The Lord believes in you (1) - All The Word for Today Daily Devotionals for 2026

John 14:12 NJKV

A school district picked three teachers to pilot a special program. They were told, "You are the best teachers we have. We want you to teach ninety high-IQ students and see how much they can learn in a year." By the end of the school year, after having heard how special they were and what great potential they had, these students had achieved 20 to 30 percent more than the rest of the school district.

That's when the principal called the three teachers into his office and told them: "I have a confession to make. You did not have ninety high-IQ students. They were run-of-the-mill students randomly selected." The teachers felt pretty good about what they pulled off. Then the principal said, "I have another confession. You are not the best teachers we have. Your names were the first three out of the hat." So if they were average students taught by average teachers, how did they achieve above-average results? Because someone believed in them and told them so!

The German poet Goethe said, "Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be." No one modelled this better than Jesus: "The works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do." We need someone who believes in us more than we believe in ourselves. That's who Jesus is. That's what Jesus does. That's why you need to feed on His Word each day.

Soul food: Gen 17-19; John 12:37-50; Ps 118:19-29; Pro 30:5-6