The Connection Corner

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

Trust God With Today

Matthew 6:34 — Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

There’s something about the words “what if?”

What if this happens?

What if that falls apart?

What if I can’t handle what comes next?

What if… what if… what if?

Those two little words can steal so much peace.

So if that’s you right now, take a deep breath with me.

Because worry has a way of living in the future.

Anxiety can feel like this little monster that runs ahead of us, walks into tomorrow, and comes back carrying a report about everything that might go wrong.

But God’s peace lives here.

In this moment.

In this breath.

Today.

God is the only One who knows what tomorrow will actually hold. And because He is already there, we don’t have to pretend we are.

Jesus doesn’t tell us that tomorrow won’t have trouble. He knows it will.

He simply reminds us not to carry tomorrow’s trouble today.

Tomorrow has enough of its own.

And today belongs to God.

So come on.

Take another breath.

You don’t have to solve your whole future before lunch.

Faith doesn’t require you to know what happens next. It invites you to trust Who is with you now.

One step.

One breath.

One prayer at a time.

That’s enough for today.

And when those two little words come knocking again—“What if?”—maybe answer them with something stronger:

What if God is already there?

What if He really is holding the future I’m afraid of?

Take one more deep breath.

Let tomorrow stay where it belongs.

And trust God with today.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

What “what if” has been taking up the most space in your mind lately? What are you afraid might happen?
When you find yourself worrying about tomorrow, what usually happens to your ability to be present today?
What would it look like to trust God with something you cannot control or know yet?
What is one thing you can do today—one step, one prayer, one breath—instead of trying to solve tomorrow?
How does it change your perspective to remember that God is already in the future you’re afraid of?

September 21, 2026/by Brenda Price

Stuck Is Not Your Story

Daily Devotional, David Hall, Stories About Songs

John 12:26 – Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

There’s a line in CAIN’s song Rise Up that gets me every time:

“Are you too scared to move and walk out of this tomb?”

That’s a striking question because sometimes what holds us back isn’t that we don’t know we’re stuck.

It’s that the stuck place starts to feel like the new normal.

Familiar, even.

Isn’t that relatable?

But let me tell you, you’re in good company.

In the Bible, Lazarus knew something about being stuck, too.

He had been dead for four days when Jesus arrived. There was a stone over the tomb, his sisters were devastated, and there was absolutely no reasonable expectation that Lazarus was coming back.

But then Jesus called his name.

I love that detail.

Jesus didn’t shout some generic instructions into the cemetery.

He called Lazarus.

And Lazarus came out.

But here’s what I don’t want us to miss: Lazarus didn’t come out of the tomb just to wander around and eventually find another tomb to hide in.

His new life meant a new relationship with Jesus.

In fact, John 12 tells us that Lazarus was sitting at a table with Jesus shortly afterward.

And then, in that same chapter, Jesus says, “Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am.”

Now, I can’t say with any certainty that Lazarus was still in the room when Jesus said those words. I’ll leave that part to your imagination.

But don’t miss the bigger picture.

Jesus doesn’t just call us out of something.

He calls us after Him.

Maybe you’ve spent a long time believing the lies, carrying the shame, or living inside a pattern that feels impossible to escape.

Maybe the place that once felt like a prison has simply become familiar.

Hear Jesus’ voice today.

The grave isn’t your home.

And when Jesus calls you out of the grave, He isn’t just calling you away from your old life.

He’s reaching out His hand and saying, “Follow Me.”

So, rise up.

Take off your grave clothes.

And follow Jesus.

He’s calling.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

What is one area of your life where you’ve felt stuck for so long that it has started to feel normal?
Are there lies, shame, habits, or patterns that Jesus may be calling you to leave behind? What makes it difficult to step out?
What does it mean to you that Jesus doesn’t simply call you out of something—He calls you to follow Him?
What might “taking off your grave clothes” look like in your life right now? Is there something from your old life you keep putting back on?
If Jesus is saying, “Follow Me,” what is one step you could take today to move toward Him?

L Y R I C S

Rise Up (Lazarus)
Come Forth
Dead man open your eyes
The Lord ain’t finished with you
Wake up You sleeper
Watch what he can do
Dead man open your eyes
Jesus is calling for you

In the dark and all alone
Growin comfortable
Are you too
Scared to move
And walk out of this tomb

Buried underneath
The lies that you believed
Safe and sound
Stuck in the ground
Too lost to be found

You’re just asleep
And it’s time to leave

Come on and rise up
Take a breath, you’re alive now
Can’t you hear the voice of Jesus calling us
Out from the grave like Lazarus
You’re brand new
The power of death couldn’t hold you
Can’t you hear the voice of Jesus calling us
Out from the grave like Lazarus

When He said your name
The thing that filled your veins
Was more than blood
It’s the kind of love
That washes sin away

Now the door is open wide
The stones been rolled aside
The old is gone
The Light has come
So…

He’s calling us to walk out of the dark
He’s giving us new resurrected hearts

September 20, 2026/by David Hall

The Treasure You Can’t See

Daily Devotional, Tammi Arender

Colossians 3:1-3 – Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.

Helen Keller once said, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”

And isn’t that true?

You can’t hold peace in your hands. You can’t put love in a jar. You can’t wrap up hope with a bow or measure kindness.

Some of the most valuable things in life are the very things you can’t see or touch.

But we live in a world that constantly tells us to chase bigger houses, newer cars, better things, and more stuff. It’s easy to spend our lives searching for things we can touch, see, and point to.

But the things we can hold aren’t always the things that hold us together.

Think about the joy of a child’s laughter. The comfort of a friend’s prayer. The reassurance of knowing Jesus is with you, even when life doesn’t make sense.

Those are the things we remember.

That’s part of what Paul is getting at in Colossians 3. He tells believers to set their minds on the things above—to keep looking toward Christ and the realities of the new life we have in Him.

Because our real life is now hidden with Christ in God.

In other words, what is visible may or may not be impressive, but what is eternal is what truly lasts.

That doesn’t mean the things we see are bad. A home can be a blessing. A car can be useful. Beautiful things can bring genuine joy.

But they were never meant to carry the weight of our identity or become the measure of a meaningful life.

So today, pause long enough to notice what you might normally overlook.

The love you’ve been given.

The peace God has provided.

The people who have prayed for you along the way.

The hope you have because of Jesus.

Set your sights there.

Because the things that matter most may not be the things you can see or hold.

They’re the things that hold you together—and they are found in Christ.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

What are you spending the most time thinking about or chasing right now? Does it reflect the things Paul says to set your mind on?
What is something invisible—peace, love, hope, faith, friendship—that has meant more to you than something you could buy or own?
Are there earthly things you’ve allowed to carry too much weight in your identity or sense of worth? What would it look like to place that weight back on Christ?
What is one blessing in your life that you might normally overlook? Take a moment today to thank God for it.
What would change in your day if you intentionally “set your sights” on Christ before everything else?