31 Days of Courageous Hope

Daily Devotionals for July 2021

by Pastor Shawn Thornton

God is our hope. Courage comes from Him. Each of these 31 devotionals for July will help you think on, act according to, and experience courageous hope. First, take the time to read each Scripture before you read the devotional itself. Then, pause to pray as you conclude your time with the Lord. The prayer at the end of each day's encouragement can be used to prompt you as you talk to God about your day. So, take the 31 days of courageous hope challenge! Let God fill you with His hope and His courage!

Yesterday, Today, and Forever

Thursday - July 1st

Scripture to Read Today: Psalm 102:25-28

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Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Hebrews 13:8

When we entered last year, the year 2020, we recognized it would be a year of challenges. In a polarized nation, we knew the election year would cause tension. Many Americans anticipated 2020 would be a tough one.

Then news broke early in the year that Murder Hornets had made their way to the United States. This hornet has a body length of 1 3⁄4inches, a wingspan around 3 in, and a stinger 1⁄4 in long, which injects a large amount of potent venom. It was the big news in the first six weeks of the new 2020 year.

Then the world began to take notice of a virus profoundly impacting a few regions in China. In early February, Lesli and I, along with many of our family and many of our Calvary friends, enjoyed an inspirational tour of Israel. While there, some of our guides told us that Chinese trips to the Holy Land were being canceled. The virus would soon become all we would hear about for more than a year after our return.

Murder hornets faded into the background. Unemployment would skyrocket. Racial tensions would flare up with intensity our nation has not seen since the 1960s. American society's polarization would seep down into the landscape of the church over masks, social distancing, and vaccines. Schools would open online and not on campus for most of the 2020-2021 school year. Disruption and change became the norm of 2020 and the first half of 2021.

If someone in 2019 would have told any of us that wearing masks at all times in public, staying 6 ft away from others, and arguments over vaccines would be the norm into 2020 and well into 2021, we would not have believed them. But here we are. Change has been the one constant for these first two years of the new decade.

One of God's attributes that provides us great confidence is His immutability. Because God is immutable, He is "perfectly unchangeable." While not stubborn or uncaring, He cannot be moved or transformed. The writer of the Hebrews described God the Son so clearly when he said, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (13:8).

Because He is immutable, we know His Word is true. Because He is immutable, we believe His promises. While our world moves regularly and changes continuously, God never changes. As we emerge more and more into a post-COVID world, change is again core to our lives.

No matter what I face or how dramatic the twists and turns of my circumstances might be, I can rest in the One Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

Your circumstances may change, but your God won't. You can trust Him!

Today’s Prayer

Lord, as my world churns with constant change, thank you for being immutable. Thank you for not shifting from one day to the next. Your consistent love to me blesses me daily. Help me to rest my identity and security in your unchanging nature rather than the turbulence of our times. -Amen