Editor’s note: Yesterday in Devotional Daily, we shared two devotions from When Jesus is Everything by Jennie Allen. You can read them here and then continue reading below.
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He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. — Zephaniah 3:17
For years, I thought God loved me because He had to. That was His job, right? Love everyone. But like me? That felt too personal, too much to hope for.
Then at age seventeen, everything changed. I met grace. I realized Jesus didn’t just rescue me—He actually liked me. He delighted in me. He wanted me. That realization was the crack where light broke in.
Even now, decades later, I still get surprised by His gentleness. Sometimes I catch myself whispering, I must be Your favorite, because His love feels that personal.
Maybe that’s what your heart is craving—not a distant God who tolerates you but a near God who smiles when you walk into the room. That’s who He is. Today’s verse says He “will rejoice over you with singing.”
- He delights in being with you, today and every day.
PRAY
Lord, thank You for delighting in me. Help me believe that You don’t just forgive me—You enjoy me. Let Your kindness surprise me again today.
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Freedom from Wind Chasing
Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. — Ecclesiastes 4:6
We’ve all done it—we’ve chased the wind, as today’s verse describes. And if we’re honest, a lot of our lives have been spent doing exactly that. How’s that going for you? Have you ever come to the end of a full day only to feel strangely empty? There’s a reason.
Our souls were built for God.
Yet we constantly try to fill them with everything but Him: achievement, approval, comparison, busyness. I love today’s verse because it tells the truth so simply: More activity does not give us more life. God designed us to enjoy Him—to be connected to Him, full of Him. Understanding His love is where peace and contentment are found, and nothing else can replace that.
But we forget. Over and over again, just like humans always have.
So we come back. We loosen our grip on all the things we’ve been hustling for. We drop the things we’ve been clutching that have kept us running and toiling. And we exhale. We breathe in our belovedness as children of God.
Choosing presence over comparison is freedom. It quiets the pressure to measure ourselves against someone else’s life and helps us savor the life God has given us. Quiet contentment isn’t flashy; it’s sacred. And it feels like peace.
Today, look around at what’s already in your hands. What you have with God is more than enough.
PRAY
God, help me stop chasing what I don’t need. Teach me to rest in the life You’ve already given me.
Excerpted with permission from When Jesus is Everything by Jennie Allen, copyright Jennie Allen Ministries, LLC.
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Your Turn
You are loved. Your soul was built for relationship with the God who already calls you “Beloved”. No need to compare. Stop chasing the wind and rest today in His love for you. ~ Devotionals Daily
