Devotionals
2021
A Wonderful—But Really True—Paradox
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford Were you mystified as a child when you first heard Stephen Foster’s song, “Oh! Susanna, Don’t You Cry for Me”? Was it silly or supposed to be funny? What in the world did it really mean? “It rained all night the day...
“Swift to Hear, Slow to Speak”—Really?
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford Recently a friend whom I hadn’t seen for a while dropped by to see me. Her heart seemed full, and so I mostly drank coffee and listened as she talked of many different things. But as she talked, it seemed as if...
A Vicious Cycle That Must Be Broken
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford “It’s easy for you to be a good Christian, Libby,” a friend once said to me. “You grew up in a Christian home, and your parents were good Christians.” “You’re right, Anna. You know how grateful I am for my godly...
My Inheritance
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth R. Handford Walt and I had a dear friend who was a multi-millionaire. We were very careful never to presume on his generosity because we had heard too many of his “friends” hint without subtlety of their needs. He once said to...
Keeping Your Balance In an Unbalanced World
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus, you can’t help feeling the enormous pressures of our culture against our faith. I sometimes feel like Nik Wallenda, the first person ever to cross Niagara Falls on a...
Something Even Better Than Situational Awareness?
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford Walt and I were flying home from a conference in Michigan in our sturdy airplane, 1368 Juliet. We had almost reached the altitude we had been assigned when suddenly the door on my side of the plane popped open with...
One of the Most Comforting Verses in the Bible
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford People often ask me what my favorite verse in the Bible is, and my answer depends on what I am troubled about at the moment! Sometimes it has been one that you probably can quote from memory: “For God so loved the...
If Only I Could Take Back Those Four Words
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford I was dismayed when I opened my front door to a woman who came to me for counsel.Her face was a taut mask of pain and grief like I’d seldom seen. I hadn’t met her before, and I had no idea of her need. But she could...
“Why Not Now?”
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Handford When I was a child, and Mother was making biscuits, I would read again the line that was printed on every bag of General Mills Gold Medal Flour. It intrigued me so. It was only three words: “Why not now?” I was deeply...
“God, Have You Forgotten Me?”
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Handford Have you ever felt like your world had collapsed, and that God has forgotten you? I remember a Sunday when the Rice family gathered at Mother’s and Daddy’s house for dinner in Wheaton. My sister Grace and her husband...
