Devotionals for the week of March 2, 2025

Day 1: Seeing Through Eyes of Faith 

Devotional: Have you ever worn colored glasses? They change how everything looks - making the world appear different shades of blue, red, or yellow. Faith works similarly in our lives, but instead of changing colors, it transforms how we view our circumstances. When we look at life through the lens of faith, everything takes on new meaning and purpose. What might seem like senseless hardship becomes an opportunity for growth. Where others see only obstacles, we can begin to see God's handiwork. This perspective shift doesn't make difficulties disappear, but it fundamentally changes how we experience them. Today, consider how your faith might be inviting you to see your current situation differently. 

Bible Verse: Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. - Romans 5:1-5 

Reflection Question: What current challenge in your life might look different if you viewed it through the lens of faith rather than fear? 

Quote: Faith fundamentally alters how we see the world around us. In particular, faith changes the way we perceive suffering and perceive hardship. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to see my circumstances through Your eyes today. Transform my perspective so that I might recognize Your presence and purpose in every situation. Grant me the faith to trust Your plan, even when I don't understand it. Amen. 

Day 2: Finding Purpose in Pain 

Devotional: Pain often feels pointless. Whether it's physical discomfort, emotional wounds, or spiritual struggles, we naturally want to avoid it at all costs. But what if our pain has a greater purpose? What if every difficulty we face is actually preparing us to help someone else? Think about the most compassionate people you know - chances are, their kindness was forged in the furnace of their own struggles. Our hardships, while never pleasant, equip us with unique abilities to comfort others who face similar challenges. When we embrace this perspective, our suffering takes on new meaning. We begin to see how God can use our darkest moments to bring light to others. 

Bible Verse: Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. - 1 Peter 4:12-13 

Reflection Question: How have your past struggles equipped you to help others who are going through similar situations? 

Quote: Every pain that you and I ever feel is one more thing that makes us a little bit more qualified to comfort somebody else. We grow through our struggles. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me see the purpose in my pain. Use my experiences to make me more compassionate and better able to comfort others. Thank you for not wasting any of my struggles. Amen. 

Day 3: Meeting Jesus in the Valley 

Devotional: We often think of encountering Jesus in moments of victory or spiritual highs - during powerful worship services or answered prayers. But some of our most profound encounters with Christ happen in our darkest valleys. When we're struggling, hurting, or feeling alone, Jesus meets us there with particular tenderness. He understands suffering intimately, having experienced it Himself. In our pain, we can connect with Him in ways that might not be possible during easier times. Our difficulties become sacred ground where we experience His presence more deeply and personally than ever before. 

Bible Verse: After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: 'Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.' - John 17:1 

Reflection Question: When have you felt closest to Jesus? Was it during a time of triumph or struggle? 

Quote: Suffering is often where we meet Jesus. Suffering is where we feel the effects of Christianity in our lives. 

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for meeting me in my valleys. Help me recognize Your presence in my difficult moments and draw closer to You through them. Let me find comfort in knowing You understand my pain. Amen. 

Day 4: Citizens of Another Kingdom 

Devotional: When traveling abroad, we often experience discomfort - different customs, unfamiliar food, strange surroundings. But we can endure these temporary inconveniences because we know we're just passing through. As believers, we're called to view our entire earthly life this way. We're citizens of God's kingdom and will experience some traveler’s discomfort. This perspective helps us handle difficulties differently. Temporary struggles become more manageable when we remember they're not permanent. Our ultimate destination isn't here, like it is now, but in eternal fellowship with God on a new, restored Earth. Between here and there, we only have to trust in Him.  

Bible Verse: Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. - 1 Peter 2:11 

Reflection Question: How might your approach to current challenges change if you remember that you don’t have to wait on God’s Kingdom for the afterlife, but that it is here now too? 

Quote: As we make our journey through this world, we're going to Pass through the fire. We're going to have detours. We're going to have things that hurt. Sometimes life is really, really hard. But God promises us that we will be with Him in the end. 

Prayer: Father, help me maintain an eternal perspective that sees beyond current difficulties to the joy of participating in Your kingdom now and after death. Amen. 

Day 5: The Gold of Tested Faith 

Devotional: Gold becomes more valuable when tested by fire - impurities burn away, leaving something more precious. Similarly, our faith becomes more valuable when tested by life's challenges. Each trial we face with trust in God refines our faith, making it stronger and more pure. While we might not choose these testing times, they serve a vital purpose in our spiritual growth. They prove the genuineness of our faith and demonstrate its lasting value. When we maintain our trust in God through difficulties, we discover that our faith truly is more precious than gold. 

Bible Verse: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. - 1 Peter 1:3-5 

Reflection Question: What current challenge is testing your faith, and how might God be using it to refine you? 

Quote: Peter says, if you can do that, if you can just trust God, then what you have is an asset that is more precious than gold. 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the refining process of testing. Help me trust You more deeply through my trials, knowing that You're making my faith more precious through them. Amen.