January 20, 2026 Devo

January 20th, 2026

Powerful Words from the Prophets
And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’ Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.” – Isaiah 6:9-10 (NLT)
“The Faith to Be Faithful”

If God told you He was going to have you take on a ministry that was going to change lives, transform a city, and lead a country to revival, would you do it? How about if God told you that all your efforts would do absolutely NOTHING? How excited would you be about THAT job?
That’s what God was telling Isaiah on the front end. Go ahead and preach your heart out. Preach with passion. Preach with conviction. Tell the people both the truth about the glory and healing of redemption and the punishment and desolation of disobedience, but it won’t make a difference. Their hard hearts will just get harder. Their blind eyes will just be more blind. No matter what you do, their hearts and minds will not be open to hear you or respond to me. Not exactly the kind of pep talk that any of us would like to hear.
But the truth is, we NEVER know what the response will be to our work for God. That’s why God calls to obedience and faithfulness, not to results. God has His plans. God has His purposes. Sometimes we are only planting seeds. Sometimes we’re watering or fertilizing seeds that have already been planted. And sometimes we’re doing what God wants for reasons that we will never understand. Our job is to be obedient to His Call. And trust the results to Him.
I met with a pastor in Phoenix many years ago. He was pastoring a large mega-church that was relocating to a new piece of land with a sprawling new complex. When I asked him what the key was to his success, he told me, “Faithfulness.” He said, “I led this church for 20 years with little to no growth. I had to persevere through times of discouragement and self-doubt. There were many times I wanted to quit. But I just kept hearing from God that He wanted me to stay. Finally, the church took off. It was just God’s timing.”
Let these words encourage you today. If God’s telling you to quit, then quit. If God’s telling you to do something different, then do something different. But if God’s telling you to keep doing what you’re doing, THEN DO IT! You may not see what you want to see. It may never become what you want it to become. Trust that God has plans and purposes that you may never understand. Have the faith to be faithful. Even when it doesn’t seem fruitful. That’s God’s Word for you today.