Greg Laurie

“As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV).

Real, lasting change doesn’t happen from quick morning devotions out of guilt. It happens when we soak in God’s Word so deeply that it becomes the filter for everything else—psychology, culture, self-help, all of it. It’s like putting a layer of protection on our hearts and minds.

The Word of God should reshape everything—our priorities, time and resources, what we watch, read, listen to, and even what we hope and dream for our kids. Christianity isn’t an add-on to our “real life.” It becomes our whole horizon.

Protect your mind. What fills your head shapes who you become. Fill it with Scripture, commentaries, books, or studies that make you focus on God in every area of life. Let it become your delight. For as you think, so are you.

So who will you become?

Read Cathe Laurie's midweek devotional at https://hubs.la/Q04vD1_p0

So often when someone is hurting, what they want from us more than anything else is just our attention and our love: someone to put our arm around them, listen, and sit with them while they hurt. My hope, my prayer, is that we—as a church, as believers—are doing exactly that. We are coming alongside those who are hurting. We are helping each other. We are welcoming others in. This ministry of presence requires us to be still—to resist the urge to “do,” to fix, or to heal something that’s beyond our power to change.

We want the church to be a place where there’s no shame, no fear, no hiding—a safe place for people who are suffering. We’re not going to fall back on tired clichés and try to fix people. We need to remember that brokenness takes time to heal. And sometimes the brokenness may never heal, but we need to love people throughout that time.

When I was going through my season of suffering after the death of my son, the greatest gift people could give me was the gift of their presence. Of simply being there. Instead of asking me difficult and sometimes wounding questions before I was ready to open up and talk, they chose to just be present with me.

We are here to be like Jesus, to be His hands and feet. We are to show compassion and to offer the ministry of our presence. We may not understand the complexities of people’s lives, but we are believers with the Holy Spirit living within us, and He will guide us in comforting others.

Can we love somebody? Can we welcome somebody? Can we put our arm around somebody? Let’s challenge ourselves to live out a “yes” answer to these questions.

When has someone given you the gift of presence?

There have been times when I was listening to someone preach or was talking with a friend and suddenly realized that what the person was saying addressed a situation I was going through, even though the person was completely unaware of my circumstances. Those occasions made me realize that it was God Himself who was speaking to me through those individuals.

Maybe God has spoken to you through a pastor or a Christian friend. Or perhaps He has been speaking to you through circumstances. If so, pay attention. You’ll be glad you did. Having said that, the primary way God speak to me is through reading the Bible.

One of the crucial benefits in learning to be still is that it gives us the opportunity to become more aware of our circumstances. And that’s important because God often speaks to us through circumstances.

This is not to say that we should look for God’s hand in every unexpected encounter, every missed opportunity, and every stray comment someone makes. Sometimes circumstances are just circumstances. But I can tell you this: Although I’m not one to base major life decisions on circumstances alone, I’ve experienced occasions when I sensed that something was the will of God and then found that things fell into place circumstantially. I’ve also experienced times when circumstances have made it obvious that God was saying no to something.

For example, there have been times when I was listening to someone preach or was talking with a friend and suddenly realized that what the person was saying addressed a situation I was going through, even though the person was completely unaware of my circumstances. Those occasions made me realize that it was God Himself who was speaking to me through those individuals.

Maybe God has spoken to you through a pastor or a Christian friend. Or perhaps He has been speaking to you through circumstances. If so, pay attention. You’ll be glad you did.

How has God guided you through circumstances in your life?

Here’s a blast from the past! . This photo was taken sometime in the 1970s. For a season of my life, I was really into dirt bikes—and I had a lot of fun doing it. Great memories! 🏍️💨

In our busy culture, where communication devices, social media, and countless other distractions constantly demand our attention, one of the hardest things to do is to be still. To silence the noise and sit in quiet contemplation. To engage one-on-One with God, to speak and listen to Him with no interruptions. Yet, if Scripture teaches us anything, it’s that being still yields amazing results. Spend some time today with both your Bible and heart open to God. You will be glad you did.