Embrace the comforting truth that God is ever-present, offering His comforting presence in every moment of our lives through all times of joy, sorrow, uncertainty, and triumph. 

SUBSCRIBE to our sister podcasts:

Your Daily Prayer: https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/
Your Daily Bible Verse: https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/

Embrace the comforting truth that God is ever-present, offering His comforting presence in every moment of our lives through all times of joy, sorrow, uncertainty, and triumph. 
SUBSCRIBE to our sister podcasts: Your Daily Prayer: <a href="https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/">https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/</a> Your Daily Bible Verse: <a href="https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/">https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/</a>

Are you a Christian looking for a daily devotional podcast to encourage, inspire, and convict you in your walk with Christ? 7 days a week, The Crosswalk.com Daily Devotional Podcast offers wisdom and insight for applying Biblical truths to the ups and downs of everyday life. Let's study the Bible together and through the experiences of other believers, learn how to apply the Word of God to our lives.

Here’s just some of what we cover in The Crosswalk Daily Devotional Podcast:

☕️ Confidence in Knowing God Is Enough
☕️ What to Do When Life Takes a Drastic Turn
☕️ How to Escape the Trap of Anger
☕️ An Attitude of Gratitude for the New Year
☕️ Three Keys to a Hope-Filled Spiritual Mindset
☕️ Gaze at God for Peace-filled Positive Thoughts

Are you a Christian looking for a daily devotional podcast to encourage, inspire, and convict you in your walk with Christ? 7 days a week, The Crosswalk.com Daily Devotional Podcast offers wisdom and insight for applying Biblical truths to the ups and downs of everyday life. Let's study the Bible together and through the experiences of other believers, learn how to apply the Word of God to our lives.
Here’s just some of what we cover in The Crosswalk Daily Devotional Podcast:
☕️ Confidence in Knowing God Is Enough ☕️ What to Do When Life Takes a Drastic Turn ☕️ How to Escape the Trap of Anger ☕️ An Attitude of Gratitude for the New Year ☕️ Three Keys to a Hope-Filled Spiritual Mindset ☕️ Gaze at God for Peace-filled Positive Thoughts

7 days a week, The Crosswalk.com Devotional Podcast offers wisdom and insight for applying Biblical truths to the ups and downs of everyday life.

The Crosswalk Devotional: A Daily Devotional Christian Podcast

The Crosswalk Devotional

God Is with Us All

The love of God is not a response to how great we are, or how good we can be. The love of God is not a possession that we yield, or an accolade we merit. Love is the foundation of who God is. Love is the full identification of God’s being and it existed over us before any action or mistake in our lives.

SUBSCRIBE to our sister podcasts:

Your Daily Prayer: https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/
Your Daily Bible Verse: https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/

Full Transcript Below:

Is God’s love true or real? 

“This is love, not that we loved God, but God loved us and sent his only son into this world so that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:10)

In his book, “Seeing is Believing”, theologian Greg Boyd makes a distinction between something that is true, and something that is real. To say something is true is to affirm something about it – to make some sort of declaration. Importantly, you can claim something to be true without having any personal interaction with it. For example, I know that the city of Paris is true, even though I have never been there. The fact is truth is an intellectual property more than a personal experience. But to say something is real, says Boyd, is to have a personal experience of it.

We can talk about the truth of God’s love easily enough. We can pose questions about it, we can read books about it, we write essays and blogs about it; But love calls us deeper than just affirming the truth of God’s love as some intellectual assent to a theological doctrine. God’s desire is for us to experience the reality – the realness – of his love, and it is for that purpose that God sent Jesus into the world.

See, the love of God is not a response to how great we are, or how good we can be. The love of God is not a possession that we yield, or an accolade we merit. Love is the foundation of who God is. Love is the full identification of God’s being and it existed over us before any action or mistake in our lives. True, we might deny it, and we might choose to live away from it, but because God’s love for us is real, we can do nothing to negate it. God’s love for us exists just as much as God exists. 

In complete self-offering, God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Scripture reminds us of this not because it’s a nice thought, or a hope-filled idea, but because it is a reality that encompasses us. It is real for our lives! God’s love for you is real, and to know God is to know that love, deeply, intimate, profoundly. 

God’s divine, magnificent, earth-shattering, radical, and unyielding love transforms us. It pushes aside all that bars our knowledge of Christ. It pushes aside fear of punishment, fear of not being good enough, fear of missing out or messing up; fear of being rejected. John writes that there is no fear in love because love’s only mission, God’s only mission, is to produce life. This means that the number one thing that God wants from you right now, is for you let Him love you.  

Intersecting faith in Life.

It can be easy to base our spiritual life on a faulty premise of earning. In this word of merit and deserve, we might think that doing loving things earns God’s love for us. Talk about loving others, even showing our faith, becomes rooted in some sort of ethic of deserve. If I do x, God will lovingly do y, we think. But that is not how God’s love works. “This is love”, writes John, not that we loved God, but God loved us and sent his only son into this world so that we might live through him.” 

What if God’s doesn’t want you to try harder, or to study more. What if God isn’t setting up a long list of tasks through which you can prove your worth. What if God just wants to love you, as you are, in this moment. Now that can be scary. To be loved is to be vulnerable – and to be truly loved, is to accept that love even in your ugliest moments. But it is when we experience love in that place that we find healing and growth.

So where do we start? We start by dropping our defenses and letting the love of God flow in.  God first loved us”, writes John (1John 4:10), which means our heavenly Father the active agent and we are the recipients. The question that we sit with is: do you want to experience the love of God? Do you want to know God’s love, not as a truth to ponder, but as something to feel, as a reality to be enfolded?  

God’s desire for you is to have you experience the fullness of that love. And in an astounding act of grace, God has made receiving that love very simple. All you need to do is open yourself to accept the gift that is perpetually held out to you in the presence of Jesus. As you are right now, facing whatever it is you are facing and dealing with whatever it is your dealing with, dare to believe that Jesus stands with you, and offers you, his love. As surely as he is there, so is his love for you.

Yes, the love of God is true, absolutely and eternally, but it is also so much more. It is real, and it is something you can experience, and live within.

For further reading

1 John 4:7-12

“3 ways to experience More of God’s Love” on crosswalk.com

The love of God is not a response to how great we are, or how good we can be. The love of God is not a possession that we yield, or an accolade we merit. Love is the foundation of who God is. Love is the full identification of God’s being and it existed over us before any action or mistake in our lives.
SUBSCRIBE to our sister podcasts: Your Daily Prayer: <a href="https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/">https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/</a> Your Daily Bible Verse: <a href="https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/">https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/</a>
Full Transcript Below:
Is God’s love true or real? 
“This is love, not that we loved God, but God loved us and sent his only son into this world so that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:10)
In his book, “Seeing is Believing”, theologian Greg Boyd makes a distinction between something that is true, and something that is real. To say something is true is to affirm something about it – to make some sort of declaration. Importantly, you can claim something to be true without having any personal interaction with it. For example, I know that the city of Paris is true, even though I have never been there. The fact is truth is an intellectual property more than a personal experience. But to say something is real, says Boyd, is to have a personal experience of it.
We can talk about the truth of God’s love easily enough. We can pose questions about it, we can read books about it, we write essays and blogs about it; But love calls us deeper than just affirming the truth of God’s love as some intellectual assent to a theological doctrine. God’s desire is for us to experience the reality – the realness – of his love, and it is for that purpose that God sent Jesus into the world.
See, the love of God is not a response to how great we are, or how good we can be. The love of God is not a possession that we yield, or an accolade we merit. Love is the foundation of who God is. Love is the full identification of God’s being and it existed over us before any action or mistake in our lives. True, we might deny it, and we might choose to live away from it, but because God’s love for us is real, we can do nothing to negate it. God’s love for us exists just as much as God exists. 
In complete self-offering, God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Scripture reminds us of this not because it’s a nice thought, or a hope-filled idea, but because it is a reality that encompasses us. It is real for our lives! God’s love for you is real, and to know God is to know that love, deeply, intimate, profoundly. 
God’s divine, magnificent, earth-shattering, radical, and unyielding love transforms us. It pushes aside all that bars our knowledge of Christ. It pushes aside fear of punishment, fear of not being good enough, fear of missing out or messing up; fear of being rejected. John writes that there is no fear in love because love’s only mission, God’s only mission, is to produce life. This means that the number one thing that God wants from you right now, is for you let Him love you.  
Intersecting faith in Life.
It can be easy to base our spiritual life on a faulty premise of earning. In this word of merit and deserve, we might think that doing loving things earns God’s love for us. Talk about loving others, even showing our faith, becomes rooted in some sort of ethic of deserve. If I do x, God will lovingly do y, we think. But that is not how God’s love works. “This is love”, writes John, not that we loved God, but God loved us and sent his only son into this world so that we might live through him.” 
What if God’s doesn’t want you to try harder, or to study more. What if God isn’t setting up a long list of tasks through which you can prove your worth. What if God just wants to love you, as you are, in this moment. Now that can be scary. To be loved is to be vulnerable – and to be truly loved, is to accept that love even in your ugliest moments. But it is when we experience love in that place that we find healing and growth.
So where do we start? We start by dropping our defenses and letting the love of God flow in.  God first loved us”, writes John (1John 4:10), which means our heavenly Father the active agent and we are the recipients. The question that we sit with is: do you want to experience the love of God? Do you want to know God’s love, not as a truth to ponder, but as something to feel, as a reality to be enfolded?  
God’s desire for you is to have you experience the fullness of that love. And in an astounding act of grace, God has made receiving that love very simple. All you need to do is open yourself to accept the gift that is perpetually held out to you in the presence of Jesus. As you are right now, facing whatever it is you are facing and dealing with whatever it is your dealing with, dare to believe that Jesus stands with you, and offers you, his love. As surely as he is there, so is his love for you.
Yes, the love of God is true, absolutely and eternally, but it is also so much more. It is real, and it is something you can experience, and live within.
For further reading
1 John 4:7-12
“3 ways to experience More of God’s Love” on crosswalk.com

Is God's Love True and Real?

Just as athletes train rigorously to compete at the highest levels, we are called to train ourselves in holiness. Spiritual training promises benefits not only for our current lives, but far beyond, for eternity! 

SUBSCRIBE to our sister podcasts:

Your Daily Prayer: https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/
Your Daily Bible Verse: https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/

Full Transcript Below:

Train Yourself for a Holy Life

By: Whitney Hopler, Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

“Train yourself for a holy life! While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come.” – 1 Timothy 4:7-8, CEB 

During the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, we are captivated by the dedication and achievements of athletes from around the world. These champions have spent countless hours building their skills in 32 different sports. Their dedication to physical training is evident in their strength, agility, and endurance. Each competition showcases the extraordinary capabilities of the human body when trained to its peak performance. Olympic athletes show us the pinnacle of what people can achieve from physical training. Consider the graceful precision of a gymnast on a balance beam, the explosive speed of a sprint runner, the creative choreography of a breaker, or the power of a swimmer cutting through the water. These athletes have committed their lives to rigorous training regimens, strict schedules, and relentless practice. They sacrifice comfort and leisure to achieve excellence, driven by the desire to compete at the highest level and perhaps win the gold medal of their dreams. 

Yet, as awe-inspiring as their physical accomplishments are, the Bible tells us that there’s something far more important. Even though physical training has some value, training in holy living holds even greater value. 

Just as athletes train rigorously to compete at the highest levels, we are called to train ourselves in holiness. Spiritual training promises benefits not only for our current lives, but far beyond, for eternity! That’s because our bodies are only temporary but our souls live forever. The effort we put into growing more holy will bring us rewards that never end. It’s more than worthwhile to train for a holy life. However, we need to be committed to doing so. Spiritual training requires dedication, practice, and perseverance, just like physical training does. The inspiration we draw from watching Olympic athletes can fuel our desire to excel in our own lives. While we may not ever compete in the Olympic Games, we should prepare for something even greater – lives in heaven with our holy God. Here are some ways we can train ourselves for living holy lives: 

Regular prayer and meditation: Just as athletes follow a strict training schedule, we should build prayer and meditation habits we enjoy, which will motivate us to stick to those habits every day. We can set aside specific times each day for prayer (talking with God) and meditation (listening to God), making these spiritual disciplines a non-negotiable part of our routine. One of the ways we can listen to God is by meditating on God’s Word, the Bible. When we internalize Bible verses, God will use those verses to guide our thoughts and actions so we can make the best decisions day by day. 

Community friendships: Engaging with a community of believers gives us encouragement, accountability, and support that can help us grow spiritually. Just as athletes train with coaches and teammates, we can benefit from the guidance and companionship of our fellow Christians. We can build friendships with others in our church by attending worship services regularly, participating in a small group, and seeking out mentors who can help us grow.

Self-discipline: Like athletes who resist unhealthy habits, we must exercise self-control to avoid sin and pursue righteousness. We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us develop more self-control, so we can turn away from temptations that will lead us farther away from God and instead pursue activities that help us grow closer to God. 

So, as we watch the dedication and discipline of Olympic athletes in action, let’s get inspired to excel in our walks with God! Imagine the spiritual endurance we can build, the strength of character we can develop, and the close relationships with God we can achieve when we commit to training ourselves in holiness. Just as Olympians keep their eyes on the prize, we should focus on the eternal reward that awaits us. The discipline and perseverance we cultivate in our spiritual lives will not only enrich our earthly lives now, but also prepare us for an eternity in heaven with God. 

Intersecting Faith and Life

As you consider how important it is to train well to live a holy life, reflect on these questions: 
How does the discipline of Olympic athletes inspire you to be more disciplined in your spiritual life?
In what ways can you incorporate daily spiritual training into your routine?
What obstacles do you face in training for a holy life, and how can you overcome them?
Who in your life can support and encourage you in your spiritual training?
What specific steps can you take this week to grow in holiness? 

Further Reading

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Philippians 3:14

Hebrews 12:1

2 Timothy 2:5

James 1:12

Just as athletes train rigorously to compete at the highest levels, we are called to train ourselves in holiness. Spiritual training promises benefits not only for our current lives, but far beyond, for eternity! 
SUBSCRIBE to our sister podcasts: Your Daily Prayer: <a href="https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/">https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/</a> Your Daily Bible Verse: <a href="https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/">https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/</a>
Full Transcript Below:
Train Yourself for a Holy Life
By: Whitney Hopler, Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer
“Train yourself for a holy life! While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come.” – 1 Timothy 4:7-8, CEB 
During the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, we are captivated by<a href="https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/motivating-sports-bible-verses-for-athletes.html"> the dedication and achievements of athletes</a> from around the world. These champions have spent countless hours building their skills in 32 different sports. Their dedication to physical training is evident in their strength, agility, and endurance. Each competition showcases the extraordinary capabilities of the human body when trained to its peak performance. Olympic athletes show us the pinnacle of what people can achieve from physical training. Consider the graceful precision of a gymnast on a balance beam, the explosive speed of a sprint runner, the creative choreography of a breaker, or the power of a swimmer cutting through the water. These athletes have committed their lives to rigorous training regimens, strict schedules, and relentless practice. They sacrifice comfort and leisure to achieve excellence, driven by the desire to compete at the highest level and perhaps win the gold medal of their dreams. 
Yet, <a href="https://www.crosswalk.com/special-coverage/summer-olympics/ways-to-see-gods-wonder-through-the-olympics.html">as awe-inspiring as their physical accomplishments are</a>, the Bible tells us that there’s something far more important. Even though physical training has some value, training in holy living holds even greater value. 
Just as athletes train rigorously to compete at the highest levels, we are called to train ourselves in holiness. Spiritual training promises benefits not only for our current lives, but far beyond, for eternity! That’s because our bodies are only temporary but our souls live forever. The effort we put into<a href="https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/what-does-it-mean-be-holy.html"> growing more holy</a> will bring us rewards that never end. It’s more than worthwhile to train for a holy life. However, we need to be committed to doing so. Spiritual training requires dedication, practice, and perseverance, just like physical training does. The inspiration we draw from watching Olympic athletes can fuel our desire to excel in our own lives. While we may not ever compete in the Olympic Games, we should prepare for something even greater – lives in heaven with our holy God. Here are some ways we can train ourselves for living holy lives: 
Regular prayer and meditation: Just as athletes follow a strict training schedule, we should<a href="https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/prayer/how-to-start-prayer-and-meditation-habits-youll-enjoy.html"> build prayer and meditation habits we enjoy</a>, which will motivate us to stick to those habits every day. We can set aside specific times each day for prayer (talking with God) and meditation (listening to God), making these spiritual disciplines a non-negotiable part of our routine. One of the ways we can listen to God is by meditating on God’s Word, the Bible. When we internalize Bible verses, God will use those verses to guide our thoughts and actions so we can make the best decisions day by day. 
Community friendships: Engaging with a community of believers gives us encouragement, accountability, and support that can help us grow spiritually. Just as athletes train with coaches and teammates, we can benefit from the guidance and companionship of our fellow Christians. We can build friendships with others in our church by attending worship services regularly, participating in a small group, and seeking out mentors who can help us grow.
Self-discipline: Like athletes who resist unhealthy habits, we must exercise self-control to avoid sin and pursue righteousness. We can<a href="https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/how-to-receive-the-holy-spirit.html"> ask the Holy Spirit</a> to help us develop more self-control, so we can turn away from temptations that will lead us farther away from God and instead pursue activities that help us grow closer to God. 
So, as we watch the dedication and discipline of Olympic athletes in action, let’s get inspired to excel in our walks with God! Imagine the spiritual endurance we can build, the strength of character we can develop, and the close relationships with God we can achieve when we commit to training ourselves in holiness. Just as Olympians keep their eyes on the prize, we should focus on the eternal reward that awaits us. The discipline and perseverance we cultivate in our spiritual lives will not only enrich our earthly lives now, but also prepare us for an eternity in heaven with God. 
Intersecting Faith and Life
As you consider how important it is to train well to live a holy life, reflect on these questions: 
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">How does the discipline of Olympic athletes inspire you to be more disciplined in your spiritual life?</li>
<li aria-level="1">In what ways can you incorporate daily spiritual training into your routine?</li>
<li aria-level="1">What obstacles do you face in training for a holy life, and how can you overcome them?</li>
<li aria-level="1">Who in your life can support and encourage you in your spiritual training?</li>
<li aria-level="1">What specific steps can you take this week to grow in holiness? </li>
</ul>
Further Reading 
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Philippians 3:14
Hebrews 12:1
2 Timothy 2:5
James 1:12

Train Yourself for a Holy Life

Just as our surroundings shift when a storm is coming, so too do our ordinary circumstances when the Lord comes onto the scene.

SUBSCRIBE to our sister podcasts:

Your Daily Prayer: https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/
Your Daily Bible Verse: https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/

Full Transcript Below:

A Change in Atmosphere

by Deidre Braley

When I was just a bare-footed wild child growing up on the edge of a great Maine wood, I would relish the hot, midsummer nights when the sky would turn dark and turbulent as a blackened eye and thunder would begin its war drum in the distance. On these evenings, my parents would bring my sister and I out onto our covered porch and we’d sit there, watching and waiting with half-held breath until hot electricity finally struck its purple zing across the sky. 

I was no meteorologist, but even as a child I knew there was a powerful shift happening in the atmosphere. The whole world felt pregnant, magnetic, anticipatory. In the storm-filled air, my breath felt different. Familiar objects like our house, our chairs, the rusty blue swingset—they seemed novel in this light. Even my mother and father seemed changed. I felt as though anything 

could and would happen, here in this familiar-but-foreign environment. 

When I hear people talk about God as if he’s boring—as though he is just a set of hymns stuck inthe back of a stubborn old church pew—I want to grab their hands, pull them outside, and tilt their chins to the electric excitement all around them, just like my parents did for me when a storm blew in. I want to say, “Look! Listen! Feel! Can you sense it—this palpable change in the air when the Holy Spirit comes into our midst?” 

Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he willrejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

Just as our surroundings shift when a storm is coming, so too do our ordinary circumstances when the Lord comes onto the scene. Our problems look different when examined under his light. Our hanging heads can’t help but lift toward the timbre of his voice. Our raging, fearful hearts settle in the presence of his quietude. 

This is the wonder of God: that wherever he is, anything and everything can happen. Even our most commonplace lives can become electric with possibility when they’re brought into the midst of our great Creator. And even our most troubling problems can take on new form when we let God remold them in his hands. 

That is why it is so important to be intentional about entering into God’s presence each day. If we spend all of our time looking at our lives from a worldly perspective, we’ll quickly become disoriented, disengaged, or just completely discouraged. But when we spend time with the Lord, he doesn’t make us stand at the threshold of the throne room—he hurries us in and shows us the world from his perspective. Even if nothing on the outside seems changed after these encounters,

the air inside our souls will have undergone a tangible, atmospheric shift—allowing us to experience the same old world in a whole new way. 

Intersecting Faith & Life:
Does it feel difficult to feel God’s presence in your life right now—and to believe he hasthe power to change the atmosphere of any of your current circumstances? Read throughJob 38-39, and mark which examples of God’s might and omniscience are most strikingto you.

When you begin to doubt if he can make a difference in your life, practice saying, “If God can [insert one of the examples you marked], then he can [make a specific change in your life]. It might sound something like this: “If God can ‘loosen Orion’s belt’ (Job 8:31), then he can also provide the money I’ll need to service my car this week.” 
Being in nature is an incredible way to remember God’s power and awe-inspiringattributes. Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisibleattributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understoodthrough what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Take a walk on the beach, lay on your back beneath the stars, or—better yet—pull up a chair and watch a storm. Bring your awareness to God, and praise him.

Just as our surroundings shift when a storm is coming, so too do our ordinary circumstances when the Lord comes onto the scene.
SUBSCRIBE to our sister podcasts: Your Daily Prayer: <a href="https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/">https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-prayer/</a> Your Daily Bible Verse: <a href="https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/">https://www.lifeaudio.com/your-daily-bible-verse/</a>
Full Transcript Below:
A Change in Atmosphere 
by Deidre Braley 
When I was just a bare-footed wild child growing up on the edge of a great Maine wood, I would relish the hot, midsummer nights when the sky would turn dark and turbulent as a blackened eye and thunder would begin its war drum in the distance. On these evenings, my parents would bring my sister and I out onto our covered porch and we’d sit there, watching and waiting with half-held breath until hot electricity finally struck its purple zing across the sky. 
I was no meteorologist, but even as a child I knew there was a powerful shift happening in the atmosphere. The whole world felt pregnant, magnetic, anticipatory. In the storm-filled air, my breath felt different. Familiar objects like our house, our chairs, the rusty blue swingset—they seemed novel in this light. Even my mother and father seemed changed. I felt as though anything 
could and would happen, here in this familiar-but-foreign environment. 
When I hear people talk about God as if he’s boring—as though he is just a set of hymns stuck in the back of a stubborn old church pew—I want to grab their hands, pull them outside, and tilt their chins to the electric excitement all around them, just like my parents did for me when a storm blew in. I want to say, “Look! Listen! Feel! Can you sense it—this palpable change in the air when the Holy Spirit comes into our midst?” 
Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” 
Just as our surroundings shift when a storm is coming, so too do our ordinary circumstances when the Lord comes onto the scene. Our problems look different when examined under his light. Our hanging heads can’t help but lift toward the timbre of his voice. Our raging, fearful hearts settle in the presence of his quietude. 
This is the wonder of God: that wherever he is, anything and everything can happen. Even our most commonplace lives can become electric with possibility when they’re brought into the midst of our great Creator. And even our most troubling problems can take on new form when we let God remold them in his hands. 
That is why it is so important to be intentional about entering into God’s presence each day. If we spend all of our time looking at our lives from a worldly perspective, we’ll quickly become disoriented, disengaged, or just completely discouraged. But when we spend time with the Lord, he doesn’t make us stand at the threshold of the throne room—he hurries us in and shows us the world from his perspective. Even if nothing on the outside seems changed after these encounters,
the air inside our souls will have undergone a tangible, atmospheric shift—allowing us to experience the same old world in a whole new way. 
Intersecting Faith &amp; Life: 
<ul>
<li>Does it feel difficult to feel God’s presence in your life right now—and to believe he hasthe power to change the atmosphere of any of your current circumstances? Read throughJob 38-39, and mark which examples of God’s might and omniscience are most strikingto you.</li>
</ul>
When you begin to doubt if he can make a difference in your life, practice saying, “If God can [insert one of the examples you marked], then he can [make a specific change in your life]. It might sound something like this: “If God can ‘loosen Orion’s belt’ (Job 8:31), then he can also provide the money I’ll need to service my car this week.” 
<ul>
<li>Being in nature is an incredible way to remember God’s power and awe-inspiringattributes. Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Take a walk on the beach, lay on your back beneath the stars, or—better yet—pull up a chair and watch a storm. Bring your awareness to God, and praise him.</li>
</ul>

God Is with Us All

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