The Connection Corner

Learning to Live and to Give

Proverbs 3:9-10 — Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.

I moved to Alabama with more faith than funds.

Ministry school felt like the next right step, and I did it because I was desperate. I needed God’s help with real struggles, and I needed older, wiser Christians to steady me.

But I wasn’t wise with money. I had just graduated from a four-year university, and until then, I had lived for the weekend and was having fun having fun.

And as you can see, I needed to grow—in more ways than one.

Now I was hours from home, without a safety net. I believed God called me here, but I knew faith alone wouldn’t pay the bills. If I was going to stay, I had to learn how to honor Him with my finances.

So I got a job at McDonald’s. It was grease-on-the-sleeves, hard work. And to my amazement, living on a budget actually worked.

My tuition? Paid. Grocery bills? Paid.

But then came my student housing bill. I handed it to the church secretary, and after checking her computer, she looked up and said, “David, it seems someone anonymously paid your rent for the rest of the year.”

My jaw hit the floor.

In that moment, I felt the weight of undeserved kindness. Somebody, flesh and blood like me, gave in a way that felt radical. It felt like the love of God. That gift bought me time to breathe, to study, and to save for a missions trip I knew I was called to take. It changed me. It made me want to be that kind of giver, and to live wisely and open-handed.

That year taught me something important: money isn’t a word to avoid in church. If we learn to honor God with it, He can use us to point others toward hope.

So, whether you’re in need or in abundance today, let your budget reflect faith in tomorrow. Live generously. Save with purpose. And let God write a better story with what’s in your hands.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

When has someone’s generosity reminded you of God’s love for you?
What would it look like for you to “honor the Lord with your wealth” this week?
How could your giving become part of someone else’s story of hope?

October 28, 2025/by David Hall

Every Hour, I Need Him

Daily Devotional, Heart of the Artist, Stories About Songs, Tammi Arender

Psalms 34:17 – The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.

Some days, even your own shoes feel too heavy.

That was me not long ago, dragging through the morning like I was wading through syrup. I wasn’t falling apart in some dramatic way—it was just the small stuff that piles up. Bills. Work. Loneliness. The creeping fear that maybe this is all life will ever be.

I sat in the car before heading inside, gripping the steering wheel like it might hold me together. I was praying, but not really. I was mostly just breathing.

Then, over the hum of my car’s speakers, Matt Maher’s song started: “Lord, I need You, oh, I need You; every hour I need You.”

Inside, my heart felt flooded with peace. I didn’t say anything. I just let the words wash over me, like water for my soul. I knew God was doing for my heart what I couldn’t.

Later, I looked up the story behind that song. Turns out, Maher had been asked to write something for a worship conference. He said the only way he could do it was by starting with what he himself needed.

So he sat down, thinking of old hymns and books read from C.S. Lewis, and out came that prayer of desperation set to melody. “Lord, I need You” was born from weakness.

That’s me. That’s us. Weak people, whispering weak prayers, and somehow finding strength to make it through one more hour.

And maybe that’s enough. Maybe that’s the point.

Because every hour, I need Him. And every hour, He’s already there.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

When was the last time you felt too weary to pray—and how did God meet you anyway?
What small, quiet ways has God reminded you of His presence when life feels heavy?
How might weakness actually draw you closer to Him, rather than push you away?
Is there a song, verse, or memory that helps you remember you are never alone?

Lyrics

Lord I come, I confess
Bowing here, I find my rest
Without You, I fall apart
You’re the one that guides my heart

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour, I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour, I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

So teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand, I’ll fall on You
Jesus, You’re my hope and stay

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour, I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You
You’re my one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

October 27, 2025/by Tammi Arender

From Brokenness to Blessing

Heart of the Artist, Linda Meyers, Stories About Songs

Hebrews 6:19-20 — This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us.

Eliza Hewitt was not used to silence. She had built her life around classrooms, chalkboards, and the steady hum of work. She liked being useful and always moving toward something.

But then the injury came, and life suddenly got quiet.

Days stretched out like long empty roads. Her body throbbed, her spirit became restless, and questions circled in her mind. Why me? What now? Where is God in all of this?

She would have traded anything for answers.

But as the days passed, Eliza started to read her Bible. This was not the casual kind of reading used to pass the time. No. She was desperate.

And in those long, slow hours, she saw things she had never noticed before. Words she had skimmed past now felt alive. Promises she had memorized now felt like they were written just for her.

She knew she was not just surviving this hardship. God was doing something in it.

One day she found herself humming an old tune she had started writing before everything changed. At the time, it was just another melody. Now, the words carried weight:

“When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be.”

Those days in Scripture had changed her. Hope was no longer abstract—it was a rock-solid anchor for her soul. It was what kept her steady when everything else felt unmoored.

When she finally released the song, it spread like wildfire. People who were hurting and searching found something in those words—something bigger than their pain.

Eliza never would have chosen her hardship, but looking back, she saw it clearly. Her pain had not been wasted. God had turned her silence into a song of hope, and it was too valuable to keep to herself.

That’s the thing about hope—it doesn’t just hold you steady; it gives you something to offer others.

Could it be that the very thing you are wrestling with right now is the story someone else needs to hear?

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

What hardship or “quiet season” has God used to deepen your hope in Him?
How has His Word become an anchor for your soul in times of uncertainty?
Who might need to hear the song of hope your story is still writing?

When We All Get to Heaven

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus
Sing His mercy and His grace
In the mansions, bright and blessed
He’ll prepare for us a place

When we all get to Heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We’ll sing and shout the victory

While we walk the pilgrim pathway
Clouds will overspread the sky
But when traveling days are over
Not a shadow, not a sigh

When we all get to Heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We’ll sing and shout the victory

Onward to the prize before us
Soon His beauty we’ll behold
Soon the pearly gates will open
And we shall tread the streets of gold

When we all get to Heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We’ll sing and shout the victory

(Words: Eliza E. Hewitt / Music: Emily D. Wilson / Arranged By: Mark Hall)

October 26, 2025/by Linda Meyers