Is there an area of your life that is poisoned by anger? If so, what would it mean to surrender that anger to God? Since God’s heart toward people is often very different from ours, we can actually transform our way of thinking when we conform our heart toward His.

You might have heard that God is a God of second chances. In your life, has this been true? Has God given you a second chance at choices or decisions you’ve made? As we see in Jonah, God gave him a second chance to obey Him. 

Do you feel God’s presence in all circumstances? Whatever your response to this question, it’s good to be reminded that God truly is always with us. He’s present in our rebellion, trouble, worship, mission, and more. We see this is Jonah’s story. Regardless of his actions or situation, God never left him.  

Have you ever run from God particularly when He was calling you to do something? Even when we run from or even avoid God, He’s still at work in our life. We see this with Jonah. He ran, but God didn’t leave him and even still used him to make an impact in the lives of others.

Does it make sense to you that confession of our sins to Jesus should end in joy as we remember the gospel? When we consider Jesus’ heart for us, we can see that we’re covered in love, grace, mercy, and more.  Think of it this way: Jesus’ heart is to rescue us from sin, restore us to relationship, and recommission us to our call.

Have you ever had to make a decision quickly with serious implications for your life and/or family? In the book of Matthew, this is the situation in which Joseph finds himself. And, as we see, he trusted in God as he moved forward. What can we learn from Joseph about trusting and having faith in God when we seem to be faced with opposition?   

What does it look like to remain in Jesus? Do you notice more pruning, more bearing of fruit, and ultimately more joy? If your life doesn’t look like this, think about how you can make adjustments to both put and keep Jesus at the center. 

It’s never too late to walk in God’s purpose for your life! We’re going to walk through the struggle of filling eternal desires with temporary needs. The woman at the well experienced joy and freedom after her encounter with Jesus. Think of someone in your life who needs to experience the joy and freedom that comes from Him!

Consider your physical birth. Since you did nothing to affect your physical birth, do you think you can do anything to affect your spiritual rebirth? The truth is that it’s impossible for any of us to be born again through our own effort. New life both begins and continues by looking to Jesus.

What does surrendering your life to God mean to you? While it can sometimes be challenging to fully surrender, that’s how we’re called to live. And when we’re surrendered, we receive strength in God’s power, stand our ground in God’s armor, and pray persistently seeking God’s help.