Max Lucado Daily: PURSUE GENTLENESS - July 28, 2026
How many disasters have been averted because one person refused to buckle under the strain? It’s this kind of composure Paul is summoning when he says, “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:5-6 NIV).
The Greek word translated here as “gentleness” describes a temperament that’s seasoned and mature. It envisions an attitude fitting to the occasion, levelheaded and tempered. This gentleness is “evident to all.” Family members take note. Your friends sense a difference. Coworkers benefit from it. The gentle person is sober minded and clear thinking. The contagiously calm person is the one who reminds others God is in control.
Pursue this gentleness. The Lord is near. You are not alone. You may feel alone. You may think you’re alone. But there is never a moment in which you face life without help. God is near—be anxious for nothing!
Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World
Psalm 39
A David Psalm
1–3 39 I’m determined to watch steps and tongue
so they won’t land me in trouble.
I decided to hold my tongue
as long as Wicked is in the room.
“Mum’s the word,” I said, and kept quiet.
But the longer I kept silence
The worse it got—
my insides got hotter and hotter.
My thoughts boiled over;
I spilled my guts.
4–6 “Tell me, what’s going on, God?
How long do I have to live?
Give me the bad news!
You’ve kept me on pretty short rations;
my life is string too short to be saved.
Oh! we’re all puffs of air.
Oh! we’re all shadows in a campfire.
Oh! we’re just spit in the wind.
We make our pile, and then we leave it.
7–11 “What am I doing in the meantime, Lord?
Hoping, that’s what I’m doing—hoping
You’ll save me from a rebel life,
save me from the contempt of dunces.
I’ll say no more, I’ll shut my mouth,
since you, Lord, are behind all this.
But I can’t take it much longer.
When you put us through the fire
to purge us from our sin,
our dearest idols go up in smoke.
Are we also nothing but smoke?
12–13 “Ah, God, listen to my prayer, my
cry—open your ears.
Don’t be callous;
just look at these tears of mine.
I’m a stranger here. I don’t know my way—
a migrant like my whole family.
Give me a break, cut me some slack
before it’s too late and I’m out of here.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE
Psalm 55:12-20
This isn’t the neighborhood bully
mocking me—I could take that.
This isn’t a foreign devil spitting
invective—I could tune that out.
It’s you! We grew up together!
You! My best friend!
Those long hours of leisure as we walked
arm in arm, God a third party to our conversation.
15 Haul my betrayers off alive to hell—let them
experience the horror, let them
feel every desolate detail of a damned life.
16–19 I call to God;
God will help me.
At dusk, dawn, and noon I sigh
deep sighs—he hears, he rescues.
My life is well and whole, secure
in the middle of danger
Even while thousands
are lined up against me.
God hears it all, and from his judge’s bench
puts them in their place.
But, set in their ways, they won’t change;
they pay him no mind.
20–21 And this, my best friend, betrayed his best friends;
his life betrayed his word.
Today's Insights
David was in intense emotional anguish and was enduring devastating pain (Psalm 55:4-5) caused by the betrayal of someone he trusted, one whom he described in endearing terms: “my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship” (vv. 13-14). Initially, the psalmist had considered hiding in the desert to escape the storm, hoping to isolate himself from the pain. He pictures himself as a bird taking flight into the desert, which he thought would provide him with a safe place of refuge (vv. 6-8). Eventually, David chose to run to God instead, affirming that only He could rescue him and keep him safe (vv. 16-18). He says to “give your burdens to the Lord and he will take care of you” (v. 22 nlt). Just as God pursued David, He hears us and pursues us when we’re experiencing the pain of a betrayed relationship. He provides grace as we trust in Him for repentance and healing.
Recovering from Betrayal
If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it . . . . But it is you, . . . my close friend. Psalm 55:12-13
By Sheridan Voysey
In one of her novels, Toni Morrison tells the story of Nel and Sula, friends since childhood. But the friendship frays as Sula’s self-centeredness grows, culminating in her seducing Nel’s husband. “Why didn’t you think about me?” Nel asks Sula. “Didn’t I count?” Sadly, Sula doesn’t even care enough to answer.
As anyone who’s experienced it knows, the pain of a friend’s betrayal is hard to rival. King David felt such “malice and abuse” when a political conspiracy of “threats and lies” engulfed him (Psalm 55:10-11). The worst part was who was behind it. “If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it,” he says. “But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend” (vv. 12-13).
How should we respond to such betrayal? While David takes his turmoil to God (vv. 16, 20), he prays retribution will fall on his betraying friend (v. 15). We see a different approach taken by Jesus. Faced with Judas’ betrayal, he says, “Do what you came for, friend,” refusing to retaliate in kind (Matthew 26:49-50).
Can a friendship recover from betrayal? Only if the offended can stay open to reconciliation and the offender proves their repentance over time. Sula’s lack of remorse means Nel must walk away. As God helps us, let’s treasure our friendships and swiftly make amends for any hurt we cause.
Reflect & Pray
Why would it have been wrong for Nel to stay friends with Sula? How can Jesus’ response to Judas help us keep reconciliation open?
Dear God, please empower me by Your Spirit to be a faithful, trustworthy friend.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
After Obedience, What?
Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. —Mark 6:48
We tend to imagine that if we obey Jesus Christ, he will lead us to great success. We must never confuse our dreams of success with God’s purpose for us. God’s purpose may be exactly the opposite of our dreams. We have an idea that he is leading us to a specific end, a desired goal. He isn’t. To God, the question of achieving a goal is incidental. What we consider training and preparation, God considers the end. It is the process, not the goal, which is glorifying to him.
What is my dream of God’s purpose? His purpose is that I depend on him and his power, and that I depend on them now. If I can stay calm and unperplexed in the middle of turmoil, I’ve already reached the end of God’s purpose. Amid life’s storms, Jesus wants me to see him walking on the water, with no shore in sight, no finish line, no promise of success, and to have the absolute certainty that all is well, simply because I see him walking.
God is training us to obey him in the present moment, and to leave all other considerations alone. We have no control over what happens after we obey; we go wrong when we start dwelling on the “afterward.” God wants us to see that he can walk on the chaos of our lives right now. If we have a further goal in view, we are not paying enough attention to the present. But if we make obedience the goal, we will find that each moment as it comes is precious.
Psalms 46-48; Acts 28
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
God created man to be master of the life in the earth and sea and sky, and the reason he is not is because he took the law into his own hands, and became master of himself, but of nothing else.
The Shadow of an Agony, 1163 L
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Finally Clean - #10317
Scripture: 2 Kings 5:10
My wife and I had been on the road for quite a while, and company was coming as soon as we got home. Frankly, with the whirlwind that preceded our departure, there was some unfinished work that we left behind at home. And, thankfully, a friend came over while we were gone and pitched in. One job my wife had asked her to tackle was to get some stubborn food and melted wax spots out of our nice red tablecloth. Well, one of the first things we noticed when we walked in the door after our trip was that tablecloth spread out on the dining room table, looking as good as new. And it had a handwritten note on it. It simply said: “I’m clean. I’ve been washed, and all my dirty spots came out.” Pretty amazing - a note from a tablecloth. That could only happen at our house.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Finally Clean.”
Not long after I read that note on the tablecloth, I thought to myself, “Ron, you should have a note like that on you.” Because those words describe what Jesus Christ did for me; something no religion could have ever done. “I’m clean. I’ve been washed, and all my dirty spots came out.” You know, actually, that’s the testimony of every person who has ever trusted Jesus to forgive their sins, based on what He did on the cross for them. And you know, it could describe you before this day is over.
In 2 Kings 5, beginning with verse 10, our word for today from the Word of God, God tells the true story of a man who is a revealing example of how this dirty-to-clean miracle works. Naaman is a Syrian military leader who, for all his fame and success, can’t do a thing about the terminal leprosy he suddenly developed. Hearing about Elisha, God’s prophet, Naaman travels to Israel with his entourage to try to find a cure. He tries to buy the cure with the big money he brings with him, and the man of God won’t touch the money.
Then, speaking through His prophet, God tells Naaman, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” Naaman is not about to humble himself and bathe in the muddy Jordan River. He tells his servants he should just go home and do it his way. But they urge him to give this strange prescription a try, and here’s the outcome: “So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.” Wow!
Well, here’s the point: if you'll go to the place where God says you can be cured of your terminal sin-cancer and do what He says, He'll make you clean, He'll make you new. You can’t buy His forgiveness by giving Him money. You can’t earn His forgiveness by doing great things. You can only receive His forgiveness by going, in your heart, to Jesus’ cross and throwing yourself on His mercy and His love. He’s the only One who can make you clean because He’s the only One who could or would pay the death penalty for all your sin.
So, this can be the day you can bring to Jesus all those mistakes, all the wreckage, the regrets of a lifetime, so you can be clean inside for the first time in your life. Doesn't that sound good? He’s waiting to hear from you. You can talk to Him something like this: “Jesus, You died on that cross to pay for my sin, and you know, I have never really grabbed you in total trust to be my Rescuer from my sin. But beginning today, Jesus, I’m pinning all my hopes on You, because I know you're alive. Starting today, Jesus, I'm yours.”
You know, if you want that new beginning that only Jesus can give you, I urge you to go to our website and check out the information there from the Bible about how to know you have begun a relationship with Jesus and you belong to Him. It's ANewStory.com. And that's a pretty good name for it, because that's where your new story could begin.
See, there's no greater peace, no greater freedom than to be able to say from this day on, “I’m clean! I’ve been washed, and all my dirty spots came out!”
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