Monday, August 17, 2026

Bible in a Year Reading Plan: Ruth 1-4 | 1 Corinthians 10

I am a problem solver.

When someone I care about is struggling, my mind immediately starts working. What can I do? Who can I call? Is there a connection I can make or something I can take off their plate?

I don't do it because I think I have all the answers. I do it because helping is one of the ways I know how to love people.

But I am learning that love doesn't always need a solution.

There have been times when I have jumped straight into problem-solving only to realize that what someone really needed was for me to sit with them. To listen. To encourage them. To remind them they weren't walking through whatever they were facing alone.

Sometimes being for someone means doing something.

Sometimes it means simply being there.

And I think Jesus shows us both. In John 13, Jesus didn't just tell his disciples to love one another. He showed them what that love looked like.

Jesus spoke these words during the Last Supper, just after washing his disciples' feet. Judas left to betray him. Peter would soon deny him. The cross was only hours away. Jesus knew exactly what was coming.

And still, he chose to talk about love.

Not an easy love reserved for people who get everything right. Jesus was showing them a love that serves, stays, and gives, even when it costs something.

Then he tells them:

John 13:35 
“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

By the way we love.

That means we may be someone's closest encounter with Jesus today.

They experience something of him when we notice them. When we listen before offering an answer. When we encourage. When we make room. When we show up and stay present when life gets messy.

Being for people doesn't mean we have to have the answer. It means we love them in a way that points them toward the One who does.

When we encourage, care for, invest in, and walk alongside one another, we give people an opportunity to experience the character of Christ through us.

And maybe that is what being FOR one another really looks like.

Questions: 
When someone shares what they are walking through, do you make room to listen before trying to find a solution?

Who has God placed around you who needs to know that someone is genuinely for them?

Next Steps: 
Think of one person who may need to know someone is for them today. Reach out. Ask how they are really doing, and then really listen to their answer.

Maybe there is something you can do.

Maybe they simply need you to be there.

Either way, let the way you love them show them Jesus.

21 Days of Prayer | Today’s Focus: For Courage to Authentically Share and Care 

Prayer: 
Heavenly Father, you have given us the most precious gift, the gift of your story. Forgive us for the times we fail to share it with others or ignore chances to show your love and compassion. Help us set aside anything that would distract us from our mission of introducing people to you, to tell your story. What a privilege it is to share what you've done with those around us. God, we ask you to put people in our path who have yet to hear your story. Help us to trust that you'll give us the right words to share with them. Give us the courage to believe what you say and then act on it, investing in others and inviting them to know you. In Jesus' name, amen.

Series Theme Verse:
John 13:35
“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” 

Written by Monique Myers, a regular contributor to the Daily Devotional.