The Connection Corner

A daily source of encouragement and inspiration to connect your heart to hope and faith.

The Freedom of Enough

Hebrews 13:5 — Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

I once heard someone say, “We are not rich by what we possess, but rather by what we can do without.”

Isn’t that good?

There was a time when a new phone came out, and I felt like I had to have it.

Every time.

Not eventually. Not when my phone stopped working.

I needed the new one now.

I was the same way with cars. I used to trade mine in as soon as it hit 70,000 miles.

These days, I can’t afford to do either.

And here’s the truth I never expected:

I’m okay.

My phone is older. My car has more miles on it.

And apparently, neither one of those things ruined my life.

God has been teaching me that contentment isn’t settling for less.

It’s discovering that what I have is enough because the One who is with me has never changed.

That’s what makes Hebrews 13:5 so meaningful to me.

The verse connects contentment with a promise: God will never leave us or abandon us.

My circumstances can change.

What I own can change.

What I can afford can change.

But God doesn’t pack up and leave when the extras disappear.

I still like new phones.

I still like nice cars.

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying good things.

But I don’t need those things to make me feel secure anymore.

And maybe that’s one of the surprising gifts of having less.

You discover that the things you thought were holding your life together weren’t holding it together at all.

God was.

Maybe true wealth isn’t having so much that you need nothing else.

Maybe true wealth is knowing Who you have when you have nothing left to prove.

So today, look around at what you have.

Be grateful for it.

And then look beyond what you can hold in your hands.

Because the greatest thing you have isn’t something you can buy, upgrade, or trade in.

It’s the God who has promised:

“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

And that is more than enough.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

What is something you once thought you needed in order to be happy or secure that you’ve discovered you can actually live without?
Are there things you own—or things you want to own—that sometimes become tied to your sense of security or worth?
What does contentment look like in your life right now? Where is God teaching you that “enough” really is enough?
How does the promise “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you” change the way you think about having less?
What is one thing you can thank God for today that has nothing to do with money or possessions?

September 24, 2026/by Tammi Arender

The Courage to Be Curious

Brendan McClain, Daily Devotional

Matthew 7:7 — Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

High school has rules.

No, not the ones printed in the handbook. Those are easy. You can read them and follow them.

I mean the other rules.

The ones everybody seems to know without anybody ever explaining them.

You sit with your people at lunch. You wear clothes that fit your crowd. Athletes hang out with athletes. Band kids hang out with band kids. Theater kids stick together.

Eventually, you learn where you belong, and you get pretty good at staying there.

They’re not written down anywhere, but you know the rules.

Until one morning when something strange happens.

The football player stands beside the quiet kid from chemistry.

The popular girl prays with the freshman nobody knows.

Students from different churches—and students with no church at all—end up standing around the same flagpole.

Every year, See You at the Pole has a way of bringing people together.

Some students come because they love Jesus. Some come because a friend asked them. Others are just curious.

And if you didn’t know, God has a thing for curious people.

Think about it.

Zacchaeus climbed a tree because he wanted to see Jesus. People followed Jesus because they wanted to know who He was. Again and again, people took a step closer because something about Jesus made them curious.

And that’s what I love about Jesus’ words in Matthew 7: “Keep on asking. Keep on seeking. Keep on knocking.”

He doesn’t tell us to pretend we already have everything figured out.

He invites us to come closer.

Ask questions.

Seek Him.

Knock on the door.

You see, curiosity can be a beautiful thing.

Sometimes it’s simply the courage to step outside what feels familiar and move toward something you don’t fully understand.

And you really can’t imagine what God might do with one small moment of curiosity.

So, if you’re planning to be at See You at the Pole, don’t just pray for your school.

Pray for the person standing on the edge of the crowd, wondering if they should walk over.

Pray for the student who is curious but nervous.

Pray for the one who doesn’t know exactly what they believe yet.

Because sometimes the first step toward Jesus is simply being willing to ask a question.

So maybe today, break a few of those unwritten rules.

Step outside your usual circle.

Walk toward someone who feels alone.

And if you’re the one standing on the edge, wondering whether you belong there, take a step closer.

Ask.

Seek.

Knock.

You never know what God might do with your curiosity.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Are there “unwritten rules” or social circles in your life that keep you from reaching out to certain people?
Have you ever been curious about Jesus but hesitant to take the next step? What held you back?
What question about God or faith have you been afraid to ask?
Who might be standing “on the edge of the crowd” in your school, workplace, church, or community? How could you make room for them?
What would it look like for you today to ask, seek, or knock—to take one small step closer to Jesus?

September 23, 2026/by Brendan McClain

God Doesn’t Waste Broken Places

Daily Devotional, Denise Pagano

Ephesians 2:9-10 — Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

There’s a building in Spokane, Washington, that used to glow with neon lights for all the wrong reasons.

People drove past it for years, knowing exactly what was happening inside.

Brokenness. Addiction. Exploitation. Stories most people never heard because the women living inside those walls often felt invisible.

Then God started rewriting the story.

A friend of mine named Taylor, who also works in Christian radio, sent me the story. I had tears rolling down my face, and honestly, I just haven’t stopped thinking about it.

There’s a ministry called Helping Captives. They bought that former strip club, paid it off completely, and now they’re turning it into a Freedom Center for women escaping human trafficking.

Same building.

Different purpose.

One woman who was rescued from trafficking said she had worked in that very club before.

Can you imagine standing in a place that once represented your pain and watching God turn it into a place of healing?

Maybe that’s what feels so much like Jesus to me.

God has always loved taking what looks ruined and giving it a purpose the world never saw coming.

He turns messes into masterpieces.

And that’s where Ephesians 2 speaks so deeply to me.

Grace is not something we manufacture. It’s not something we earn by being good enough.

Salvation is a gift.

And when God makes us new in Christ, He doesn’t just rescue us from our past. He gives our lives a new purpose. He prepares good things for us to do for His glory.

So maybe you needed this reminder today:

Your past may explain part of your story, but it does not get to write the ending.

The world may look at something and see what it used to be.

But God sees what He can make it become.

So pause today and ask Him to show you one place in your life that feels too broken to matter anymore.

Bring that place into His hands.

Because you are not defined by what you were.

In Christ, you are being made new.

And Jesus is still in the business of turning broken places into stories of redemption.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Is there a part of your past that you’ve allowed to define you? What would it mean to let God write a new chapter there?
Where in your life do you feel “too broken to matter”? What would it look like to place that area in God’s hands?
How does knowing that salvation is a gift—not something you earn—change the way you see yourself and God?
Ephesians 2:10 says God created us anew so we can do good things He planned for us. What might He be inviting you to do in this season?
Where have you seen God take something painful or broken and give it a new purpose?