Ray Stedman reminds us in today’s reading that life’s circumstances often feel overwhelming, distorted, and frightening. Jeremiah’s story in chapter 20 of his book shows us how quickly despair can take hold, especially when opposition presses in. Yet Jeremiah models the way faith steadies a heart. Instead of staying locked in his complaint, he deliberately shifts his gaze to the Lord, recalling that the Lord is with him like a mighty warrior. Jeremiah’s faith begins to reframe the situation, not through his feelings or perceptions, but through the reality of God’s unchanging presence and power.

Bob Hoekstra reminds us today that not all of God’s promises are immediately welcomed by the human heart. We delight in promises of freedom, rest, and purpose. These sound like water to the thirsty and shade to the weary. Yet some promises are sobering, even uncomfortable, because they expose the seriousness of sin and the consequence of rejecting Jesus. These are the “unpopular” promises, but they are no less true and no less necessary in God’s plan.

A.B. Simpson draws our attention to the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit, whose movements in our lives are not forced but invited. He compares the Spirit’s work to love itself, which cannot be coerced but must be welcomed with trust and affection. Just as frost can wither the delicate petals of a rose, so even a small thought of unbelief or a single word of distrust can hinder His perfect work. This imagery teaches us that God does not call us to strike in frustration, but to speak in faith, trusting His Spirit to respond with grace.

Oswald Chambers points us to an encounter between Jesus and the rich young ruler that cuts to the heart of what it means to listen to the Lord. When the man asked what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus did not soften His words or negotiate a lesser path. He spoke with clarity: sell everything, then follow Me. The man walked away sad because he understood the choice but could not bear the cost.

Today’s devotional by Miles Stanford draws us into the heart of Paul’s teaching in Romans 6 and 7. He reminds us that freedom from sin and freedom from the law are both essential realities for the believer. On the cross, Jesus accomplished our liberty. In daily life, this liberty is expressed by the Holy Spirit living in us. The cross is not only about forgiveness but also about our release from the dominion of Adamic sin and the grip of Adamic law.

Witness Lee reminds us that Jesus did not come to cancel or lower the law of God but to fulfill it in Himself. The law given through Moses was good and holy, yet it was incomplete. For instance, the law forbade murder, but it did not address the anger in the heart that leads to murder. The law forbade adultery, but it did not reach the lustful glance that precedes the act. Jesus, the new King, lifts the standard higher. He takes the law beyond outward actions and reveals its true intent in the heart.

Psalm 46 paints a picture of stability in the midst of chaos. Nations rage, kingdoms topple, the earth itself trembles, yet the psalmist declares with assurance that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Because God is within His people, they will not fall. His voice stills the earth, His presence breaks through the storm, and His promise resounds: be still and know that I am God. This is not a suggestion of passivity, but a call to rest in confidence, knowing that He reigns and will be exalted.

E. Stanley Jones turns our attention to a truth so rich that we often take it for granted. In Jesus we have boldness and confidence of access to God. Paul’s words in Ephesians 3:12 tell us that through our union with Him, the way is always open. We are never shut out, never left to grope in darkness, and never dependent upon ourselves. Outside of Jesus, access is closed. Modern psychiatry may suggest that man is alone in a morally indifferent universe, and the best he can do is face that emptiness without panic. But that is a bleak prison, with man locked inside his own powers.

In today’s reading, T. Austin-Sparks reminds us of a reality that confronts us often. The enemy whispers lies that suggest if we abandon ourselves fully to Jesus, we will be stripped of joy, narrowed in life, and left with less. These thoughts creep in subtly, tempting us to believe that dependence upon the Lord means deprivation. But Sparks presses us toward the opposite conclusion. In Jesus lives the fullness of God in bodily form, and by union with Him, we too are made complete. To reject Him is to live diminished, less than what we were made to be.

The words of Jeremiah in chapter 20 are raw and unfiltered. He feels deceived by God, abandoned in his calling, and ridiculed by those around him. His honesty gives us a window into the heart of a servant of God caught between the cost of obedience and the compulsion of truth. Ray Stedman’s reflections remind us that Jeremiah was not a stone prophet without emotion, but a man who wrestled deeply with discouragement, much as we do.

True freedom in Jesus is not just an escape from sin’s grip, it is a rescue into something infinitely better. Bob Hoekstra reminds us that God’s salvation is not half-done or partial; it is thorough and complete. The Son sets us free, and that freedom is genuine, lasting, and abundant. It is more than release from guilt or the shadow of condemnation; it is entry into righteousness, light, friendship with God, union with Him, His mighty power, and the very life of Christ expressed through us.

It is easy to forget that Jesus, who is exalted at the right hand of the Father, once lived in the ordinariness of daily labor. A.B. Simpson reminds us that He spent thirty quiet years in the carpenter’s shop, working with His hands, sweating in the heat, and growing tired after long hours. This is no small detail. It means the Lord is not distant from our everyday struggles but knows them intimately.

The heart of Oswald Chambers’ devotional reminds me that Jesus does not merely recognize us as part of a crowd, but personally calls each one of us by name. The tenderness with which He addressed Mary outside the tomb shows how deep His knowledge of us runs. She was lost in grief, unable to recognize Him, but He knew her. One word, “Mary,” restored her to joy and trust. Chambers is pointing us toward the difference between knowing about Jesus and actually knowing Him.

The heart of today’s devotional reminds me of how often we live with a burden that God has already lifted. Miles Stanford explains that our history in Adam ended at the Cross. Yet, many believers keep revisiting their past failures, carrying guilt and remorse as if they still belong to that old life. The truth is that the man or woman in Jesus does not live under the shadow of Adam anymore. We are hidden in the risen Lord, new creations with His past as our past, and His life as our life.

The devotional today reminds us that Jesus did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Witness Lee points out that Jesus kept the law perfectly when no one else could. His complete obedience made Him the spotless One, qualified to die in our place. On the cross He satisfied the law’s penalty for our transgressions, standing as our substitute.

In today’s reflection, E. Stanley Jones draws our attention to the breathtaking reality that God’s eternal purpose has already been fulfilled in Jesus. In Him, the plan moved from concept to completion, from anticipation to realization. In every other faith system, the truth is spoken of as an idea or an ideal, yet in Jesus alone, the Word became flesh. This is not a philosophical musing or moral code, but the living Person of God’s Son stepping into time to accomplish what no other could.

The devotional by T. Austin-Sparks reminds us that we live in an age that values speed, ease, and size above depth, perseverance, and substance. This mindset has crept into the church, producing shallow expressions of faith that confuse excitement with joy and equate numbers with greatness. Yet, the life into which God has called us is not a cheap or hurried thing. The fellowship we share with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is not small or light—it spans eternity past to eternity future and embraces the vastness of God’s eternal purpose.

God’s instruction to Jeremiah to smash the potter’s jar was a vivid picture of His unchanging purposes. Ray Stedman points out that the world sees such acts of judgment as harsh, ruthless, and even vindictive. But for the people of God, there is more to the story. Jeremiah had already visited the potter’s house and learned that the potter’s hands work with love, not malice. When the vessel was flawed, the potter did not discard it in disgust but broke it down and reshaped it until it matched his intention.

When Jesus declared that those whom the Son sets free are truly free, He was not speaking of a partial or conditional liberty. He was describing a complete release from the penalty and power of sin, and the opening of a new life that is rooted in His life. Bob Hoekstra reminds us in this devotional that God’s promises are not theoretical encouragements, but divine guarantees. Among the greatest of these is the promise of spiritual freedom in Jesus, which changes both where we stand and where we are going.

The Holy Spirit’s work in our lives is not about dazzling displays or dramatic encounters. Instead, He quietly brings life and light into the depths of our hearts. A.B. Simpson reminds us that the closer we walk with Him, the more natural and simple His illumination becomes. He is not interested in overwhelming our senses with spectacle but in gently guiding us into all truth, revealing Jesus, making Scripture alive, and helping us see our hearts as they truly are.