Focus on God’s Goodness in Your Darkest Days
By Rick Warren
“When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord.” Jonah 2:7 (TLB)
When you feel hopeless, choose to think about the one thing you know will lift your spirit: the goodness of God.
How did Jonah do it? Here’s what he said: “When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord” (Jonah 2:7 TLB).
That’s the answer to hopelessness! You turn your thoughts to God. You think about his goodness, his greatness, his love, his fairness, and his kindness.
In the New Testament, the Greek word for this is metanoia or “repentance.” Repentance doesn’t just mean you stop doing bad stuff. It means you change your mind and look at life from God’s viewpoint instead of your own.
Corrie ten Boom, a survivor of the Nazi death camps, once said, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God, you’ll be at rest.”
Everything depends on where you’re looking.
As you focus your attention on God’s goodness, look to his Word. One of the verses I’ve leaned on during some of the darkest times of my life is Psalm 27:13, which says, “I know that I will live to see the LORD’s goodness in this present life” (GNT).
It’s a great reminder that God’s purpose in your life is greater than whatever problem you’re facing.
Even though it may be difficult, instead of focusing on your worries, choose to look up and turn your “thoughts once more to the Lord.”
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Experience More of God’s Presence in 2025!
Prayer has the power to transform your year and that’s why we hope you’ll request a copy of the brand-new Daily Hope Prayer Journal!
This year’s theme, Resting in the Great I Am, will help you experience more of God’s presence in the year ahead as you learn to pray with greater passion and purpose.
Request your Daily Hope Prayer Journal: Resting in the Great I Am when you give below, knowing your gift will be DOUBLED by the $100,000 Match to help reach more people with the hope of Jesus in 2025.
Thank you!
*All gifts will be doubled up to the full amount of the grant. Thank you for your generous support!
*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of materials you received from Daily Hope.
This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.
