NOVEMBER 8, 2025

 “Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” 

― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

JEREMIAH 49-50

6“My people have been lost sheep;

their shepherds have led them astray

and caused them to roam on the mountains.

They wandered over mountain and hill

and forgot their own resting place. (50:6) 

HEBREWS 5

7During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10

JOURNAL 

Life with God is not about waiting for suffering to come find us, it is about stepping forward into the life He calls us to live, fully aware that real growth almost always happens in the doing of hard things. The challenges we face are not punishments, they are the shaping ground of the soul. When we engage in life the way God leads us, we find that courage is not the absence of pain but the willingness to keep going through it. Embracing the hard daily means simply being willing to stay true to what is good and right, rather than running, hiding, or manipulating our way out of discomfort.

One of the best lessons I learned through sports came when I was a sophomore in high school. Late in the season, after several teammates were injured, I was still the starting quarterback. That day everything fell apart, five sacks, two interceptions, and a first half that felt like a slow-motion defeat. Sitting in the locker room at halftime, I remember wanting to disappear. I knew the second half would only bring more hits and humiliation. But then something settled in me. Whether I liked it or not, the game would go on. I could either face it with all I had or shrink back and coast to the end. The hits came, and even another interception, but something inside me changed. I decided to stand up and give my best anyway.

That simple decision has echoed through my life ever since. It did not shield me from failure or pain, but it built a quiet strength, a reminder that growth rarely comes in comfort. Hard things refine us, they strip away laziness, selfishness, and pride. They reveal the places we still need God’s help. And as Hebrews reminds us, even Jesus “learned obedience from what he suffered.” His perfection came through submission, not avoidance. His strength was forged in surrender.

Our own perfection, our becoming who we were made to be, comes the same way. Through obedience, through perseverance, through faith that does not flinch in the face of hardship. God’s plan is not to harm us, but to prosper us, to give us hope and a future. And when we seek Him with all our hearts, even in the middle of the hard, we find that He has already walked the path before us and is walking it still...right beside us.

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. 

JEREMIAH 29:11-13