GOD OF HOPE

Daily Stop & Thinks

Stop & Think: January 17, 2026

Choices

True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice. (Inspiration Line)

Young adults often look for satisfaction in big, noisy crowds—parties, music festivals, or entertainment centers—wherever there are lots of people and loud music. Often, they find themselves with people they don’t even know. How much better to choose good friends who have healthy values and relationships.

The righteous choose their friends carefully. . . . One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 12:26; 18:24).

Stop & Think: January 16, 2026

Choices

We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them. (Kahlil Gibran, late poet and visual artist)

As we grow and encounter life, we are preparing ourselves for the future without even realizing it. Our choices now have a direct effect on the experiences we will have even years later. Making bad choices now will likely influence the options we pursue in the future. On the other hand, choosing well in the present will help you make wiser and better choices later on.

Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness (Isaiah 35:10).

Stop & Think: January 15, 2026

Choices

Integrity is choosing your thoughts and actions based on values rather than personal gain. (Author unknown)

In modern America, we emphasize individuality and personal freedom. As important as those values are, they sometimes make us think and act without regard for others and their hopes and dreams. We must learn to make our choices, not so much on the basis of what will benefit us, but on the essential values of family and community.

In humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others (Philippians 2:3-4).

Stop & Think: January 14, 2026

Choices

Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory. (Albert Schweitzer, late German physician)

Schweitzer’s two criteria for happiness are true but may be incomplete. Ill health, indeed, can be a hindrance to continued happiness. And memories of an unhappy past can be an obstacle to one’s present joy. But happiness is an attitude that must not be determined by the circumstances of life we can’t control. It is our choice to see what’s good and to pursue it.

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other (Ecclesiastes 7:14).

Stop & Think: January 13, 2026

Choices

Progress depends on human choices and human courage. (Michael J. Gerson, late journalist)

A lot of events and many people will be involved in creating the future. It’s not happenstance, and it isn’t fate. As Gerson says, human involvement is required to determine how things will work out in the unknown days ahead. So much depends on making choices—good choices. And, having made them, courageously pursuing their fulfillment is the sure path to success.

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous (Joshua 10:25).

Stop & Think: January 12, 2026

Choices

Life is a series of choices between the bad, the good, and the best. Everything depends on how we choose. (Vance Havner. Late evangelist)

Many people have little trouble resisting what is bad for them, whether it’s a matter of diet, leisure activity, or business dealings. The enemy most often is not what might be a bad choice, but rather settling for what is good, but not the best. We should strive to do our best, be our best, and choose the best in everything we do.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

Stop & Think: January 11, 2026

Choices

Temptations are everywhere. It’s your job to avoid them. (100 Devotionals)

It’s obvious, isn’t it? We are constantly faced, either directly or by innuendo, with opportunities to do wrong, to give in to baser emotions. Even magazine ads and TV commercials can tempt us to do something we know we shouldn’t. But whether it’s as simple as overeating or drinking too much or something far more sinister, it’s always our choice.

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. . . .When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Stop & Think: January 10, 2026

Choices

The secret to happiness, of course, is not getting what you want; it’s wanting what you get. (Rabbi Hyman Schachtel, late cleric)

This is a very difficult lesson for children to learn—and even adults struggle with it sometimes. It seems so natural to think that if we can just have what we want, we will be happy. But, of course, there’s always something else, something more we will want. Choosing to be content with what we have is an important key in discovering happiness.

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation (Philippians 4:12).

Stop & Think: January 9, 2026

Choices

It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. (J. K. Rowling, British author and philanthropist)

We admire talented people—Olympic stars, great orators, and artists of various kinds. We’re often in awe of their accomplishments and think they are the result of their natural talents. But is their athletic or artistic ability the true evidence of their character—who they really are? It isn’t our talents and abilities; it’s how we choose to live that’s most critical.

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity (Proverbs 11:3).

Stop & Think: January 8, 2026

Choices

We are defined by our choices, not our circumstances. By the choices we make and the choices we don’t make. (King Abdullah of Jordan)

Many of us try to explain away some of our troubles by blaming them on our circumstances. If people only understood what we are going through, they would be less critical of our decisions and actions. King Abdullah makes it clear, however, that regardless of our current circumstances, we are responsible for the actions that result from our choices.

A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one (Ecclesiastes 10:2).

Stop & Think: January 7, 2026

Choices

True discernment means distinguishing the primary from the secondary, the essential from the indifferent, and the permanent from the transient. (Sinclair Ferguson, Scottish theologian)

Many people today would not remember Sears and Roebuck catalogs. Most products were listed by categories, indicating good, better, and best. The choice was up to the buyer. There’s a lot in life like that. We can settle for something that’s good, passing over options that are better. Our choices should always be for the very best we can be or do.

Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold (Proverbs 22:1).

Stop & Think: January 6, 2026

Choices

Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be. (Abraham Lincoln)

It’s a simple statement that many might disagree with. When you are sad and unhappy, is it because you want to be? That may be hard to admit, but often it seems to be true. After all, we can “make up our minds” about a lot of things. Although we can’t always change our circumstances, we can choose to adopt a better attitude.

For as [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).