July 23, 2026 Devo

July 23rd, 2026

Powerful Words from the Prophets
“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.” – Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT)
“How Deep Is Your Faith?”

My father was a man of unwavering faith. Not the “God-is-going-to-give-me-everything-I-ask-for” kind of faith. But the kind of faith that stays strong and committed, no matter what is going on. I think he got that faith from his father.
My grandfather worked in a factory but also traveled around the Ohio area preaching in churches. One time he was asked to preach a week-long revival at a church several miles away. He agreed to do it, but he wasn’t sure the car would make it. The U-joints were going out, and he knew the car could break down any day. So he asked my father and some of the other sons to gather around the car with him. They laid their hands on the car, and my grandfather prayed that God would hold the car together until the revival was over, and he could get it fixed.
My grandfather drove back and forth each night, faithfully fulfilling his commitment to the church. On the last night of the revival, he drove the car home, pulled it up into the yard, and when he turned it off, the transmission fell off and onto the ground. God did EXACTLY what my grandfather had prayed for.
My grandfather trusted in God. As Jeremiah says in our passage today, he made the Lord his “hope and confidence.” He had no confidence in the car; he knew it was about to break down. But he had complete confidence that if God had called him to do this revival, then God could see him through. And He did.
How about YOU? Is God your “hope and confidence?” Do you trust the Lord, fully and completely, with everything? Many people waver at the first sign of trouble. When things get hard, some people complain and wonder where God is. But people who are rooted are immovable. They trust God in bad times as well as good, and in lean times, as well as in times of plenty. Rooted people have a depth to their faith that reaches all the way to reservoirs of God. Hard times, tough situations, and broken-down cars can’t make them throw in the towel. Their fruit just keeps on growing no matter what. That’s God’s Word for you today.