Week of January 25th, 2026

Encouragement from God's Word

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:11

Not always, but sometimes our sad moods and “down” days are because we’ve lost sight of God’s love for us. Instead, what will often turn out to be a very temporary trouble or setbacks occupies our thoughts. Or maybe it is a serious problem, but we have let it overcome our faith in God’s love and power to sustain and bless us. Or maybe our worldly goals have distracted us from our heaven treasures. Or perhaps our own selfishness has robbed us of the joy of service and made us unhappy. It is not always true, but it can happen that we focus on the wrong part of life and lose sight of God. A misplaced focus can rob us of joy because we don’t see God’s love.

Thankfully, we are forgiven for this sin too! Jesus is the perfect Savior that we need! Not only are we forgiven, but when we see again his grace, we know his joy and peace. The trouble may not (WILL not?) disappear, but we know the One who loves and watches over us. Living by faith, we see something greater than our troubles; we see God’s eternal love and presence in our lives.

Spend time in his Word, in worship, Bible Class, and in your personal time, and your focus will remain on Christ. He is the reason that we have joy. He assures us of God’s love and presence in our lives. Put your hope in God and you will always find reasons to praise him!