This 5-day devotional draws directly from Braeswood Church's sermon “Wednesday Night Encounter | 07.15.26 - 2026-07-16” so you can keep engaging with the message all week. Read, reflect, and share it with your small group or friends.
No One Can Overthrow What God Has Already Won
Monday — Understanding the Truth
Have you ever looked at the world around you and quietly wondered, Is God still in control of all this?
Today's Scripture "His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him, 'What have you done?'" — Daniel 4:34–35
Reflection Those words weren't written by a theologian in a quiet study. They were written by a king — the most powerful ruler on earth at the time — after God humbled him completely. Nebuchadnezzar had everything: wealth, armies, an empire that stretched to the edges of the known world. And yet, when he forgot who the real authority was, God brought him low. Not to crush him, but to restore him to something better than power — to truth.
The truth is this: God's authority is not fragile. It doesn't rise and fall with world events, election cycles, or the headlines on your phone this morning. No force in heaven or on earth — not even Satan himself — operates outside of God's sovereign reign. The Bible makes it clear that Satan was released at the appointed time, not escaped. Even the enemy moves only when God permits it.
That's not a small thing. It means the chaos you're watching, the uncertainty you're feeling, the opposition you're facing — none of it has surprised God or slipped past him.
Today's Step Take one minute today to sit quietly and say out loud: "God, you are still on the throne." Let that be the lens through which you see everything else today.
A Closing Thought Whatever feels out of control in your life right now, it is not out of his control. That's the foundation the rest of this week is built on.
Greater Than Whatever You're Facing Right Now
Tuesday — When It's Hard
Most of us don't struggle to believe God is powerful in theory. The hard part is believing it when your life feels like it's falling apart.
Today's Scripture "For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations." — Psalm 33:9–11
Reflection There are days when life just gets overwhelming. Maybe you're carrying a diagnosis the doctor gave you last week. Maybe your finances feel like they're unraveling no matter how hard you work. Maybe a relationship you love is fracturing, and you don't know how to fix it. On days like that, the idea that God is all-powerful can feel almost frustrating — like, if he's so powerful, why does this hurt so much?
That's an honest question, and you don't have to pretend you've never asked it.
Here's what's true even on those days: the same God who spoke light into existence — and it simply appeared — is the same God who is present in your struggle right now. He doesn't strain under the weight of your situation. He doesn't pace nervously, unsure of what to do next. Omnipotence, by definition, never struggles.
That doesn't mean your pain isn't real. It is. But it means your pain is not the final word. You don't have to measure God by the size of your problem. You can measure your problem by the size of your God.
Today's Step Write down the one thing that feels most overwhelming to you right now. Beneath it, write: "God is greater than this." Keep it somewhere you'll see it today.
A Closing Thought You are not alone in what you're carrying — and the one who carries it with you has never lost a battle.
Stop Negotiating, Start Surrendering
Wednesday — Putting It Into Practice
Here's a question that might sting a little: Is there an area of your life where you've been telling God yes, but…?
Today's Scripture "But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger… To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life." — Romans 2:7–8
Reflection Surrender sounds dramatic — like something that happens on a battlefield. But in everyday life, it usually looks quieter than that. It looks like finally having that honest conversation you've been avoiding. It looks like releasing a grudge you've been holding onto for years because it felt like the only control you had. It looks like stepping into something God has been nudging you toward, even though it scares you.
The pastor made a distinction worth sitting with: the greatest danger for many of us isn't open rebellion against God — it's quiet negotiation. I'll do this, but not that. I'll follow you here, but not there. That posture assumes we have the authority to set the terms. We don't.
Surrender isn't about losing. It's about releasing the exhausting work of trying to be your own god — and trusting the one who actually is.
So today, ask yourself practically: Where am I resisting? Where am I delaying? Where am I justifying something I know God is asking me to let go of?
Then take one small step toward releasing it. Not a perfect step. Just a real one.
Today's Step Ask God this simple question in prayer: "What is one thing you're asking me to surrender that I've been holding back?" Then sit quietly long enough to actually listen.
A Closing Thought Surrender isn't the end of something good — it's the beginning of something better than you could have managed on your own.
The Man Who Finally Looked Up
Thursday — What This Looks Like in Real Life
Sometimes the most powerful moment in a person's life isn't a victory — it's the moment they stop fighting the wrong battle.
Today's Scripture "At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever." — Daniel 4:34
Reflection Imagine a man who had everything — wealth, authority, the kind of influence most people only dream about. And imagine that same man spending years convinced that his success was entirely his own doing, that he was the final word on his own life.
That was Nebuchadnezzar. And the turning point wasn't a sermon or a quiet moment of reflection. It was a season of complete humbling — a period where everything he trusted in was stripped away — until the only direction left to look was up.
He raised his eyes toward heaven. That's the line that changes everything.
We all know someone like this — maybe we've been someone like this. Someone who ran hard in their own direction, certain they had it figured out, until life made it impossible to keep pretending. And then, in the wreckage of their own plans, they finally looked up. And they found that God was still there. Still patient. Still ready.
That's what surrender actually looks like in a real life. Not dramatic. Not perfect. Just a person, finally looking up — and finding grace waiting for them.
Today's Step Think of a season in your own life when God used a hard circumstance to redirect you. Spend a few minutes thanking him for not letting you stay where you were.
A Closing Thought The moment you look up is never too late — and it's always the right moment to start.
You Don't Have to Wait Until Tomorrow
Friday — Carrying It Forward
This week has been about one thing: God's authority is real, his power is unmatched, and resistance against him is always a losing battle — which means surrender is not defeat. It's the wisest move you'll ever make.
Today's Scripture "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." — John 3:16
Reflection Here's the thing about the judge who will one day bring all of history to its close: he is the same one who offers you mercy today. That's not a small detail — it's the whole point.
The story of this week hasn't been about doom or fear. It's been about freedom. Every time humanity has tried to resist God's rule — in Eden, in Babylon, at the end of the age — it has failed. Not because God is harsh, but because nothing built outside of him can stand. And the invitation he extends isn't earn your way back — it's simply come.
As you head into the weekend, carry this with you: you don't have to have everything figured out. You don't have to clean yourself up first. You don't have to wait for a better moment. The same God who holds all authority, who exercises all power, who will one day execute all judgment — he is also the God who gave. He gave everything so that you could stand before him not as someone condemned, but as someone redeemed.
That's a gift worth receiving today. Not tomorrow. Today.
Today's Step Before the weekend pulls you in every direction, take five minutes to pray — not a formal prayer, just an honest one. Tell God where you are. Ask him to lead you from here.
A Closing Thought The God who holds the universe together is holding your life together too — and he's not letting go.