming His word through circumstances is found in the story of Gideon in Judges 6–8. God called Gideon to lead the Israelites against the Midianites. But Gideon had trouble seeing himself as a great military leader, so he asked God to confirm his calling. God worked through the circumstances of the morning dew to assure Gideon that he was the man for the job (see Judges 6:36–38).

Likewise, when the prophet Jonah tried to flee from God because he didn’t want to go to Nineveh, God used a storm at sea and a giant fish to bring his journey to an abrupt halt.

Of course, not all biblical examples are quite so dramatic. Acts 8:26–40 tells the story of Philip the Evangelist’s encounter with an Ethiopian official. According to verse 29, “The Holy Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over and walk along beside the carriage’” (NLT). Philip followed the Spirit’s prompting and led the Ethiopian official to Christ. He obeyed the Spirit’s prompting and recognized the opportunity God had placed before him.

Two thousand years later, God still works through circumstances involving other people. For example, there have been times when I was listening to someone preach or was talking with a friend and suddenly realized that what the person was saying addressed a situation I was going through, even though the person was completely unaware of my circumstances. Those occasions made me realize that it was God Himself who was speaking to me through those individuals.

Maybe God has spoken to you through a pastor or a Christian friend. Or perhaps He has been speaking to you through circumstances. If so, pay attention. You’ll be glad you did.

 

Reflection question: How has God guided you through circumstances in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

—

The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

 

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast

Become a Harvest Partner

&ldquo;Then Gideon said to God, &lsquo;If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised,&nbsp;prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.&rsquo;&nbsp;And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water.&rdquo; (Judges 6:36&ndash;38 NLT)
&nbsp;
One of the crucial benefits in learning to be still is that it gives us the opportunity to become more aware of our circumstances. And that&rsquo;s important because God often speaks to us through circumstances.
This is not to say that we should look for God&rsquo;s hand in every unexpected encounter, every missed opportunity, and every stray comment someone makes. Sometimes circumstances are just circumstances. But I can tell you this: Although I&rsquo;m not one to base major life decisions on circumstances alone, I&rsquo;ve experienced occasions when I sensed that something was the will of God and then found that things fell into place circumstantially. I&rsquo;ve also experienced times when circumstances have made it obvious that God was saying no to something.
A classic example of God graciously confirming His word through circumstances is found in the story of Gideon in Judges 6&ndash;8. God called Gideon to lead the Israelites against the Midianites. But Gideon had trouble seeing himself as a great military leader, so he asked God to confirm his calling. God worked through the circumstances of the morning dew to assure Gideon that he was the man for the job (see Judges 6:36&ndash;38).
Likewise, when the prophet Jonah tried to flee from God because he didn&rsquo;t want to go to Nineveh, God used a storm at sea and a giant fish to bring his journey to an abrupt halt.
Of course, not all biblical examples are quite so dramatic. Acts 8:26&ndash;40 tells the story of Philip the Evangelist&rsquo;s encounter with an Ethiopian official. According to verse 29, &ldquo;The Holy Spirit said to Philip, &lsquo;Go over and walk along beside the carriage&rsquo;&rdquo; (NLT). Philip followed the Spirit&rsquo;s prompting and led the Ethiopian official to Christ. He obeyed the Spirit&rsquo;s prompting and recognized the opportunity God had placed before him.
Two thousand years later, God still works through circumstances involving other people. For example, there have been times when I was listening to someone preach or was talking with a friend and suddenly realized that what the person was saying addressed a situation I was going through, even though the person was completely unaware of my circumstances. Those occasions made me realize that it was God Himself who was speaking to me through those individuals.
Maybe God has spoken to you through a pastor or a Christian friend. Or perhaps He has been speaking to you through circumstances. If so, pay attention. You&rsquo;ll be glad you did.
&nbsp;
Reflection question: How has God guided you through circumstances in your life?&nbsp;<a href="https://disciple.harvest.org/spaces/17592429/feed?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=HarvestDiscipleship">Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!</a>
&mdash;
The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology.&nbsp;This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."
&nbsp;
All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.
<a href="https://go.pddr.app/glpodcast">Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast</a>
<a href="https://harvest.org/harvest-partner/?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=HarvestPartners">Become a Harvest Partner</a>

God sometimes speaks to us through our circumstances.

A Long-Standing Habit Continued | 2 Samuel 22:26

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