Max Lucado Daily Devotional

Max Lucado

It doesn’t matter if it’s a good day, a hard day, or somewhere in-between—we need the hope God offers every day. Max shares words of hope and help through simple, one-minute daily devotionals to encourage you to take one step closer to Jesus.

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Today · length unknown
Jesus in the Storm
Listen to Today's Devotion Jesus’ disciples went down to the lake where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark. Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. The disciples were too far from the shore, too long in the struggle, too small against the waves. And Jesus was nowhere to be seen. Have you ever encountered a dangerous, ominous, seemingly God-forsaken storm? Storms overtake us, and it sometimes seems they will never end. But then the unimaginable happens. John gives no details, just this economical statement. “They saw Jesus walking on the water” (John 6:19). That’s all we need to know. Before Jesus stills the storms, he comes to us in the midst of our storms. And he’ll come and meet you in yours. Remember friend, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
Friday · length unknown
Watch God Work
Listen to Today's Devotion During World War I, Biddy Chambers, her husband, and small daughter moved to Egypt, where he served as a chaplain. He taught, she transcribed. It was a perfect partnership. Then her husband’s complications from appendicitis rendered Biddy a widow, and all the dreams of a teaching ministry would have to be abandoned, right? Well, no. She turned her husband’s notes into pamphlets. Eventually, they were compiled into a book, My Utmost For His Highest. This work of Oswald Chambers has sold more than 13 million copies and has been translated into more than 35 languages. The next time you feel overwhelmed, remind yourself of the one who is standing next to you. Give him what you have, offer thanks, and watch him go to work. Remember friends, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
Thursday · length unknown
Give Christ What You Have
Listen to Today's Devotion Do you face 15,000 problems? Before you count yourself out, turn and look at the One standing next to you. Christ can help you do the impossible. You simply need to give him what you have and watch him work. John 6:11 says, “Jesus took the loaves.” This is the story of the day that Jesus fed the 5,000 men plus women and children. He didn’t have to use the loaves. He made manna fall for the Israelites. Instead, he chose to use the single basket of the small boy. What’s in your basket? All you have is a wimpy prayer, give it. All you have is a meager skill, use it. All you have is the strength for one step, take it. God used three nails and a crude cross to redeem humanity. If God can turn a basket into a buffet, don’t you think he can do something with your five loaves and two fishes of faith? Remember, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
Wednesday · length unknown
Christ Does What We Can’t
Listen to Today's Devotion The crowd followed Jesus around the Sea of Galilee. The 15,000 people—5,000 men plus women and children—were hungry. Philip and Andrew counted the hungry people. They counted the money in their bag. They counted the amount of fish and bread. They did not, however, count on Christ. And he was standing right there! Yet the idea of soliciting his help did not dawn on them. Even so, Jesus went right to work. “Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to those who were seated…and as much fish as they were wanting, too” (John 6:11). The impossible task of feeding all these people became the unforgettable miracle of all these people fed. What we cannot do, Christ does. The problems we face are opportunities for Christ to prove his point. Remember friends, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
Tuesday · length unknown
The God of Forward Motion
Listen to Today's Devotion When Jesus found the just healed man in the temple, he told him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you” (John 5:14 NKJV). Stagnant, do-nothingness is deemed as a serious offense. No more Bethesda for you. No more waking up and going to sleep in the same mess. God is the God of forward motion. The God of tomorrow. The man in John’s story had waited 38 years but something about the presence of Christ, the question of Christ, the command of Christ convinced him not to wait another day. Let’s join him. Ask the Lord this question, “What can I do today that will take me in the direction of a better tomorrow?” Keep asking until you hear an answer. And once you hear it, do it. Stand up, take up, and walk. Remember friends, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
October 12 · length unknown
Our Job Is to Believe
Listen to Today's Devotion Believe in the Jesus who believes in you. He believes that you can rise up, take up, and move on. You’re stronger than you think. “’I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV). He certainly gave a bright future to the Bethesda beggar. “And immediately the man was made well” (John 5:9 NKJV). Jesus did nothing but speak, and the miracle was accomplished. What will God do for you? I cannot say. God’s help, while ever present, is ever specific. It is not ours to say what God will do. Our job is to believe he will do something. It simply falls to us to stand up, to take up, and walk. Remember friends, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
October 9 · length unknown
Get Unstuck
Listen to Today's Devotion Life feels stuck when life makes no progress. When you battle the same discouragement you faced a decade ago or struggle with the same fears you faced a year ago. When you feel as though everyone gets to the pool before you and nobody wants to help you. Friend, Jesus sees you. He has a new version of you waiting to happen. He says to you what he said to the man near the Pool of Bethesda. “Stand up, pick up your mat and walk” (John 5:8 NLT). Stand up, do something, take action. Pick up your mat, make a clean break with the past, and walk…hit the trail. Assume that something good is going to happen. Set your sights on a new destination and begin the hike. Getting unstuck means getting excited about getting out. And remember friend, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
October 8 · length unknown
Question at Bethesda
Listen to Today's Devotion On that particular day at the pool of Bethesda, Jesus was drawn to the main character of this miracle. John 5:5-7 (NLT) reads like this: “When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, ‘Would you like to get well?’ ‘I can’t, sir,’ the man said, ‘for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up.'” What an odd question to ask a sick person. Why would Jesus pose such a question? The man was 38 years as an invalid. The duration of the condition prompted Jesus to ask, “Would you like to get well?” Getting well means getting up, getting a job, getting on with life. Do you really want to be healed? That’s the question Jesus asked then. That’s the question Jesus asks all of us. Do you want to get well? Remember my friend, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
October 7 · length unknown
Waiting on Help
Listen to Today's Devotion The man near the pool of Bethesda didn’t use the word “stuck,” but he sure could have. For 38 years near the edge of a pool, it was just him, his mat, and his paralyzed body. And since no one would help him, help never came. Crowds of people, despondent, dejected, one after the other, awaited their chance to be placed in the pool where healing waters bubbled up. Can you envision them? And more important, can you envision Jesus walking among them? All the gospels’ stories of help and healing invite us to embrace this wonderful promise: “Wherever Jesus went, he healed people of every sort of illness. And what pity he felt for the crowds that came because their problems were so great and they didn’t know what to do or where to go for help” (Matthew 9:35-36 TLB). My friend, remember Jesus sees you and you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
October 6 · length unknown
Take Jesus at His Word
Listen to Today's Devotion This life contains many walks from Cana to Capernaum. Journeys between prayer offered and prayer answered. Jesus promised the boy’s father a sure blessing at the end of the journey. He promises the same to us. We will meet this father when we get to heaven, and when we do I’m gonna ask him about that walk. I want to hear how he felt. I want to know what he thought. But most of all, I want to thank him for inspiring this verse: “The man took Jesus at his word and departed” (John 4:50 NIV). Do likewise. Set your compass on the pole star of God’s promise. Place one weary foot in front of the other. Jesus has spoken. Let his word do what it was intended to do, and that is lead you home. Remember my friend, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
October 5 · length unknown
Studio of the Divine Artist
Listen to Today's Devotion Do your days feel like a hike on an Appalachian Trail in winter? A struggle to place one foot in front of the other? If so, I urge you friend, hang on, hang on. Don’t give up. Help is here. It may not come in the manner you requested or as quickly as you desire, but it will come. Assume that something good is going to happen. The door of tomorrow is unlocked from the inside. Just turn the knob and step out. The divine artist isn’t finished. The earth is his studio. Every person on earth is one of his projects. Every event on earth is a part of his great mural. He is not finished. The scripture says in Philippians 1:6 (NCV), “God began doing a good work in you, and I’m sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.” Remember friend, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
October 2 · length unknown
Our Ever Present Help
Listen to Today's Devotion The father may have thought he was walking the road to Capernaum all alone. Quite the contrary. Christ had supernaturally gone into the nobleman’s residence and not only healed the son, but also won the hearts of the entire household. Was the father’s prayer answered? By all means! It was answered in a manner greater than he had requested. Yours will be as well. Perhaps the answer will come this side of heaven. Perhaps it awaits you on the other side. Either way, this story urges you and me to keep walking and believing in our God who is our ever-present help in trouble. Ever-present. You’ll never be put on hold or told to check back later. Ever-present. As near as your next breath. Ever-present help. He is here to help. That’s the message of this miracle. That’s the message of the Gospel. Remember friends, you are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
October 1 · length unknown
Not Yet Answered Prayer
Listen to Today's Devotion The Gospel of John tells the story about a man from Capernaum who approached Jesus in Cana. “Come heal my son?” the man asked. Jesus said the boy would be healed, and the man set out for Capernaum. Do you find yourself somewhere between Cana and Capernaum? Like the official, you begged Jesus for help. And like the official you didn’t receive the answer in the way you wanted. This is the issue of the not yet answered prayer, or the not answered in the way I asked prayer. How should we react? I’m sorry that the job did not materialize or the cancer chose to metastasize. Life has its share of dark, dank moments. Read the Bible from the table of contents in the front to the maps in the back, and you will not find any promise of a pain-free life on this side of heaven. But you will find this assurance, “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.” You are never alone. Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 30 · length unknown
Godly Weapons
Listen to Today's Devotion When we go out in God’s name, Satan makes a dash for the nearest exit. We have weapons he cannot match. What are our weapons? 2 Corinthians 10:4: Prayer, worship, and Scripture. Prayer invites God, praise dethrones Satan, Scripture discloses truth. And Satan hates the truth. Flee sexual immorality. Let no evil come from your mouth. Make sure the demons of hell know that you are on God’s side, not theirs. People of unbreakable courage know what Elijah knew. “The Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand” (1 Kings 17:1 NKJV). Victims? Not on your life. Victors? You can count on it! Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 29 · length unknown
Defy the Devil
Listen to Today's Devotion Worshippers of Baal believed they could earn the favor of their god through violence or promiscuous sex. For that reason the priests cut themselves, had prostitutes in the temple, and offered babies in the fire. What would such paganism do to a culture? We don’t have to look far to know. What two themes dominate our society? Violence and sex. On average, American youth will witness more than two hundred thousand violent acts on television before the age of eighteen. Thirty-five percent of internet downloads are for pornography. If you want to be faithful in a faithless world, dare to defy the devil. Yes, he is powerful. But you are a child of the living God! The One who empowered Elijah will empower you. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 28 · length unknown
Steadfast Faith Confronts Sin
Listen to Today's Devotion “This is what the Lord says: ‘You will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die'” (2 Kings 1:4 NASB). Elijah dispatched this verdict to the king. Ahaziah reacted in fear-filled vengeance. He sent fifty soldiers to do battle with the prophet. “But Elijah responded to the captain of fifty, ‘If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty’” (2 Kings 1:10 NASB). White-hot heat fell and cremated the soldiers. Once again, Elijah does not shy away from taking a stand against sin. Take note of this lesson: steadfast faith confronts blatant sin. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 25 · length unknown
Where to Take Your Hurt
Listen to Today's Devotion Ahab and Jezebel were dead. Their Son Ahaziah, a chip off the old demonic block, had assumed the throne. He took a fall. Maybe he was paralyzed and in pain. Whatever his malady, he sought relief. Where do you go when you hurt? Some people turn to alcohol. Others to opioids. Still others to a frenzied schedule. How many turn to Jehovah? Ahaziah could have. But, no, pain drove him to consult a false god, Baal. The most insidious work of the devil is counterfeit religion. Why? The devilish cunning of counterfeit religion is that it mixes in just enough truth to make the lie all the stronger. Satan sold a bag of lies to Ahaziah. Don’t let him do the same with you. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 24 · length unknown
Do Not Be Troubled
Listen to Today's Devotion Psalm 23:4 (NKJV) reads, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” God promises to come at an unexpected hour and take us from the gray world we know to the golden world we don’t. But since we don’t, we aren’t sure we want to go. On the night before his own death, Jesus told his friends, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled…I will come back and take you to be with me…” (John 14:1, 3 NCV). The apostle Paul announced that “Death has been swallowed up in victory…” (1 Corinthians 15:54 NIV). The message is consistent. We do not know the hour, nor do we know the circumstances. But an exit is scheduled for each one of us. Yet we need not fear the moment. Why? Because our Father is a good Father. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 23 · length unknown
God’s Message to Ahab
Listen to Today's Devotion Consider Elijah’s pronouncement of judgment on Ahab: “[God] says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants…because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin’” (1 Kings 21:21-22 NIV). This solemn prophecy shook Ahab. “He tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted” (1 Kings 21:27). God responded to this gesture of humility by postponing the penalty of killing all Ahab’s sons. Years later the seventy remaining descendants of Ahab died by the sword of King Jehu. God sends them message after message, prophet after prophet, yet they slay the innocent and take what is not theirs to take. They forget what sustains them, and in the end they perish at their own folly. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.
September 22 · length unknown
Get Moving
Listen to Today's Devotion Elijah was depressed. Among God’s word to him were these: “Go back the way you came through the desert to Damascus. When you get there anoint Hazael…Then anoint Jehu…Finally, anoint Elisha…to succeed you as prophet” (1 Kings 19:15-17 MSG). These assignments add up to one point: Get moving. God’s message to the prophet was “I still have work for you to do. You may think you’re alone; you’re not. Thousands will stand with you. It’s time for you to get back in the game.” God’s message to you is this: You are more than the sum of your dark days. I bought you, and I have a destiny for you. Now, with my help, let’s get back in the game. Read more Unbreakable Courage For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

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