February 23

Morning

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” — Heb 13:5 BSB

No promise from God is meant for just one person; it's meant for all believers. When God opens a well for one, it's so everyone can drink. When He opens the storehouse to feed one starving person, all hungry saints are welcome to come and eat too. It doesn't matter if the promise was given to Abraham or Moses; it is for you as one of God’s chosen people. There is no blessing too high for you, no mercy too wide. Look to the north, south, east, and west—for all of it is yours! Stand on the heights of God’s promises and see all that is yours. Every stream of living water is for you. If the land flows with milk and honey, it is yours to enjoy. Be bold in your faith, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

In this promise, God offers everything to His people. “I will never leave you.” That means every aspect of God’s nature is on our side. Is He mighty? He will show Himself strong for those who trust Him. Is He love? He will show loving-kindness and mercy. Every part of God’s character, in its fullest, is engaged on our behalf. In summary, there is nothing you can lack, nothing you can ask for, nothing you can need in time or eternity, nothing living or dying, nothing in this world or the next, nothing now or at the resurrection, nothing in heaven that is not included in this promise, “I will never leave you nor forsake you!”

Evening

Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” — Mark 10:21 BSB

You don’t get to make your own cross, though doubt and disbelief might try. You don’t get to choose your own cross, though your stubborn will might want to. Your cross is prepared for you by divine love, and you should accept it gladly. Take up your cross as your chosen path, without complaining.

Tonight, Jesus invites you to shoulder His easy yoke. Don’t fight against it, trample it with pride, collapse under it in despair, or run from it in fear. Take it up as a true follower of Jesus. He was a cross-bearer; He leads the way in sorrow. Who better to follow? And if He carried a cross, what better burden could you ask for?

The Way of the Cross is the way of safety—don’t be afraid to walk its thorny paths.

Beloved, the cross isn’t soft or comfortable—it’s heavy and rough for those who resist! But it’s not made of iron, even if your fears make it seem that way. It’s a wooden cross, one that can be carried by a human, for the Man of Sorrows bore it. Take up your cross, and by the power of the Spirit of God, you’ll soon come to love it, like Moses who valued the reproach of Christ above all treasures.

Remember that Jesus carried it, and it will seem sweet! Remember that the cross will soon be followed by the crown, and the thought of future glory will lighten your current troubles. May the Lord help you to submit to His will before you sleep, so that when tomorrow comes, you can bear your cross with the spirit of a true follower of Christ.