JULY 30, 2025

  “Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.” 

― John Wooden

PSALM 59-61

16But I will sing of your strength,

in the morning I will sing of your love;

for you are my fortress,

my refuge in times of trouble.(59:16)

ACTS 28:16-31

23They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. 24Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. 25They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet:

26“ ‘Go to this people and say,

“You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”

27For this people’s heart has become calloused;

they hardly hear with their ears,

and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’^a

28“Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” [29]^b

30For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!

JOURNAL 

Coach Wooden’s wisdom echoes the heart of the Gospel. He wasn’t just speaking about basketball or life strategy...he was capturing a spiritual truth that runs through the life of Paul and through the pages of Scripture. The circumstances we face do not define us. How we respond in those circumstances reveals who we truly are and who we trust.

In Acts 28, we find Paul in yet another unexpected place. He is still under Roman guard, still technically a prisoner, yet he is hosting people in his rented home and teaching the message of Jesus boldly and without hindrance. He is not pining for the synagogue or longing for the open road of his missionary journeys. He is not waiting for the conditions to change. He is simply making the best of the way things worked out.

And what happens? People come. Lives are changed. The message spreads.

This is not resignation. This is resolve. Paul is not a man who gives up when things don’t go his way. He is a man who knows that God’s way is always better, even if it comes through shipwrecks, prisons, and uncertainty. He is a living embodiment of Psalm 59: “I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love, for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.”

Paul’s resilience reminds me that faith is not the absence of struggle. Faith is what fills the space between what I hoped would happen and what actually is. When I make the best of where I am, when I trust that God’s presence is not tied to perfect conditions; I begin to see that He has been working all along.

Jeremiah 29 tells us that God’s plans are to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. That promise is not tied to geography or comfort or recognition. It is tied to the presence of God and our willingness to seek Him with all our hearts. Paul sought Him, and God met him, in chains, in storms, and even in a rented home under Roman rule.

We often expect God's plans to be direct routes to peace, success, or resolution. But the real journey of faith winds through detours and delays, setbacks and surprises. The miracle is not that things always go smoothly. The miracle is that God uses every part of the journey to form us, to refine us, and to make us echoes of His love in a broken world.

Today the challenge is to live like Paul. To live and proclaim God's goodness, not just when life makes sense, but also, especially when it doesn't. 

11For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you,” declares the Lord

JEREMIAH 29:11-14