OCTOBER 10, 2026

 “Any person who only sticks with Christianity as long as things are going his or her way, is a stranger to the cross” 

― Timothy J. Keller

ISAIAH 43-44

I have made you, you are my servant;

Israel, I will not forget you.

22I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,

your sins like the morning mist.

Return to me,

for I have redeemed you.” (44:21-22) 

COLOSSIANS 2

9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh^b was put off when you were circumcised by^c Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead

JOURNAL 

Reading Isaiah and Colossians, I am struck by the declaration of God's absolute power and the freedom that comes from living in obedience to Him. No earthly circumstance, no temporary disappointment, and no perceived failure can diminish His authority or alter His promises. The question is not whether life unfolds according to my expectations, but whether I remain in tune with God regardless of how it unfolds. His power is constant. It is my awareness of His presence and my willingness to surrender to His authority that fluctuate.

Isaiah reminds me that I belong to God, that He created me, redeemed me, and has not forgotten me. Colossians declares that Christ is above every power and authority and that through Him I have been brought to fullness. There is tremendous freedom in understanding this. I have nothing to prove to the world and nothing to gain from controlling outcomes. My responsibility is to pursue God, trust His wisdom, and discipline myself to live in obedience to Him. The more consistently I seek Him, the more my heart and mind become aligned with His Spirit. That alignment produces a peace and joy that circumstances cannot provide or take away.

This is the challenge of faith. It is easy to trust God when life is unfolding as I hoped. True obedience is revealed when it is not. The cross itself is the ultimate demonstration that earthly defeat does not determine eternal victory. What appeared to be the greatest failure in human history became the greatest victory. Stephen's death appeared to be another defeat, yet his witness became part of the story of Paul's transformation. God's purposes are not confined to what I can see or understand. His power is not dependent on favorable circumstances, and neither should my faith be.

I want to live with the discipline of continually returning my thoughts, desires, and decisions to God. Not to secure a particular result, but because He is God. The Creator of everything has redeemed me and invited me into a relationship with Him. Obedience is not the price of His love, but the response to it. The victory has already been won through Christ. My purpose today is to live in tune with that truth, trusting that whatever the earthly outcome, nothing can diminish the power, love, and grace of God.

12So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13Nothing has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted^d beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,^e he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

1 CORINTHIANS 10:12-13