Daily Christian Devotional

17 January, 2026

1 Kings 17.2-6, Psalm 91.9-end, Philippians 3.7-14, Matthew 19.16-26

Elijah is sent into hiding by God, to the Wadi Cherith, where survival depends entirely on obedience and trust. Ravens bring him bread and meat, and water flows from the brook. Nothing about this provision is secure or predictable, yet it is sufficient. Elijah learns that faith often grows in places of apparent scarcity, where reliance on God is no longer theoretical but daily and real.

Psalm 91 proclaims the confidence born of such trust. Those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High are held in God’s care, protected not from all hardship, but within it. God’s faithfulness becomes a refuge, not a guarantee of ease.

Paul, writing to the Philippians, names what Elijah experiences in practice: all that once seemed valuable he now counts as loss, compared to knowing Christ. Faith is not clinging to past achievements, but pressing forward into a life shaped by Christ’s call and promise.

In the Gospel, the rich young man struggles with this same invitation. Jesus calls him to let go, to trust God rather than possessions. The cost feels too great. Yet Jesus insists that what is impossible for us becomes possible with God.

Together, these readings ask us what we rely upon. True life is found not in what we hold, but in whom we trust.

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Prayer

God of faithful provision,
teach us to trust you with our lives.
Free us from false securities
and draw us deeper into Christ.
Give us courage to let go
and grace to press on toward your call,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.