The Connection Corner
A daily source of encouragement and inspiration to connect your heart to hope and faith.
Daily Devotional
The Hot Water TestSeptember 16, 2026 - 7:00 am
Don’t Rehearse The RegretSeptember 15, 2026 - 7:00 am
Look Up, It’s Not OverSeptember 14, 2026 - 7:00 am
Come As You AreSeptember 13, 2026 - 7:00 am
Leave Hope Wherever You GoSeptember 12, 2026 - 7:00 am
United We Still StandSeptember 11, 2026 - 7:00 am
Jesus Cares About That TooSeptember 10, 2026 - 7:00 am
Don’t Judge the Book by its CoverSeptember 9, 2026 - 7:00 am
A Refreshing Plot TwistSeptember 8, 2026 - 7:00 am
Can You Sit with MeSeptember 7, 2026 - 7:00 am
HEART OF THE ARTIST
The Secret to Being BlessedSeptember 6, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Hardest HallelujahAugust 30, 2026 - 7:00 am
Meet Me in the ValleyAugust 9, 2026 - 7:00 am
Holding on Through HeartbreakJuly 5, 2026 - 7:00 am
Faith That Falls ForwardJune 18, 2026 - 7:00 am
STORIES ABOUT SONGS
- Come As You AreSeptember 13, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Hardest HallelujahAugust 30, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Fight Nobody SeesAugust 23, 2026 - 7:00 am
One Way Through the ChaosJuly 26, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Gospel Still Changes EverythingJuly 12, 2026 - 7:00 am
Stories About Songs
- Come As You AreSeptember 13, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Hardest HallelujahAugust 30, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Fight Nobody SeesAugust 23, 2026 - 7:00 am
- One Way Through the ChaosJuly 26, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Gospel Still Changes EverythingJuly 12, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Gospel Still Changes Everything
Daily Devotional, David Hall, Stories About SongsHave you ever noticed how quickly the best news in your life can turn ordinary?
The promotion. The wedding day. The birth of a child. At first, it changes everything. Then, over time, it becomes part of the wallpaper.
I think that’s what can happen with the Gospel. It’s easy to wake up carrying burdens and forget that Jesus already carried them. We forget that the story of Jesus isn’t just about getting into heaven someday. It’s about being brought from death to life today.
That’s why I love the song “Running Back To You” by Seph Schlueter. At its heart, it’s a modern retelling of the Prodigal Son story. You know the one.
A son wanders away. A father watches and waits for his son to come home. And when the son finally turns around, he discovers something shocking: the father is still glad to see him.
He’s not tolerant.
Not reluctant.
Glad.
The son had rehearsed his apology, but the father prepared a celebration. The son came home ashamed, but the father met him with love.
That sounds a lot like how God is described by the prophet Joel. He is the God who is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and overflowing with faithful love. That’s the Father the prodigal ran toward. And that’s the Father we can run to today.
And maybe that’s what makes repentance so beautiful. It’s not crawling back to a disappointed Father. It’s running back to love.
The Gospel is the best news ever. It announces that Jesus has already done what we never could. What sin separated, Jesus restored. What death claimed, Jesus conquered.
It only becomes ordinary when we forget what it rescued us from.
So today, remember. Remember the chains He broke. Remember the life He gave. Remember the Father who still watches the road for His children to come home.
And if you’ve wandered, even a little, you can still turn around.
You’ll find Him exactly where He’s always been. Waiting with arms wide open.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
L Y R I C S
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
I was an orphan
Defined by mistakes
Thought I was forsaken
That You gave up the chase
I went to the reaches
To try and ease the ache
Turned my back on the One
Who kept calling my name
You kept calling
Didn’t matter where I was at
You just kept calling me back
Back to the table
Back to my home
Back to my Father who never lost hope
For the first time in ages
I know what to do
With my arms wide open I’m running to back to You
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
I’m running to back to You
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
Now I have been rescued
My soul is remade
But even the ransomed
Can fall on their face
When I’m drowning in questions
When I’ve lost the path
Your love is the answer
You’re calling me back
Back to the table
Back to my home
Back to my Father who never lets go
Whatever I’m facing
I know what to do
With my arms wide open I’m running to back to you
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
I’m running to back to You
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
It doesn’t matter all the times where I’ve been in over my head
I’m never too far gone where Your arms cannot pull me back again
I’m never been so lost where Your love could not fill my emptiness
I’m never too far gone where Your arms cannot pull me back again
Back to the table
Back to my home
Back to my Father who never lets go
Whatever I’m facing
I know what to do
With my arms wide open I’m running to back to you
Back to the table
Back to my home
Back to my Father who never lost hope
For the first time in ages
I know what to do
With my arms wide open I’m running to back to you
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
I’m running to back to You
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
I’m running to back to You
(Oh-oh-oh-oh) Oh-oh-oh-oh
I’m running back to You
(Oh-oh-oh-oh)
I’m running to back to You
Songwriters: Seph Schlueter and Jacob Sooter
Trusting God Behind the Scenes
Brenda Price, Daily DevotionalDo you ever have those days?
The ones where you know God is a way maker.
You know He’s good.
You know He loves you.
But…
It just doesn’t feel like He’s making a way.
You’ve been praying.
You’ve been trusting.
You’ve been trying to faithfully follow Him.
And yet, nothing seems to be changing.
Maybe today is one of those days.
If it is, I want you to remember something.
It’s okay.
You’re not the first person to wonder where God is in the middle of a hard season.
I’ve had those moments too.
The ones where I want to look up and ask, “God, where are You? Why am I struggling?”
But here’s what I’m learning.
Sometimes God’s greatest work is happening where I can’t yet see it.
Even when it feels like nothing is changing, God is still working.
Hebrews reminds us to “hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.”
Notice, our hope isn’t rooted in what we can see.
It’s rooted in the God who always keeps His word.
Our feelings may waver.
Our circumstances may change.
But God’s faithfulness never does.
So if your prayers feel like they’re hitting the ceiling today…
Keep holding on.
And if all you have is faith the size of a mustard seed, that’s enough to take one more step toward Jesus.
Don’t let what you see determine what you believe.
Let God’s faithfulness have the final word.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Faith for the Next Step
Daily Devotional, Denise PaganoSometimes life feels like you’re walking without a map.
Recently, I went on my church’s women’s retreat at this huge camp I’d actually been to a couple of times before.
But when it got dark…
Oh boy.
I had a map, but I couldn’t see two feet in front of me. Before long, I realized I was completely lost.
Life can feel like that sometimes.
You thought you’d be further along by now.
You thought things would make more sense.
You think, “I’ve been here before. Why don’t I know what to do?”
Instead, you’re figuring it out one step at a time.
And honestly, that can be frustrating.
Until you remember something.
God rarely shows us the entire path.
Psalm 119 says, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”
Notice it doesn’t say a stadium spotlight.
It says a lamp.
A lamp gives enough light for the next step.
That’s how God often leads us.
Through His Word, He doesn’t always reveal every turn in the road or answer every question about tomorrow.
Instead, He faithfully gives us enough light to obey Him today.
So if life feels confusing right now, don’t stop walking.
Open God’s Word.
Take the next faithful step.
Then trust Him with the one after that.
Because even when you can’t see the whole path, you can trust the God who already does.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT