The Connection Corner

What If They’re Wrong About You?

2 Corinthians 6:18 — “I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me,” says the Lord Almighty.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how easy it is to let other people’s opinions define you.

Over the years, I’ve been called a flake because I’ve moved around so much. I’ve been told I talk too much and too loud. I’ve even been told I’m not a very good friend because I spend so much time focused on work, exercise, and getting enough sleep.

And sometimes criticism can help us grow. But sometimes, we start carrying labels God never intended for us to wear.

Somewhere along the way, I realized I’d been letting other people’s opinions speak louder than the voice of God.

God doesn’t call me a flake. He calls me His child.

And I didn’t earn that name. He chose to welcome me into His family.

He doesn’t define me by my mistakes, my weaknesses, or someone else’s opinion of me. He calls me His.

The loudest voice in your life will eventually become the truest one in your heart.

So the older I get, the more I realize I need to spend less time listening to what people say about me and more time listening to what God says about me. People see a snapshot. God sees the whole story.

Your identity doesn’t begin with what people say about you.

It begins with what the Father declares.

So when another label tries to stick, I’m learning to ask one simple question: Did that name come from people—or from the Father who calls me His child?

Maybe that’s a question you need to ask today, too.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

What label or criticism have you been carrying that may not be God’s definition of you?
What does it mean to you that God calls you His son or daughter?
Whose voice has been the loudest in your life lately—and how can you make more room to hear the Father’s voice?

August 29, 2026/by Tammi Arender

The Pain That Grew You

Brendan McClain, Daily Devotional

John 15:1-2 — I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Hindsight really is twenty-twenty.

It’s funny how we sometimes laugh about things we once cried over. Moments that felt overwhelming, personal, and devastating can eventually become stories we tell around the dinner table.

One of my earliest memories is throwing a full-blown tantrum over a hot dog. I wanted to squeeze the mustard on it myself, but my mom beat me to it. I was furious. Kicking, flailing, acting like the world had ended.

Little Brendan felt like his soul had been assassinated.

Big Brendan doesn’t even keep mustard in his fridge.

A lot of our problems are like that. Time gives us perspective, and what once felt enormous can eventually look surprisingly small.

But not every problem is a hot dog.

Some wounds alter the course of your life. Some losses take years to heal. Some pain runs so deep that nobody wants to bring it up around the dinner table.

And in those seasons, we can misunderstand the hand of our Father.

Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” He tells us that the gardener prunes the branches so they can bear more fruit.

Pruning isn’t always easy to understand while it’s happening. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes we can’t see what God is doing—or why He’s allowing us to walk through something so painful.

But we can trust the Gardener.

God isn’t trying to destroy you. He is faithful to work in you, even in the places that hurt. He can take what feels broken and use it to grow something beautiful. He doesn’t waste our pain. He can redeem it, repurpose it, and use it to draw us closer to Him.

Maybe someday you’ll look back and see things differently. Not because the pain didn’t matter, but because God met you in it—and changed how you carried it.

The same God who is with you in the pruning is the God who will bring forth new growth.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Is there a painful season in your life that you still don’t understand?
Where might God be growing something in you through that experience?
What would it look like today to trust the Gardener, even when you can’t yet see what He’s doing?

August 28, 2026/by Brendan McClain

What’s Weighing You Down?

Daily Devotional, David Hall

Matthew 11:28-30 — Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

I remember ninth-grade me marching around that astroturf field.

Yep. You guessed it. I was a band kid.

I played all through high school, and my instrument of choice might surprise you. Wrapped around me was a sousaphone—a tuba you wear while you march. And if you’ve ever seen one up close, you know one thing: that thing is heavy.

Band was great. It gave me a community, something to do on Friday nights, and the biggest locker in school.

But there was one unavoidable reality: heaviness.

The fine print should have said: “Must be willing to carry 35 pounds of metal on your shoulder for hours. Rest breaks may or may not be included.”

Eventually, my body adjusted. My muscles got stronger, and I stopped noticing the weight quite as much.

But that didn’t mean it wasn’t still heavy.

Life can be like that, too. Sometimes the things we’re carrying are good things—our families, our jobs, our responsibilities, the people we love. They’re gifts. But even good gifts can become heavy when we’ve been carrying them for too long.

That’s why I love Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11. He doesn’t say, “Try harder.” He says, “Come to me.”

Bring Him the burden. Bring Him the weariness. Bring Him the things you’ve gotten so used to carrying that you’ve almost forgotten they’re heavy.

Jesus never asked us to carry life’s weight alone. And when we bring Him what we’re carrying—even the good things—we discover the rest He promises: not necessarily a life without responsibility, but a soul that doesn’t have to carry it alone.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

What are you carrying right now that has become heavier than you realized?
Is there a “good thing” in your life that you need to bring to Jesus instead of carrying by yourself?
What would it look like today to actually respond to Jesus’ invitation: “Come to me?”

August 27, 2026/by David Hall

What If They’re Wrong About You?

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

The Pain That Grew You

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

What’s Weighing You Down?

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

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