July 16, 2026 Devo

Sometime ago, I read a story about a man named Danny whose life had been completely taken over by drugs. When bounty hunters found him (he had four felony warrants for his arrest), he was living under an I-40 overpass. He was addicted to heroin and weighed 92 pounds. He had accepted that this was how he was going to die. He had resigned himself to the fact that he could never change. The habit had its hooks in him too deeply.
But instead of taking him to jail, where he would have died, the bounty hunters took him to a hospital, where he spent two weeks in detox. After detox, his parents met him at the hospital and convinced him to go to a local recovery organization called Hope Is Alive. It was there that Danny began not only hearing about the process that is necessary to confront our addictions, but he also heard about Jesus. Danny knew that no matter how hard he tried, he could never overcome his addiction on his own. But he learned that Jesus, the One True Higher Power, could. Danny surrendered his life to Christ.
Danny continued in his recovery, grew in his faith, and secured a job with Panera Bread. His managers saw his work ethic and character and decided he was worth investing in. They helped him with a scholarship to college. He graduated with a 4.0 in his program. Danny credits his radical change of life entirely to Jesus. In his own words, Danny said, “This was all God. There’s no explanation for it. It was a miracle.”
Jeremiah quotes an old proverb in our passage today that basically says, “People don’t change.” And he’s right. People, left to themselves and their own devices, pretty much stay exactly as they are. But God DOES change people. Had Judah surrendered to God as Danny did, God could have changed them just like He did Danny. God’s not interested in changing spots or skin, but He IS in the business of changing hearts and lives. Just give Him a chance. That’s God’s Word for you today.