The Connection Corner

When Conviction Costs Something

Daniel 9:4 — Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands.

I’m sitting at my desk in my little apartment, Bible open, notebook spread out, pen in hand, and a mug of lukewarm coffee cooling at my side. The city hums softly outside the window, but in here, it’s just me, the pages, and the challenge of wrestling with faith.

Tonight, my mind keeps circling back to Daniel, like from the Book of Daniel. Him, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego. Their stories won’t let me scroll past without notice.

Their courage—it’s shocking in its simplicity. They don’t bow when it’s inconvenient. They don’t compromise when it’s scary. Every time, they choose God. And my chest tightens because I know those moments in my own life when I’ve wavered—when being faithful felt like stepping out on a ledge without a net. Could I stand firm if everything in me wanted to run?

I scribble a note in the margin, pen hovering as a thought lands on Daniel 9:4: “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and obey His commands.” I read it aloud softly. It’s not just history. It’s a reminder that even in the pressure, the unseen work of God is moving, shaping circumstances, nudging hearts, and orchestrating outcomes in ways I can’t always see.

Faith isn’t passive. It’s choosing Him when it’s hard, when the walls are closing in, when fear whispers that compromise would be easier.

In the quiet, I let the thought sink in. There’s a subtle thrill in recognizing that my ordinary desk, my small apartment, and my daily choices are not too small for God to use. I write in bold at the bottom of the page: Stand firm. Trust Him. He’s in control.

And so, I sip my coffee, cold now, and feel it—the reassurance that choosing God, matters. Obeying Him matters.

Faith is not just for the grand, dramatic moments. It is for the quiet, for the mundane, for the small places no one sees. Let today be the day you choose Him. Let the corners of your life—the desk, the kitchen, the hallway between meetings—be the places you stand firm.

God is already working there, through what you do, through the people around you, and through circumstances that seem impossible. Stand, trust, and let Him move.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Where in your life is God asking you to stand firm, even when it feels uncomfortable or costly?
Are there areas where compromise feels easier than obedience right now? What fears are behind that tension?
How does remembering God’s faithfulness and covenant love strengthen your trust in Him today?
What “ordinary” places or daily moments might God be using to shape your faith right now?
When have you seen God at work behind the scenes, even when you couldn’t see it in the moment?
What is one small, faithful choice you can make today to honor God where you are?

January 23, 2026/by Brenda Price

Wisdom Beside Me

Daily Devotional, Sarah Hall

Proverbs 24:6 — So don’t go to war without wise guidance; victory depends on having many advisers.

The track was quiet that afternoon—the kind of quiet that lets you hear yourself think. I was walking beside my mentor, my safe place for the messy thoughts I don’t always voice out loud.

I was heavy with doubts swirling in my mind—the next steps God was asking me to take, the fear of failing, the temptation to lean on my own understanding instead of His.

She didn’t rush me. She just listened, eyes steady, letting my words spill into the space between us. Then she began asking questions—questions that cut deeper than my surface worries, questions that made me confront what I’d been trying to avoid. I didn’t always want the answers she gave. Sometimes they felt sharp, uncomfortable. But they were exactly what I needed.

Gently, she reminded me I didn’t have to carry this alone. “Lean into what God has already shown you,” she said. “You don’t have to figure it all out at once.” Her words weren’t magic—they didn’t make every step clear—but they anchored me. They pointed me toward trust instead of fear, toward faith instead of my own frantic plans.

I thought about Proverbs 24:6 as she spoke: “So don’t go to war without wise guidance; victory depends on having many advisers.” I saw it in real time—this wisdom, born from years of walking with God, shaping me, steadying me, and helping me see my next step with clarity and courage.

I left that track lighter, steadier, and stronger. The weight hadn’t vanished, but I’d been reminded that God often works through people to guide us, clarify the path, and empower us to move forward boldly.

If you’ve been carrying your next step all by yourself, consider inviting someone into your journey—someone with wisdom who has walked before you in faith. Pray that God will place a mentor and a voice of truth in your life. And then, step forward with confidence, trusting that God uses the counsel of the faithful to equip and strengthen you for the road ahead.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Who in your life could serve as a mentor or wise adviser to guide you through your next steps?
Are you carrying decisions or burdens on your own that you could bring to someone for counsel?
How do you discern between your own plans and God’s guidance in a situation?
When has seeking advice or mentorship helped you gain clarity or courage in the past?
What steps can you take this week to invite someone into your journey of faith and decision-making?
How can you cultivate a spirit of listening and humility when receiving counsel, even when it challenges you?

January 22, 2026/by Sarah Hall

Prayers That Build a Legacy

Bri Dunn, Daily Devotional

Psalm 69:16 — Answer my prayers, O Lord, for your unfailing love is wonderful. Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful.

I was thinking about my dad the other night, just sitting with my thoughts, and it hit me how different his life turned out from the rest of his family.

Most of them, well… they made choices that led to messy, hard roads. But my dad? Somehow, he just became this steady Godly person. If you’ve ever met him you know he’s just so good and kind. And I know where it started—his grandmother.

She prayed over him from the moment he was born. Not casual prayers, either. She would take him in her arms and declare things over his life like, “You’re not going to be like the rest of your family. You are going to be a great man. You are going to do what God’s called you to do.”

Can you imagine believing that kind of thing over someone you love? She did. And she prayed and believed with her whole heart. Now, she didn’t live to see him grow into that person unfortunately, but her prayers changed everything. Every time I look at my dad, I see her prayers answered.

I mean…wow! God is so good. I think about my own prayers sometimes about the people whose lives I am asking God to move in. They feel so far away from Him, and there are days where I’m praying and it feels like my words are just hitting the ceiling. Like nothing is changing and nothing is happening.

Then doubt sneaks in and whispers, “Does it even matter if I pray?”

And then I look at my dad. I see the life he’s built. The way he loves people, the way he carries himself with integrity, and the way faith just seems to flow through him. Its such an answered prayer.

There is this prayer in the Psalms that reminds me so much of my grandma praying for her son. It says, “Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me” (Psalm 69:16).

It reminds me that God’s movement isn’t measured by what I see. But He is mighty and merciful and patient. He is breaking through like only He can. It’s hard to wrap my mind around it.

But prayer is generational. It travels. I may never see it in my lifetime, but that is okay. Maybe I’ll never even see the result, but they are just like those slow, invisible, chain breaking prayers that shaped my dad. They’re part of a legacy.

So, I am going to keep on praying. And I want you to keep praying too. Even when it feels difficult. Even when it feels like it doesn’t matter because every word carries weight. Every time we cry out to God it matters. God is moving, and your prayers are shaping a future far beyond what you can imagine.

He will answer you because God is good and His abundant mercy never fails.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Who has prayed over your life in ways you may not have fully recognized yet?
Is there someone you’ve been praying for where it feels like nothing is changing right now? How does this story encourage you to keep going?
What doubts creep in when prayers seem unanswered—and how can God’s unfailing love reshape those doubts?
What legacy of prayer are you currently building, even if you may never see the full outcome?

January 21, 2026/by Bri Dunn