The Most Important Choice We Can Make Today - Encouragement for Today - August 25, 2026
Encouragement for Today
Audio By Carbonatix
Crosswalk.com
August 25, 2026
The Most Important Choice We Can Make Today
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8, NIV).
Most mornings before I start my time with the Lord, I pray a very simple prayer that ushers my heart into the right place:
God, I want to see You. God, I want to hear You. God, I want to know You. I want to follow hard after You every day. So before my feet hit the floor, I say "yes" to You.
This prayer is not a magic formula, just five short sentences that perfectly express my desire to experience God’s goodness and His peace throughout my day. I want to see Him working in me, around me, and through me. I want to hear His voice so clearly that I won’t doubt when He asks for my obedience. I want to know Him — not just facts about Him but real, personal, intimate knowledge. And lastly, I want to follow hard after Him, to be the woman He wants me to be in every circumstance I face instead of following after my own plans and desires.
I truly believe that if we want to see God, we have to position ourselves for that opportunity.
And what does that mean? It means we pause intentionally in the midst of all that we’d like to control — all that we are trying to manage, all that is bothering us, all the relationship dynamics that are weighing us down — and choose to turn our faces to Jesus and call out to Him. We look for His activity. We look for His guidance.
Choose to thank Him. Choose to be with Him. Choose to lay down at His feet whatever it is you’re facing.
Choose to ask Him what your responsibility is and what you should hand over to Him. Choose to mentally place it all in His hands, in His love, in His care, in His capabilities, in His mercy. Choose to receive His courage and assurance.
Choose to have faith that He is trustworthy. Choose to release. Choose to surrender.
Choose to let Him have your tears, your fears, your heartbreak, your worries, your uncertainties, your weaknesses, your doubts, your frustrations, your anger, your stress, your bitterness, and your sadness.
Choose to lift your voice in praise to Him. Choose to shift your focus from what’s wrong to what He has already made right. Choose to keep turning to Him and allowing Him to conform you to be more and more like Him from the inside out.
Choose to breathe. Choose to park your thoughts on God’s Word.
These are some of the most important choices we can make today.
Now, here are some amazing verses that reveal to us how to live like I’ve just described. I want you to read each of these verses in the NIV translation, as well as in The Message, a Bible paraphrase by Eugene Peterson. Pastor Peterson was an accomplished expert in biblical languages, and his desire was to get us into the background and context of the Bible in a modern way. While The Message is not a translation of the Bible, I love some of the wording he chose for these particular passages:
- “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8, NIV).
- “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world” (Matthew 5:8, MSG).
- “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” (Psalm 100:4, NIV).
- “Enter with the password: ‘Thank you!’ Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him” (Psalm 100:4, MSG).
- “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:22-23, NIV).
- “So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word” (Hebrews 10:22-23, MSG).
It’s been several years since I started praying the prayer I shared with you earlier. And I can honestly say I’m different because I've learned to practice the presence of Jesus and experience Him daily. It has been an intentional, daily pursuit — looking for Him in unexpected places and choosing to rely on Him. Through the good, not-so-good, and everything in between, He has never left my side.
Lord, it is such a comfort to know You are always working behind the scenes, even when I can’t see You or when I feel confused about what You’re doing. In this moment, I’m reminding myself I can rest in the truth that You care deeply about what I’m going through. Please reveal Yourself to me in the everyday details so I can experience Your presence in a powerful way. In Jesus’ name, amen.
OUR FAVORITE THINGS
Sometimes, surrender can feel like we’re giving up. But what if it’s actually what we need to do in order to move forward and find healing? In her new book, Making Peace with What I Can’t Control, Lysa TerKeurst gently reminds us that peace doesn’t come from having all the answers or fixing every situation. It comes from staying close to the Lord in the middle of the unknown. If you’re weary from trying to hold everything together, this book offers biblical wisdom, practical tools, and reassurance that God can bear the weight of all that you’ve been carrying. Preorder your copy here, and start reading the first three chapters immediately!
ENGAGE
Find everyday encouragement when you connect with Lysa TerKeurst here on Instagram.
FOR DEEPER STUDY
Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (NIV).
For the next week, commit to praying the “God, I want to see You” prayer Lysa shared. Then, as you go through each day, record even the smallest glimpses of God that you come across.
How does knowing that you can actively seek His presence help you in a hard situation you’re facing? We’d love to hear how this devotion spoke to you today in the comments.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
P.O. Box 3189
Matthews, NC 28106
www.Proverbs31.org
