DAILY HOPE WITH RICH WARREN FOR SATURDAY 5TH DECEMBER 2020

DAILY HOPE WITH RICH WARREN

DATE: SATURDAY 5TH DECEMBER 2020, 

TOPIC: DON'T LET THE FEAR OF FAILURE HOLD YOU BACK

SCRIPTURE: “God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NCV)

RICK WARREN DAILY DEVOTIONAL 5TH DECEMBER 2020 MESSAGE

Just three months after Kay and I got married, I had a total physical and mental breakdown and ended up in the hospital. I was filled with the fear of failure, and I thought my life was over—though I was just 21 years old. The psychiatrist at the hospital told me that I needed to take some time off.

So we went to my parents’ home in northern California, where I continued to feel like a total failure. I thought I couldn’t handle anything. Everything made me upset and nervous.

Then one night I had a dream that—because of all the tension from my feelings of failure—felt evil. I woke up in a cold sweat. As I was lying there in bed, breathing fast, I heard the phone ring. My mom picked it up. The guy on the phone said, “Is this the house where Rick Warren is? Could I talk to him?”

When I picked up the phone, the man said, “Rick, you don’t know me. We’ve never met. How I got this number doesn’t really matter. But I live in San Diego, and God told me to call you and give you this verse: ‘God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control’ [2 Timothy 1:7 NCV]. And, Rick, you have a right in Jesus Christ to a sound mind.” And then he hung up.

You don’t think God uses people like that? Well, he does. It could have been an angel, but it didn’t have to be. Maybe God just said to a man: “Call that guy.” And, in obedience, he did.

I held on to that verse during that year of depression when I thought I was such a failure, even though my life had barely even started. But God wasn’t done with me, and he’s done many things in my life since then.

God is not done with you either. It doesn’t matter what you’ve been through. I’m sorry for all the pain you may have experienced, but you cannot let fear hold you back. Push yourself to trust God in everything you do. Then live in faith and love.

RICK WARREN DAILY HOPE DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE FOR FRIDAY 4TH DECEMBER 2020

RICK WARREN DAILY HOPE DEVOTIONAL 

DATE: FRIDAY 4TH DECEMBER 2020 

TOPIC: WHY WE DON'T GIVE UP

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9 (NLT)

If you want to be a righteous woman or man of God, then you have to learn how to be resilient. That means when you stumble—and it’s guaranteed that you will—you get back up.

A lot of factors beyond your control can cause you to fail. But if you get back up, who knows what positive things might happen. History books are filled with stories of people who failed again and again, but they did not give up until they succeeded.

General George Washington lost two-thirds of all the battles he fought against the British in the American Revolution. He kept retreating because he didn’t have the manpower to take on the British army. But he didn’t give up! He eventually won the war, became the first president of the United States, and is considered the father of the country.

Napoleon dominated continental Europe as Emperor of France. But earlier in his life he had graduated 42nd in a class of 43 people. He wasn’t the smartest student, but he is regarded as a military genius and his methods are still studied in many schools.

Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of all time, didn’t say a single word until he was more than four years old. He did so poorly in school that, at age 16, he failed to pass the entrance exam for the Swiss Polytechnic School. Still, he went on to reinvent science and math.

Babe Ruth was one of the best baseball players ever. He hit 714 home runs in his career, a record that stood for almost 40 years. But he also struck out 1,330 times. For years, Ruth held the records both for most home runs and for the most strike outs.

I don’t hold up any of these men as examples for godly living. But they accomplished much in the eyes of the world because they didn’t give up. Imagine what God can do with righteous women and men who keep moving forward and working for whatever God has called them to.

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up” (Galatians 6:9 NLT).

Keep going, and don’t let your failure be final. You never know what God can do through you!

RICK WARREN DAILY HOPE DEVOTIONAL FOR TUESDAY 1ST DECEMBER 2020

 RICK WARREN DAILY HOPE DEVOTIONAL

DATE: TUESDAY 1ST DECEMBER 2020 

TOPIC: YOU CAN'T OUT-GIVE GOD

“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” Luke 6:38 (NLT)

When you give from a heart for Jesus, your goal isn’t to get a blessing. But the truth is that God will bless you.

You can’t out-give God. When you learn to be generous like God is generous, he promises that you will end up with more. This is the economy of God.

Sometimes it seems like God is saying: “Let’s see who can out-give the other. You give to me and to other people, and I’ll give to you—and we’ll see who wins.”

And God always wins! He says over and over in Scripture that you will end up with more if you learn to be generous. Sometimes those blessings will be material. But sometimes they’ll be the spiritual blessings that come from a generous heart.

Jesus says, “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back” (Luke 6:38 NLT).

What is Jesus saying here? Imagine you’re going to a market to buy grain. You bring a burlap sack and pay to have the whole sack filled. As the shop owner is pouring grain, you press it into your sack. Then you gently shake the sack so the grain settles down even more. You want to fit the maximum amount of grain.

Jesus is saying that God’s blessings are the same. When you give generously, he’ll give so generously that you’ll have to make room for more.

He gives in full measure—and then some—when you learn to be generous like him. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you. He wants you to be generous because he wants you to be like him. You can’t become more like Christ without learning to give generously.

This is one of the most important decisions you will make: Is your life going to be about giving away what God has blessed you with? Will it be marked by a joyous desire to grab hold of God’s promises as you let go of the things of this earth?

“The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” You determine how much God blesses your life.

DAILY HOPE WITH RICH WARREN FOR SUNDAY 29TH NOVEMBER 2020

RICK WARREN DAILY HOPE DEVOTIONAL 

DATE: SUNDAY 29TH NOVEMBER 2020 

THEME: THE BEST USE OF YOUR DEEPEST PAIN

“[God] comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 1:4-5 (NLT)

When you’re going through pain, you can choose to focus on yourself or on other people. When you choose to focus on serving other hurting people, that’s called redemptive suffering. It is the highest and best use of your pain.

No matter what pain you’ve gone through, Jesus wants to redeem your suffering. He doesn’t want it to be wasted! He wants to use it to help other people when they are in pain.

“[God] comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:4-5 NLT).

Who’s better qualified to help a struggling veteran than somebody who’s been a struggling veteran? Who’s better qualified to help someone recovering from a prescription drug addiction than somebody who has recovered from a prescription drug addiction? Who could better help someone who is suffering from a chronic illness than someone who has also suffered in the same way?

Your greatest ministry will come out of your deepest pain. If you’ll be honest with God, others, and yourself about whatever struggle you’ve faced, then that struggle will become your ministry.

Sharing your strengths doesn’t make you feel any closer to someone. But when you share the experiences that have led you to surrender to God and rely on his strength, then you’ll be connected to others more deeply than you can imagine. Why? Because when you—as a broken person—share with other broken people how God has restored you, you’re not just sharing something you have in common. You’re sharing hope that other people can also experience redemption through Jesus Christ.

Sharing your pain helps you and the people around you to grow in Christ. Using your pain to serve others is a form of ministry.

Don’t waste your pain. Let God use it for your greatest ministry.