Have you ever reached the point where you didn’t know what to do next? You’ve prayed, you’ve worried, you’ve tried to fix the situation, yet nothing seems to change. The weight of it all feels overwhelming, and you’re tempted to wonder if you’ll ever make it through.
If that’s where you are today, hold tightly to this incredible promise from God’s Word.
“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears about today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).
Even though today’s circumstances feel overwhelming, we are promised victory. We are promised the Lord is with us, and not going anywhere. Amid all that is happening today, keep pushing, and remember, you have victory in Jesus.
When life doesn’t go the way you expected, don’t give up before your “seventh dip.”
In this episode of Quick Encouragement, we look at Naaman’s story in 2 Kings 5 and discover how God often works through simple acts of obedience—even when we don’t understand His plan. If you’ve ever wondered why your prayers seem unanswered, your circumstances haven’t changed, or you’re struggling to trust God’s timing, this message is for you.
Be encouraged to keep trusting, keep obeying, and keep believing. Your breakthrough may be closer than you think. Your seventh dip is coming.
It may seem there is no way. Time has passed, and the idea or dream that you had didn’t develop. It didn’t become reality. Maybe you’re fighting feelings of defeat and wondering if there’s any reason to keep hoping.
But then we find these words in the Bible:
“Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping…” (Romans 4:18).
Abraham had reached triple digits in age, and Sarah wasn’t far behind. God had promised them a family. This was a promise that, from a human perspective, seemed impossible. Everything they could see suggested it would never happen. Yet Abraham kept hoping because he knew nothing was too difficult for God.
Can you relate? What you once hoped for now seems impossible. Your dream doesn’t seem like it could ever become a reality. You’ve prayed, waited, watched time pass, and you’re tempted to believe the opportunity is gone.
Abraham reminds us that our hope isn’t built on our circumstances. It’s built on God’s character. Circumstances change. Deadlines come and go. Doors close. But God remains faithful.
That doesn’t mean God always answers our prayers exactly the way we expect or according to our timeline. It does mean He is always at work, even when we can’t see it. He is never limited by what looks impossible to us.
So don’t let today’s circumstances determine tomorrow’s hope.
Keep trusting.
Keep praying.
Keep taking the next step God places in front of you.
The God who fulfilled His promise to Abraham is still the God who specializes in doing what seems impossible.
Today, instead of focusing on what you can’t see, focus on the One who sees the whole picture. Your hope is never wasted when it’s placed in Him.
Thanks for reading, and be sure to subscribe for daily encouragement.
Pip: Welcome to Get Encouraged — where the parking lot is a moral classroom and the waiting room has a psalm on the wall.
Mara: Chris Miller's recent posts cover three stretches of territory: choosing kindness in everyday moments, finding strength while waiting on God, and the courage it takes to step into new roles and new seasons.
Pip: Real ground, all of it. Let's start with those everyday moments of kindness — and what we actually do when the choice is right in front of us.
Choosing Kindness in Everyday Moments
Mara: Every day drops small decisions in our path — the stranger at the intersection, the difficult person in line — and the question is simply how we respond.
Pip: The post "Choosing Kindness: A Lesson from the Parking Lot" sets it up plainly, drawing from Psalm 37: "Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper."
Mara: The upshot is that faith isn't just interior — it's the thing that drives the response. You may not know the full story behind someone's need, but the directive stays the same: do good.
Pip: And the post doesn't leave it abstract. A man outside a Bob Evans was holding a sign asking for food money. They gave him enough for a meal. Small act, clear principle.
Mara: That same territory — who actually stops to help — gets explored in the podcast episode "Who Will Stop? Encouragement from the Good Samaritan," which draws the same thread through the parable. The question isn't whether the need is legitimate. It's whether we're willing to be the one who stops.
Pip: Kindness as a daily practice is one thing. But what about the seasons when doing good means mostly waiting?
Waiting, Trusting, and Finding Strength
Mara: Waiting is the frame here — not passive resignation, but an active choice to trust when the timeline isn't yours.
Pip: "Finding Strength in Waiting" reaches for Psalm 27:14 directly: "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."
Mara: What this means in practice is that courage and waiting aren't opposites. The post argues the greatest act of courage is sometimes choosing not to charge ahead on your own.
Pip: "Waiting with Faith: Biblical Encouragement for Life's Delays" makes the same case from Isaiah 64:4 — that God works specifically for those who wait. And "Overcoming Exhaustion: Trusting God's Strength" addresses what happens when the waiting drains you — Isaiah's promise that those who trust the Lord will find renewed strength.
Mara: Waiting and courage turn out to be the same muscle. Which connects directly to what courage looks like when life asks you to step into something new.
Courage, Change, and the Shape of Fatherhood
Mara: This segment sits at the intersection of courage and family — what it looks like to step into a role you didn't expect, or a season you didn't plan.
Pip: "Celebrating All Types of Dads This Father's Day" makes the case directly: "Fatherhood is far more than biology. It is sacrifice. It is patience. It is showing up day after day."
Mara: The stakes there are real. The post honors stepdads, foster dads, adoptive dads — men who chose fatherhood through love rather than circumstance. Psalm 68:5 frames it as a reflection of how God himself cares for the fatherless.
Pip: "Lessons on Fatherhood from Joseph's Story" fills that out with a specific example — Joseph's response to an impossible situation was compassion first, then obedience, then quiet consistency. Loud isn't the same as faithful.
Mara: And "Embrace New Adventures with Courage" pulls it wider — any new role, any unfamiliar threshold. The call is the same: be strong and courageous, because God goes before you.
Pip: Courage as a posture, not a feeling. That's the thread running through all of it.
Mara: Kindness in small moments, strength in long seasons, courage at new thresholds — it's a practical map for ordinary days.
Pip: And apparently, a Bob Evans parking lot is as good a place as any to start. More soon.
God often shows up in the places we least expect. For someone who has hit rock bottom, He may work through a person who takes the time to listen and offer hope. For a struggling parent, He may provide encouragement through a friend’s timely advice. For a husband or wife who feels like giving up on their marriage, He may speak through an older couple who has walked the same road and reminds them not to lose heart. We never really know where God will reveal Himself.
The Lord is not confined to a church building or a Sunday morning worship service. He is present in our everyday lives, working through ordinary people and ordinary moments. He promises to be with us wherever we go. Psalm 138:8 says, “The Lord will work out his plans for my life. For your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.”
Today, slow down enough to notice His presence. Before you rush into your day, ask God to open your eyes to the ways He is working around you. Pay attention to the unexpected conversation, the encouraging text message, the opportunity to help someone, or the moment of peace in the middle of a busy schedule. Those seemingly ordinary moments may be God’s way of reminding you that He is near.
You never know when—or through whom—the Lord will show up. Keep your eyes open, your heart attentive, and your hands ready to join Him in what He is already doing.
Thanks for reading, and consider subscribing for daily encouragement.
We pulled into the Bob Evans parking lot, and our daughter noticed a gentleman standing between the parking lot and street. He was holding a sign at the intersection of two busy roads. She read the sign and asked if we could give him some money. His sign was requesting money for food.
How were we going to respond to his request?
We didn’t know the man, but we were faced with a choice. This is just one example of an everyday occurrence; each day we are given the choice of how to respond to various situations. Whether it is the guy in the parking lot with a sign or the lady in front of us in line, we have to choose how to interact. We have to decide how to respond to that driver who cut us off in traffic or that grouchy person who bumped into us on the bus. Each day brings a new set of opportunities needing our response, and Psalm 37 gives us a pattern to follow.
Verse 3 says, “Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.”
The Psalmist encourages us to use these opportunities to do good. As we trust in the Lord, we should allow our faith to drive us to doing what is right even if others are doing what is wrong. We should allow our faith to guide us to do what is good. We may not know every detail of each situation, but the Lord does. When these opportunities come, our response should always be to do good.
As for the guy in the Bob Evans parking lot, we didn’t know his situation. All we knew is he was holding a sign asking for help, so we gave him enough money for a meal. He said thank you, and we went on our way. We’ll probably never cross paths again, but I hope by our doing good, the man at least saw a glimpse of Christ’s grace.
Have you ever reached the end of the day and felt like you had nothing left to give? Your body is exhausted, your mind is overwhelmed, and your heart feels drained. We all have moments when life’s demands leave us running on empty. The good news is that God never asks us to rely on our own strength. Instead, He invites us to draw from His strength, which is a supply that never runs dry.
Isaiah 40:29-31 says, “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will sore high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
Isaiah reminds us those who trust the Lord will find new strength. They will find their strength in the Lord.
He exchanges our strength for his. The Lord helps us make it through our lives. The good and bad times. The Creator and Holder of the stars gives us strength.
“Look up into the heavens,” Isaiah 40:26 suggests. “Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army: one after another, calling each by its name because of his great power and incomparable strength. Not a single one is missing.”
We draw our strength from the one who will never grow weary. Isaiah 40:28 reminds us the Lord is the Creator of the earth. He is everlasting.
Life is tiring. The headlines we see and problems we encounter zap our strength, but they are no match for the Lord’s. We are promised the Lord will give us his strength. The Lord will renew our strength each day to take on that day’s challenges. His strength never runs out, so hopefully, we will always remember to draw upon it.
Life often feels like standing at the edge of the unknown. A new job, a difficult diagnosis, a growing family, an unexpected setback, or a door God is opening can all leave us wondering what comes next. In those moments, courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s choosing to trust God even when we can’t see the entire picture.
Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
Notice that David connects courage with waiting on God. We often think courage means charging ahead on our own. We imagine it looks like having all the answers, making bold decisions, and never hesitating.
Sometimes, though, the greatest act of courage is choosing to wait.
Waiting on God means:
Trusting God’s timing, even when His schedule doesn’t match ours.
Following God’s direction instead of rushing ahead with our own plans.
Depending on God’s strength when we realize our own isn’t enough.
Waiting isn’t passive. It’s an active expression of faith. Every day we choose to trust God, obey His Word, and remain faithful, we’re demonstrating the kind of courage David describes.
Today, take the next step God has placed in front of you. You don’t need to have every answer. You don’t need to see the entire path. You simply need to trust the One who does.
The God who has faithfully carried you through every season of your life will not stop now. Be strong. Take heart. Wait on the Lord. He is with you every step of the way, and He is faithful to lead you exactly where you need to go.
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Life can be scary. New adventures can be frightening. Starting that new job, opening yourself up to new relationships, becoming a parent for the first time are exciting, but they can also be unnerving. The Bible reminds us in these moments we can “be strong and courageous” (Psalm 27:14).
The truth is courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is moving forward despite our fears. Fear tells us to stay where we are because it feels safe. Courage trusts God enough to take the next step even when we do not know exactly what lies ahead.
David understood this well. He faced giants, battles, betrayals, and countless uncertain situations. Yet, in the middle of those challenges, he learned where true strength came from. His confidence was not rooted in his own abilities. Rather, his confidence was rooted in the Lord.
The same is true for us today. We can face uncertain situations because God goes before us. We can step into unfamiliar territory because He is already there. We can trust Him with our future because He holds it securely in His hands.
Perhaps you are standing at the edge of a new adventure today. Maybe you are considering a career change, taking a step of faith, or walking through a challenge you never expected. Whatever is causing your heart to race, remember that God has not abandoned you. You can walk into the new adventure with bravery and courage.
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