This 5-day devotional draws directly from Christopher Sykes's sermon “WOJO - Summer Speaker Series” so you can keep engaging with the message all week. Read, reflect, and share it with your small group or friends.
When the Route Changes, Trust the Guide
Monday — Understanding the Truth
Have you ever had a plan fall completely apart — and wondered if you'd somehow taken a wrong turn with God?
Today's Scripture "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world." — John 16:33
Reflection Jesus said this to his disciples on the night before everything went sideways. They thought they were following the Messiah to a throne. Instead, he told them he was leaving — and that suffering was coming.
They were confused. Heartbroken. And honestly? We get it.
When life reroutes us — an unexpected diagnosis, a job loss, a prayer that seems to go unanswered — our first instinct is to wonder what went wrong. Did I miss God's will? Did I take a wrong turn? Is he disappointed in me?
But Jesus doesn't say any of that. He says: I told you this would happen. And I've already overcome it.
Here's the truth that anchors everything: God never changes the destination. He may change the route. But he never loses the way, and he never loses you. The disciples couldn't see the resurrection coming. They only knew what the moment looked like — and it looked like defeat.
Faith isn't trusting that the road will be smooth. Faith is trusting the One who knows every turn before you reach it. He's not surprised by your detour. He's already been there.
Today's Step Sit with this question today: Is there something in my life I've been calling "a wrong turn" that might actually be God redirecting my route?
A Closing Thought The destination hasn't changed. Neither has the One leading you there.
The Lie That Whispers When Life Gets Hard
Tuesday — When It's Hard
When things fall apart, there's a voice that shows up almost immediately. You know the one.
Today's Scripture "They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering a service to God... But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told them to you." — John 16:2–4
Reflection The voice sounds something like this: If God really loved you, this wouldn't be happening.
It's one of the oldest lies there is. And it hits hardest when you've been doing everything right — praying faithfully, showing up, trying your best — and life still goes sideways. A friendship betrays you. A door closes. The thing you've been believing God for still hasn't come.
Jesus knew his disciples would face exactly this kind of moment. So he didn't just promise them peace — he warned them about the pain first. Not to scare them, but to prepare them. Because when you've been told something is coming, it doesn't hit the same way. The warning becomes a kind of armor.
Difficulty doesn't mean you've been abandoned. It doesn't mean you've sinned. It doesn't mean God forgot your address. Jesus was crystal clear: In this world, you will have trouble. Not might. Not possibly. Will.
The hard seasons aren't evidence that God has left the building. They're the very moments he promised to walk through with you.
Today's Step When the lie surfaces today — if God loved you, this wouldn't be happening — answer it with truth: Jesus said this would come, and he said he's already overcome it.
A Closing Thought You were warned, not abandoned. There's a difference, and it changes everything.
Just Take the Next Step
Wednesday — Putting It Into Practice
You don't have to figure out the next fifty miles. You just have to take the next step.
Today's Scripture "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come." — John 16:13
Reflection One of the most paralyzing things about a rerouted life is how quickly your mind races ahead. You stop focusing on where your feet are and start catastrophizing about everything that could go wrong ten miles down the road.
But here's what's true: you don't navigate the whole race at once. You follow the next marker. Then the next.
The Holy Spirit isn't a GPS that hands you the full route upfront. He's a guide who walks with you — step by step, turn by turn. And he's often already at work in the place you're heading before you even arrive.
So what's the next faithful step for you today? Maybe it's having a conversation you've been putting off. Maybe it's forgiving someone whose name just came to mind. Maybe it's simply showing up — to church, to a commitment, to a relationship — even when you don't feel like it. Maybe it's telling someone what God has done in your life, even if your story feels ordinary to you.
You don't need the whole map. You need the next right move.
Today's Step Name one concrete next step you've been postponing because the route looked uncertain. Write it down, and ask the Holy Spirit to give you the courage to take it today.
A Closing Thought The runners who finish aren't the ones who knew every turn — they're the ones who kept moving when the course changed.
Sorrow Has a Way of Turning
Thursday — What This Looks Like in Real Life
Nobody signs up for the hard part. But sometimes the hard part is exactly what changes everything.
Today's Scripture "When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you." — John 16:21–22
Reflection Think about someone who walked through something that nearly broke them — a business that failed, a marriage that almost didn't make it, a season of illness or loss that seemed to have no end. Ask them about it now, and most of them will tell you the same thing: I wouldn't trade what I learned in that season for anything.
That's not a cliché. That's the pattern Jesus described. Sorrow turning into joy. Pain producing something.
The woman in labor isn't thinking about the stitches or the recovery. She's holding her baby. The suffering was real — but so is the joy that followed, and the joy is what she carries forward.
Your hard season is producing something, too. You may not be able to see it yet. You may be right in the middle of the labor, wondering if it will ever end. But your scars have a way of speaking louder than your successes ever could — especially to someone else who is right where you were.
Don't wait for your story to be finished before God uses it.
Today's Step Think of one person who might need to hear that they're not alone in what they're facing. Could your unfinished story be exactly the encouragement they need right now?
A Closing Thought The pain you're carrying isn't the end of the story. In the hands of a faithful God, it's often the beginning of the best part.
You Already Know How It Ends
Friday — Carrying It Forward
Here's an advantage you have that the disciples didn't: you already know what happens next.
Today's Scripture "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world." — John 16:33
Reflection The disciples heard Jesus say he was leaving, and they were devastated. They had no idea that Pentecost was coming. No idea that the grave wouldn't hold him. No idea that the very thing that looked like the end was actually the turning point of all of human history.
But you do. You know the resurrection happened. You know the Spirit came. You know the story didn't end in that upper room full of confused, grieving friends.
That changes how you carry your own story forward.
Whatever rerouting has happened in your life this week — whatever unexpected turn, unanswered prayer, or confusing detour you're sitting with — you're not navigating it without a guide. And that guide has already read the last page.
Faith isn't certainty about the route. It's confidence in the One who set the destination. He's not reacting to your circumstances. He's not scrambling to adjust. He already overcame it — and he invites you to walk forward in that reality, one faithful step at a time.
This weekend, you don't need all the answers. You just need to trust the guide.
Today's Step As you head into the weekend, carry this with you: The route may change, but Jesus never does. Let that truth settle somewhere deep, and take the next faithful step.
A Closing Thought You were never promised an easy road — but you were promised the best possible guide. That's more than enough.