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.
Have you been waiting? This can be one of the most difficult parts of life. We live in a super connected world, so if we have to wait longer than 10 seconds for anything, it is hard. Yet, our lives sometimes take us down paths that require us to wait.
We have to wait to see if we’re going to get our dream job. We have to wait to meet the person we desire to marry. We have to wait as we’re trying to have a family. We have to wait on our prayers to be answered.
The people of Israel also had to wait. They find themselves in a hard time. Their bondage has been harsh, and they have suffered immensely. They are needing and wanting the Lord to work, but they have to wait. As they wait, Isaiah brings encouragement, and it is still encouragement for us today.
Isaiah 64:4 says, “For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!”
Hang in there if you’re waiting. Psalm 27:14 encourages, “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” The Bible promises the Lord is working on your behalf.
Pip: Get Encouraged is doing what it says on the tin this week — Chris Miller has been writing about storms, gratitude, kindness, and freedom, and somehow none of it feels like a motivational poster.
Mara: That's the territory we're covering today: finding assurance when life gets hard, noticing the beauty that's already around us, choosing love in a chaotic world, and reflecting on what freedom really means.
Pip: Let's start with what to do when the water is rising.
Holding Steady Through the Storm
Mara: The question here is whether God's presence actually changes anything when life gets difficult — not in theory, but in the middle of the hardship itself.
Pip: Isaiah 43:2 is the anchor, and the setup matters: God isn't promising an easy road. The verse reads, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon you."
Mara: Notice the word "when," not "if." The post makes this explicit — God doesn't promise the absence of hard seasons, only His presence through them. That reframe is the whole point.
Pip: Noah, the Israelites at the Red Sea, Shadrach and his friends in the furnace — the pattern holds across the whole story. The waters are temporary; the presence isn't.
Mara: And the piece on building bigger barns extends this in an unexpected direction — it's a warning that stockpiling security can become its own kind of storm, one we create ourselves by losing sight of what actually lasts.
Pip: From floods to gratitude — the view from creation is next.
Creation, Beauty, and Giving Thanks
Mara: The thread running through these posts is attention — specifically, what happens when we slow down enough to notice what's already there.
Pip: Psalm 19:1 does the heavy lifting: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Creation isn't decoration; it's testimony.
Mara: The post on recognizing daily blessings puts a human face on the cost of not paying attention — a father who grumbles before every prayer, until his daughter asks which one God actually believes.
Pip: That question lands harder than most sermons.
Mara: It does. Both posts point the same direction: slow down, look around, and thank God for ten specific blessings today. The practice matters as much as the principle.
Pip: Speaking of practice — kindness is next, and it turns out there are seven ways to do it.
Kindness as a Daily Decision
Pip: The tension in this segment is real: the world is loud and chaotic, and choosing kindness can feel like bringing a candle to a wildfire. These posts argue it's exactly the right tool.
Mara: The post on embracing kindness in a chaotic world grounds everything in a specific model. Jesus touched a man with leprosy when others avoided him, fed a hungry crowd rather than sending them home, and the post names why: "Jesus was compelled by love and moved by compassion."
Pip: That phrase — compelled by love, moved by compassion — is doing a lot of work. It's not describing an occasional mood; it's describing an orientation.
Mara: Philippians 2:5 is the challenge the post issues directly: adopt the same attitude as Christ Jesus. Not admire it. Adopt it.
Pip: Which is where the practical piece comes in. The post on seven ways to be messengers of love takes that challenge and breaks it into actual decisions — choosing patience over anger, speaking words that heal, refusing to spread gossip.
Mara: First Corinthians 13 is the spine there: "Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
Pip: That list of seven isn't abstract. Pray for people you struggle with. Persevere with difficult relationships. Perform one act of kindness before the day ends without expecting anything back.
Mara: The post frames love explicitly as a decision, not a feeling — especially when frustration or bitterness would be the easier response. That's the whole argument in one line.
Pip: Freedom deserves the same kind of attention — and that's exactly where we land next.
Freedom, Justice, and What God Sees
Mara: Juneteenth is the anchor here — not as history lesson alone, but as a lens for understanding what freedom means and why it matters to God.
Pip: The post goes straight to the historical weight: on June 19, 1865, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas finally heard the news that had been true for more than two years. The delay is the point.
Mara: And the scriptural parallel is direct. Exodus 3:7 — "I have surely seen the affliction of my people… and have heard their cry." God was not absent from their suffering. He was working toward deliverance.
Pip: The post connects that to John 8:36 and the freedom Christ brings — not as a pivot away from the historical reality, but as an extension of the same truth: every person carries dignity, and justice reflects the heart of God.
Mara: The call is practical: pray for healing, choose understanding over anger, treat every person as someone made in the image of God. Freedom is worth celebrating, and love is always worth living out.
Pip: Presence in the storm, beauty in the ordinary, kindness as a daily choice, freedom as something worth protecting — that's a week's worth of reminders that hold together.
Mara: All of it points the same direction: pay attention, and then act on what you see.
The Lord’s fingerprints can be found all over creation.
The beautiful sunrise stretching over the mountains is His work. The calming sound of ocean waves rolling onto the seashore is His work. The awe of stars twinkling and the moon shining in a darkened sky is His work. Everywhere we look, we can see reminders of the power, creativity, and love of God.
Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
Creation points us to the Creator.
Sometimes life becomes so busy that we rush through our days without noticing the beauty around us. We become focused on schedules, responsibilities, problems, and distractions. Yet, even in the middle of hectic days, God surrounds us with reminders that He is near.
A sunrise reminds us His mercies are new every morning.
The rain reminds us He refreshes dry places.
The stars remind us of His greatness and power.
Every detail of creation quietly whispers that we are not alone.
But perhaps one of the greatest masterpieces God has ever created is you.
Your life is not an accident. Your story matters. The Lord carefully formed you with purpose, love, and intention. Even when you cannot fully see what He is doing, He is still working. The same God who painted the skies and formed the oceans is shaping your life into something beautiful.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
The Lord is everywhere. He is not confined to a building or restrained to a single geographical location. His presence fills the earth. His love can be seen in both the grand wonders of creation and the quiet moments of everyday life.
Take a moment today to slow down and notice the beauty before you. Watch the sunrise. Listen to the birds sing. Feel the breeze. Gaze into the night sky. And as you do, thank the Lord for what He has done.
Creation is a beautiful testimony of His love for you and me.
A husband had a habit of grumbling about the food his wife prepared for meals. He would grumble, then offer a prayer of thanksgiving. His pattern of grumbling then thanking was the same every day.
One day his young daughter asked, “Dad, does God hear our prayers?”
“Why yes,” the father replied.
The daughter continued, “Does God hear everything else we say?”
“Of course,” the dad said. He was bubbling with pride because he had inspired his child to ask spiritual questions.
His pride quickly turned to embarrassment and humility when the daughter asked, “Well, which one does he believe: your grumbling or thanksgiving?”
Blessings can come in all shapes and sizes, and Psalm 136 encourages us to give thanks to the Lord for all that he has done for us.
Verses 1-3 say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His faithful love endures forever.”
The Psalmist gives us some reasons to give thanks.
Give thanks for the mighty miracles God performs.
Give thanks for the beautiful creation surrounding us.
Give thanks to him for the freedom he brings.
Give thanks to him for the provisions he provides.
Give thanks to him for his past actions.
Give thanks to him for his present grace.
Give thanks to him for his grace and love. We are reminded 26 times the Lord’s faithful love endures forever.
With current events, it is easy to forget how many times we have been blessed, yet there is much for which we can be thankful.
Helen Keller said, “So much has been given to me that I have no time to ponder that which I don’t have.” There are many reasons we have to be grateful. Take time today to thank God for 10 of your blessings.
Pip: Welcome to Get Encouraged — where the storms are real, the foundation is solid, and someone has already looked up the relevant Scripture.
Mara: Chris Miller has been writing this week about what keeps people going when life gets hard — resilience through setbacks, peace and kindness in community, and what it means to stand firm when the ground shifts. Let's start with the question of how we face challenges and keep moving forward.
Resilience Through Setbacks
Mara: The thread running through these posts is a simple but serious one: what do you do when you're stuck between a rock and a hard place, or when past mistakes keep pulling you backward?
Pip: "Finding Hope Amid Life's Challenges" reaches for a verse that answers that directly. The setup is God's provision being bigger than personal convenience, and the quote from 2 Corinthians lands it: "God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."
Mara: So the upshot is that provision isn't just comfort — it's functional. It frees you to focus on the work in front of you rather than scrambling to survive the moment.
Pip: "Press On: Finding Hope Beyond Past Mistakes" pushes that forward — literally. Paul's framing in Philippians 3 is almost athletic: forget what's behind, fix your eyes on what's ahead, run toward the prize. The post breaks that into concrete steps: start the day with gratitude, learn from mistakes without living in them, take one small step forward.
Mara: And "Overcoming Setbacks: Believe in God's Presence" anchors it with Thomas Edison — whose factory burned to the ground in 1914, and who looked at the wreckage and said, "We can start over anew. All of our mistakes are burned up."
Pip: That's either extraordinary faith or extraordinary denial. The post argues it's faith — grounded in the promise from Matthew 28:20 that Jesus is present "always, even to the very end of the age."
Mara: All three posts land on the same practical move: refuse to let failure or the past define your next step. God goes ahead of you into tomorrow before you arrive there.
Pip: Which raises the question of how we treat each other while we're all stumbling forward together.
Peace and Kindness in Community
Mara: This segment is about what community looks like when it's actually working — and what quietly corrodes it.
Pip: "Seeing the Heart: A Call to Grace and Acceptance" goes to Galatians 3 for the foundation: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus."
Mara: What that means in practice is that the only deciding factor for belonging is acceptance — God looks at the heart, and the post challenges us to do the same with one another.
Pip: And then "Loose Lips Sink Ships" arrives to explain exactly how fast we can undermine that. Gossip, the post notes, can erode confidence and ruin reputations in minutes. The WWII slogan is apt: loose lips sink ships — and communities.
Mara: "Finding True Peace Amid Life's Noise" ties it together — peace isn't found by escaping the noise, but by trusting the One greater than it. Bring everything to God in prayer, and the calm follows.
Pip: From how we speak about each other to where we stand when the ground shakes.
Standing Firm in Storms
Mara: "Building a Firm Foundation in Stormy Times" is direct about the moment we're in: storms are coming from every direction, and the question is what your foundation is made of.
Pip: Solomon puts it plainly in Proverbs 10:25: "When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the Godly have a lasting foundation."
Mara: The post points to Jesus's parable of the two builders — one who skipped the digging, one who didn't. The storm treated them very differently. The foundation isn't decoration; it's what's left when everything else is tested.
Pip: Press on, look at the heart, and dig before the storm arrives — not a bad week's worth of reminders.
Mara: Next time, we'll see what else is waiting at Get Encouraged. Keep coming back.
Columnist Deborah Mathis has written about her observations during a particular trip through Union Station in Washington D.C. There was a great deal of movement and noise. Announcements blaring, security guards shouting directions, horns honking, people moving in all directions, and a traveler singing What a Friend We Have in Jesus.
“What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear;
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer.”
Slowly a change came over the noisy crowd. The voice continued:
“O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.”
As the traveler sang, the hubbub of the station was replaced with a calm peace. A man in front of Mathis commented that he was not a Christian, but the peace was nice. Amid current events and all the noise of the world around us, many people are searching for peace. There are a number of places and products promising peace, but it seems those spots only leave the searcher longing for more and wondering if there really is true peace.
The Bible teaches there is true peace, and it comes in trusting the Lord.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
We read in Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
When we trust the Lord, he brings us peace just like he did on a stormy, scary night for a few of his first followers. The night started with Jesus and his disciples beginning the journey across a lake. As they were crossing, a fierce storm came up. The boat was rocked as it began to fill with water. Mark’s Gospel says, “Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.”
The calmness was once again interrupted on the other side of the lake. Jesus and the disciples were met by a man possessed by a legion of demons. This man had not had peace for a long time, and his presence probably created a scary situation for the disciples. Jesus, though, had control of the situation. He ordered the demons out of the man and into a herd of pigs, which went dashing over a cliff into the lake. Calm and peace were once again restored.
No matter the source of the hubbub, Jesus is in control. The same Lord who calmed a storm and cast out demons can give us a perfect peace. Isaiah 26:3 promises, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”
Peace is not found in escaping the noise of life but in trusting the One who is greater than it. Today, the storms may look different for us. They may come through financial stress, broken relationships, health struggles, uncertainty about the future, or the constant stream of troubling news surrounding us. Yet the invitation remains the same: bring everything to God in prayer and fix your thoughts on Him.
Instead of carrying every burden alone, pause throughout the day to pray, read His Word, and remind yourself that Jesus is still in control. The same Savior who calmed the wind and waves can calm anxious hearts today. When we choose to trust Him in the middle of life’s hubbub, He gives a peace the world cannot offer and circumstances cannot take away.
Pip: Get Encouraged is a site that does exactly what it says on the label — which, in a media landscape built on outrage, is either quaint or quietly radical.
Mara: Chris Miller has been writing this week about some genuinely old questions: how we live alongside people who are different from us, what we do when we fail, and whether Scripture can actually hold up as a guide through all of it.
Pip: Let's start with harmony and what it actually costs to pursue it.
Living Together on Purpose
Mara: The tension here is real: harmony sounds like a nice idea, but the posts push on what it actually requires — not agreement, but a deliberate choice to pursue unity across difference.
Pip: David puts it in Psalm 133, and the image is striking. The quote reads: "How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony. For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron's head."
Mara: So harmony isn't passive — it's described as something precious, even sacred. The practical upshot is that it requires effort: listening first, seeking understanding over winning, choosing to forgive.
Pip: The Power of a Servant's Heart lands in the same territory — Jesus redefining greatness as service, which is basically harmony's operating system. Both posts are asking the same uncomfortable question: are you contributing to unity or quietly working against it?
Mara: And that question about what we're building toward connects directly to failure — because pursuing harmony or servant leadership means you will stumble.
When Stumbling Is Part the Story
Mara: The posts here sit with a question most of us avoid: what do failure and fulfillment actually have to do with each other?
Pip: Overcoming Failure: Lessons from History's Successes opens the answer with a list — Babe Ruth, Robert Frost, Winston Churchill, Oprah — and then lands on Max Lucado: "Though you've failed, God does not. Face your failures with faith and God's goodness."
Mara: That's the turn. Failure is not the end of the story; it's a data point inside a longer one. The Psalmist in 37:23-24 puts it plainly: "Though they stumble, they never fall for the Lord holds them by the hand."
Pip: What I find useful about that framing is it doesn't minimize the stumble. It just refuses to let the stumble write the conclusion.
Mara: Finding True Fulfillment: Lessons from Solomon takes the other side of that coin. Solomon had everything — wisdom, wealth, influence — and still ran the experiment on every path life could offer.
Pip: And the experiment came back negative. Pleasure, accomplishment, possessions — meaningless, he says, unless the Lord remained central. That's not a small conclusion from someone who actually had the resources to test the premise.
Mara: Ecclesiastes 12:13 is where he lands: "Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty." What the post draws out is that this is actually freeing — you don't have to keep chasing things that were never designed to satisfy.
Pip: Which is a more useful reframe than it sounds. If Solomon already ran the trial, you don't have to replicate it.
Mara: Both posts are making the same underlying argument: the thing you're afraid of — failure, or the emptiness after success — doesn't have to be the final word.
Pip: And if the conclusion is that Scripture anchors you through both, that's exactly where the next set of posts picks up.
Scripture as a Compass, Not a Relic
Mara: The question these posts press on is whether God's Word is actually functional — not just historically significant, but useful today, in real decisions.
Pip: Unlocking Wisdom: The Benefits of God's Word from Psalm 119 makes the case directly. Verse 105: "Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path."
Mara: The practical point is that a lamp only helps if it's on. Navigating Life's Storms with God's Word makes that concrete through Shackleton's Antarctic expedition — a crew navigating 800 miles of open ocean using only a compass and a sextant, and Scripture functioning the same way through uncertainty. Building Life on a Foundation You Can Trust grounds all of it in Psalm 111: fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom, and that wisdom is expressed through obedience, not just knowledge.
Pip: Three posts, one consistent claim — the Word isn't decorative. It's load-bearing.
Mara: Harmony, failure, fulfillment, wisdom — these posts keep returning to the same underlying question: what are you actually building on?
Pip: And whether the foundation holds. More on that next time.
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to find reasons to disagree and how difficult it can be to live in harmony?
Every day we are surrounded by division. Social media, politics, cultural differences, and personal preferences often seem to highlight what separates us rather than what unites us. Yet Scripture reminds us that harmony is not only possible—it is beautiful.
The worshipers of the Lord in David’s day had many differences. They came from different regions, belonged to different tribes, and included people from various backgrounds. They did not all look alike, think alike, or share the same life experiences. Yet they had common ground. They were united in their worship of God.
Several times each year, they traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts of the Lord. As they journeyed together up the mountain roads, they sang and recited the Psalms. One of those songs was Psalm 133.
David wrote, “How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony. For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard, and onto the border of his robe. Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon, that falls on the mountains of Zion, and there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.”
David describes harmony as something precious, refreshing, and life-giving. It brings joy to those who experience it and reflects God’s design for His people. Harmony does not mean everyone agrees on everything. Rather, it means people choose unity, love, and peace despite their differences.
The same is true today. Geography, race, ethnicity, economics, personality, and countless other factors may distinguish us from our neighbors, but we share common ground. God’s grace is available to all. On the night of Jesus’ birth, the angel announced to the shepherds, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
God does not reserve salvation for a select few. The invitation of the gospel extends to everyone. Because of that, Scripture repeatedly calls us to pursue unity and live in harmony with one another.
Of course, harmony does not happen accidentally. It requires effort. It means listening before speaking. It means seeking understanding rather than winning arguments. It means showing kindness when it would be easier to respond with frustration. It means being willing to forgive, to extend grace, and to pursue peace whenever possible.
What might this look like today?
• Reach out to someone with whom you’ve had a disagreement and seek reconciliation. • Listen carefully to another person’s perspective before responding. • Choose encouraging words instead of critical ones. • Look for what you have in common with others rather than focusing only on differences. • Pray for God to help you become a peacemaker in your home, workplace, church, and community.
Psalm 133 reminds us that the Lord blesses harmony. In a world often marked by division, followers of Christ have an opportunity to demonstrate something different.
A Challenge for Today.
Take a moment to ask yourself, “Am I contributing to harmony or division?” Then look for one practical way to bring peace, encouragement, and unity to someone around you. The Lord delights in harmony, and His blessing follows those who pursue it.
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