Proverbs 16:9 The mind of a man plans his way: but the LORD directs his steps.
As believers, we hold to the promise, “all things work together for good to them that are the called according to His purpose.” During these times, while the world seems to be unraveling … this is when we cling to the promises of God! This reminded me of a story that took place nearly ten years ago.
As I’ve been following the news about much of the United States being under a winter storm watch, with snow falling in unexpected places like Galveston, Texas, and Florida, it brought back memories of a story from over ten years ago.
It was January of 2011 when we arrived at the airport late Thursday night with our bags and our kiddos, only to find out that our flight was canceled because of a freak accident — a tractor ran into the plane, of all things! So we repacked our ourselves tightly into a small rental car to make the two-hour drive to get back home to Arad in the middle of the night. Our flight was postponed until Sunday.
Sunday came, and we got on the plane. We flew into Atlanta only to find that not only was our connecting flight canceled, but the airport was entirely shut down due to a severe ice storm. There was not one flight out, and all the hotels in the area were booked solid.
We had to arrive in Baltimore in time for some scheduled speaking engagements, so we decided to rent a car, despite everyone’s wide-eyed stares. Now, normally this is only about a 12-hour drive — however, because we were driving at a speed between 10 and 20 miles an hour for half of the way, it took us a whopping 22 hours!
Fortunately, the ice was so bad that every half an hour, I would have to pull over and break an inch or two of ice off the windshield wipers — so the freezing weather kept me nice and alert! But we got here safe and all in one piece, thank God.
As I drove, I thought about the fact that we are very quick to blame the devil for these kinds of circumstances. But the Bible says that ALL things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes, and in retrospect — our delay was instrumental in helping a dear friend to be able to make an emergency visit to her daughter, bless two lovely troubled teens and enabled us to share with and bless people we might have never met between Atlanta and Baltimore!
As believers, we hold steadfast to the promise that “all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” In times when the world seems to be falling apart, it is precisely then that we must cling to His promises even more. Life may be getting “more interesting,” but every strange circumstance, every change in plans, is a chance to trust God more deeply and share His love and the gifts He has entrusted to us. Looking back, it’s clear that perhaps God has been orchestrating it all along. Let every moment be an opportunity to trust Him and spread His love.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]When we hear the word Hineini—”Here I am,” many of us immediately think of the prophet Isaiah in chapter 6, standing before the throne of God, overwhelmed by His holiness. After being cleansed by the burning coal, Isaiah hears the Lord ask, “Whom shall I send?” and responds with the now-famous phrase: “Hineini—Here am I. Send me.”
Following Yeshua (Jesus) isn’t just about believing the right things or checking boxes. It’s about wanting to truly know God — to experience Him personally. And here’s the amazing part: even that desire starts with Him. God is the one who stirs our hearts and awakens our longing. If you find yourself hungry for more of Him, it’s because He’s already working in you.
There is a sacred truth buried deep in Scripture that many believers never fully embrace: you have been given authority through the Messiah, not someday, but now. It is not reserved for the spiritually elite. It is not earned through effort. It is your inheritance as a child of God. And this authority was purchased at the Cross and activated the moment you were born again.
Many of us can recite Yeshua’s (Jesus’) words about the two greatest commandments—loving God and loving our neighbor—but we often miss how deeply intertwined they are. We treat them like separate tasks: one for God, one for people. But in Greek, Yeshua uses the phrase homoia aute, which means “like to it.” The second commandment isn’t just next in line—it shares the same nature. This small detail radically changes how we understand the passage: loving others is essential to loving God.
In today’s culture, freedom is often defined as doing whatever you want—living without restrictions, chasing your happiness, and controlling your destiny. But when you dig into the Greek word eleutheros, meaning “free,” you discover that real freedom isn’t about cutting all ties—it’s about being connected to the right things. True freedom isn’t found in isolation, but in surrender to God.