December 8, 2025 Devo

Having traveled a good bit, I learned a valuable lesson about hotels. Read the reviews. I used to just look at the pictures that the hotel posted about itself. The pictures are almost always fantastic. Beautiful rooms. Wonderful breakfast buffets. Elegant lobbies. But then I’d get there, and the hotel didn’t look anything like the pictures. There would be ragged carpet, worn furniture, and uncomfortable beds. So I started reading the reviews. The pictures are the promises. The reviews are the testing of those promises. In the reviews, people tell you what you can really expect. Sometimes the hotel lives up to the pictures. Other times, people let you know not to believe it. Read the reviews.
That’s one of the ways that I know I can stand on the promises of God. I’ve read the reviews. I’ve not just looked at the pictures He paints in His Word. I’ve listened to the stories of those who have counted on those promises. Just this past weekend, people shared stories with me of how God showed up at just the moment they needed Him to show up. They shared stories of how God provided, of how God intervened, and how God healed. I heard stories of how God gave someone strength through a very difficult circumstance in their life. I heard a story of how God comforted them during a time of deep grief. Listening to these stories and talking to these people reminded me of what the psalmist is saying today. The reviews are in. God’s promises have been tested. You can take Him at His Word.
I say this to those of you who may have awakened a bit doubtful this morning. It’s okay. Doubt creeps into all of our minds from time to time. Maybe your heart has grown a bit fearful, and you find yourself anxious and worried today. Let me set your heart at ease. Read the reviews. You don’t have to just take God at His Word. You can talk to those of us who have had to stand on the very promises you are standing on. We’ll tell you straight. The promises have been tested and are true! We’ve been where you are, experienced what you are going through, and we have found God faithful. Every. Single. Time. The promises of God are more than just nice pictures of hope. They are truths you can stand on. But you don’t have to just take Him at His Word. You can read the reviews. What He’s done for others, He’ll do for YOU! That’s God’s Word for you today.