The Connection Corner

The Giver is Better than the Gift

Proverbs 2:3-4 — Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.

Have you ever felt like your life looked perfect on the outside, but your heart was still…off? That was me not long ago, stepping into a season I thought I’d prayed into for years.

I was starting a new job, new serve opportunities at church, and new activities with the kids. Life felt full—beautifully full. I thought, I’m finally getting what I asked God for. A season of harvested blessings… So why does my heart feel empty?

Somewhere between the excitement and the schedule, I noticed a quiet shift inside me. I loved what God had given me, but I was less eager for God Himself.

What once felt like intimate friendship now felt mechanical because the gifts had started getting in front of the Giver.

On the inside, I knew this was a problem. So, one afternoon, I closed the door, sat down, and asked the only question I could think of: “God, what do You want me to know?”

And in that stillness, I felt the tug in my heart to search for Him with the same intensity I would search for hidden treasure—asking, listening, and leaning in for insight.

Following that, I opened a devotional book. As I began reading, it said,

“I want you to know that the way you love Me moves My heart. You are My delight.”

I was in awe. Every word landed like a gentle hand on my shoulder. The condemnation I’d braced for never came. Instead, mercy wrapped around me. Moments before, I had felt distant and small—but God revealed Himself as the one who comforts, not condemns.

Seasons of drift can happen to all of us. Life can look so blessed on the outside and feel thin on the inside. But God is always closer than we realize, waiting for the moment we turn toward Him.

If that’s you, there’s no need to brace yourself. Just seek God, look for insight like it’s silver, and ask Him what He wants you to know.

Then pay attention.

Because He really is kinder—and nearer—than you know.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Have you ever experienced a season where life felt full on the outside but empty on the inside? What do you think was missing?
In what ways might you be enjoying God’s blessings more than pursuing God Himself right now?
When was the last time you intentionally paused and asked God, “What do You want me to know?” What might it look like to make that a regular practice?
Proverbs says to seek wisdom like hidden treasure—what would it look like for you to pursue God with that level of intention this week?
Is there an area in your life where you’ve felt distant from God? How does this devotional reshape the way you think He responds when you turn back toward Him?

April 20, 2026/by Kirstie Ford

Peace is Still Preaching

Daily Devotional, Heart of the Artist, Stories About Songs

Colossians 3:15 — And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Some stories don’t begin with peace. They begin with the storm.

That was true for Hope Darst when she walked into the songwriting room. Anxiety swirled around like a storm she couldn’t outrun. And her friend and co-writer, Mia Fieldes, was carrying her own struggles she couldn’t shake on her own. Things like disappointment, fear, uncertainty.

“We need to write a song about peace.” Mia said, breaking the silence.

It was not because either of them felt it, obviously. But it was because they didn’t.

So, they began writing. Not for a performance. Not for applause. But as a declaration over their own hearts. You may have heard the chorus:

“Peace be still. Say the word and I will set my feet upon the sea ‘till I’m dancing in the deep. Peace be still. You are here so it is well. Even when my eyes can’t see, I will trust the voice that speaks. Peace. Peace over me.”

Hope had to sing those words over herself long before anyone else ever heard them. there’s power in moments like that—when we let the peace that comes from Christ rule in our hearts, not just visit when life feels calm, but take authority even in the middle of the storm.”

When we come in agreement with the storm-calmer. The peace that comes from Heaven is greater than our emotions, and it speaks a better word.

Maybe today, you’re carrying something heavy—fear of what’s next, anxiety that won’t quit, disappointment that lingers. What if peace didn’t wait for circumstances to change? What if you let it settle in your heart and rule your thoughts and choices even when the waves are still crashing around you?

It can. So just declare it today.

Peace.

Peace over me.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Where in your life right now do you need God’s peace to take the lead instead of your emotions?
What would it look like today to let peace “rule” your thoughts, not just visit them?
Is there something you need to declare truth over—like Hope did—even if you don’t feel it yet?
How can you intentionally invite God’s peace into one stressful moment today?

Lyrics

I don’t want to be afraid
Every time I face the waves
I don’t want to be afraid
I don’t want to be afraid

I don’t want to fear the storm
Just because I hear it roar
I don’t want to fear the storm
I don’t want to fear the storm

Peace be still
Say the word and I will
Set my feet upon the sea
Till I’m dancing in the deep
Peace be still
You are here so it is well
Even when my eyes can’t see
I will trust the voice that speaks

I’m not gonna be afraid
‘Cause these waves are only waves
I’m not gonna be afraid
No I’m not gonna be afraid

And I’m not gonna fear the storm
You are greater than its roar
Oh I’m not gonna fear the storm
No I’m not gonna fear at all

Peace be still
Say the word and I will
Set my feet upon the sea
Till I’m dancing in the deep
Peace be still
You are here so it is well
Even when my eyes can’t see
I will trust the voice that speaks
Peace, peace over me

You speak peace

Let faith rise up
O heart believe
Let faith rise up in me

Oh let faith rise up
O heart believe
Let faith rise up in me

Peace be still
Say the word and I will
Set my feet upon the sea
Till I’m dancing in the deep oh
Peace be still
You are here so it is well
Even when my eyes can’t see
I will trust the voice that speaks
Peace, peace over me

I hear You speaking
Peace, peace over me

Oh peace
Over me

You speak peace
You speak peace
Over me

You speak peace
You speak peace
You speak peace

April 19, 2026/by David Hall

Joy That Won’t Stay Quiet

Daily Devotional, Tammi Arender

Psalm 28:7 —The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.

You know the song.

“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart…”

If that song doesn’t put a smile on your face, you might need to splash a little cold water on your cheeks and pour yourself another cup of coffee.

I grew up singing that in Vacation Bible School, standing in a line of wiggly kids doing hand motions like we were directing traffic. And even now, years later, that tune still pops in my head from time to time.

And I’ve got to tell you. that song didn’t just fall out of the sky.

It was written back in 1925 by a traveling evangelist named George William Cooke. The world he lived in had just come through World War I. Families had buried sons. Influenza had taken millions of lives also. People everywhere were wondering if the world had lost its mind.

And right there in the middle of all that heaviness, this preacher writes a little song that basically says, Joy can live somewhere deeper than your circumstances.

Not in the headlines.

Not in the economy.

Not even in how your morning is going.

It’s way deeper. Jesus. Down deep in my heart.

And I think that’s why it stuck. Because life will give you plenty of reasons not to feel joyful. Bills show up. Relationships get complicated. But we have to find our joy in Him.

Let the Lord be your strength. Trust Him. Scripture says He will be your help and your shield. Let your heart leap for joy at the thought of that.

And maybe today—before the emails start flying, before the errands pile up, before the news tries to steal your peace—you could take just a moment and remember one way the Lord has carried you through.

When you remember His goodness, joy has a way of rising back to the surface and making you say “Wow!” And who knows…

You might find yourself humming along to those old VBS songs too.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Where have you been looking for joy lately—in circumstances or in Christ?
Can you think of a recent moment where God has been your strength or shield?
What is one specific way God has helped you that you can thank Him for today?
How might remembering God’s past faithfulness change your mindset right now?
What would it look like for you to intentionally “choose joy” in your current season?

April 18, 2026/by Tammi Arender