Living God’s Story with Hope and Perseverance

Finding strength, courage, and purpose in God's plan for your life.

As mentioned last week, we are working through a devotion to Perseverance. With all the stuff life throws at us, how do we remain strong and resilient in the face of the challenges we will face? 

How do we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and return to the game? How do we focus on the future and not dwell on the past? It's difficult, but God's words promise hope and encourage us.

"For I know the plans I have for YOU, declared the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a future" Jeremiah 29:11

In our devotion and prayer time, we have often talked about HOPE and holding on to it in ALL situations. God will never give up on us, even when we want to give up on ourselves. Remember that and put it on your bathroom mirror.

"May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace as you TRUST in him, so that you may overflow with HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

In our devotion time this past week, we were caught by a phrase that made us think - WE WERE MADE FOR JESUS. Just take a moment and think about that.   Yes, YOU were specifically created with unique skills and gifts that God wants to use. H is counting on you. Je us made YOU for a purpose. He made us for a purpose. We are living HIS story for our lives. He knows we live in a fallen world with challenges, but we cannot let that stop us.

He has a perfect plan for us, and if we let the evil one win, throwing us in a tailspin and making us feel sorry for ourselves, we cannot live HIS story for our lives.

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I'll strengthen you and help you" Isaiah 41:10

We have said it often in our Fist Bumps: "God lays awake all night waiting for you to get up." That is a line you could throw away, but when you think about it, it is clear HE is EXCITED about YOUR life. He made YOU to be part of HIS story. He wants to use you for HIS glory. Our prayer for each of us is that we will find the courage, strength, and hope not to let HIM down.

One of the reasons we started Seven24 was to support each other as we go through life. We wanted to provide a place where guys could connect with guys and find a safe place to build relationships centered on being on "God's team ." We wanted to be there to encourage you to live out the story God created for you. 

During this Christmas season, when we all know how hectic and busy life can get, we pray that we will reflect that the little baby in the manger has BIG plans for your life. He ultimately suffered and died on the cross for us. Thinking of what HE did for us, let's focus on giving our all and persevering through all situations to live out his story for our lives all the way to eternity. May we all finish the race STRONG!

We thank Dr. Emerson Eggerichs for sharing with us at our event on December 3rd. He provided great wisdom on how we can live out God's story for our lives in our marriages and be the husbands that God created us to be. We had 71 guys attend, which is one of our largest groups. Our thanks go to the team at EHTC, who offered their facility for our event. We appreciate that we now have more space for our future events. Here are a few things that he shared with us.

• Ephesians 5:33 reminds us of the importance of love and respect in relationships.

Ephesians 5:33 says, "However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."

He shared the COUPLE acronym to help husbands show love to their wives:

• Closeness – Stay emotionally connected.

• Openness – Share your thoughts and feelings.

• Understanding – Listen without trying to fix everything.

• Peacemaking – Resolve conflicts and apologize when needed.

• Loyalty – Show faithfulness and commitment.

• Esteem – Value and appreciate who she is.

If you had a favorite moment or takeaway from the event—we'd love to hear from you!

We are very excited about the momentum we are feeling in Seven24. As we mentioned at the event, we have a full agenda taking shape for 2025 with both events and serving opportunities. In addition, many of you have continued to express interest in participating in regular devotions. 

If you are interested in participating in a daily devotion with others from Seven24, please get in touch with us or Adam Tellier at atellier03@gmail.com.   

Please know that we pray for each of you daily. If you ever need support and encouragement to "live out the story God has for your life," please give us a shout. Dave, have a GREAT week, gents.