October 26, 2026 Readings: Genesis 31-32 • Joshua 2–4 • Psalms 10–12 • Isaiah 2–4 • Mark 3–4 • 1 Corinthians 15–16
Seeing the Story
There are times when we simply do not know what is waiting for us around the corner. Today’s readings are filled with people standing in those kinds of places.
Jacob is on his way home, but going home means facing Esau, the brother he deceived years ago. He is afraid, and understandably so. Before that meeting happens, Jacob spends the night wrestling with God. He comes away from that encounter with a new name, Israel, and a limp. Jacob has spent much of his life reaching and scheming for blessing. Now he is learning that the blessing he truly needs can only come from God.
A little later in the story, Israel stands at the Jordan River, preparing to enter the land God promised them. God brings them safely across, and afterward they gather twelve stones from the river. Those stones are there so they will remember. Years later, when their children ask what they mean, they can tell them, “This is what God did for us.”
I love that picture because I need reminders too. It is easy to trust God while looking backward. We can see where He provided, where He carried us, and where He brought us through something we were certain would overwhelm us. It is much harder when we are standing at the edge of our own Jordan and cannot see what comes next.
The Psalms understand that feeling. Evil seems to be winning. People are hurting. Everything feels unsettled. Yet the psalmist keeps coming back to what he knows: the Lord sees, the Lord hears, and His words can be trusted.
Isaiah carries that hope even further. Judgment is coming because of Judah’s sin and pride, but judgment will not be God’s final word. Isaiah looks beyond it to cleansing, restoration, holiness, and the hope of the Branch of the Lord.
Then we come to Mark. The disciples are in a boat, and a violent storm rises around them. Jesus speaks, and the wind and sea become calm. The disciples can only look at one another and wonder, Who is this?
Paul gives us the answer from the other side of the resurrection.
This is Jesus, the One who died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. And because He rose, death itself no longer gets the final word. Those who belong to Him will also be raised.
That is the thread I see running through all of today’s readings. Jacob does not know what Esau will do. Israel has not yet entered the land. The psalmist cannot see justice yet. Isaiah looks beyond judgment. The disciples cannot see beyond the storm. But God already knows the end of every one of those stories.
And because of Jesus, we know the end of ours.
For Today
I have had seasons when I wanted God to show me how everything was going to work out before I was willing to feel at peace.
Maybe you have too.
But God rarely gives us the entire map. More often, He reminds us who He is and asks us to take the next step.
Jacob had to keep walking toward Esau. Israel had to step toward the Jordan. The disciples had to discover that the most important thing about the storm was not its size, but who was in the boat with them.
That may be what we need today.
We may not know what tomorrow holds. We may not understand what God is doing in something we are walking through right now. But we can look back at the stones along the way, those places where God has already shown Himself faithful.
And above all, we can look to the empty tomb.
Christ has risen. Because that is true, our hope does not depend on our circumstances turning out exactly the way we want them to.
Our hope rests in Someone far more certain.
Something to Think About
Where in my life am I allowing the uncertainty of my present circumstances to speak louder than the certainty of God’s promises?
Take a moment and remember a time when God carried you through something you could not see your way through at the beginning.
Maybe you need to remember that today.
Prayer
Father, sometimes I want to know what comes next before I trust You. Help me remember how faithful You have already been. When I am afraid, like Jacob, help me keep walking. When I am standing at my own Jordan, help me take the next step. And when the storm around me feels bigger than my faith, remind me who is in the boat with me. Most of all, keep my eyes on Jesus. Because He died and rose again, I know that even death does not have the final word. Help me trust You with today and leave tomorrow in Your hands. Amen.
Closing Takeaway
We do not have to know what comes next when we know the One who does. God’s faithfulness in the past gives us courage for today, and the resurrection of Jesus gives us hope for whatever tomorrow brings.
~Written by Ebenezer Wayfarer
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