Find Daily Hope, Strength & Encouragement
Life can feel overwhelming, but God’s Word reminds us we are never alone. These devotionals are crafted to meet you in the middle of your struggles, offering practical encouragement, spiritual insights, and eternal hope inspired by 3 Seconds on Earth.
Why I Created These Devotionals
When I wrote 3 Seconds on Earth, I knew the message couldn’t stop with the last page. My prayer has always been that people would live every day with eternity in mind — and that’s where these devotionals come in.
These resources are here to encourage you, equip you, and remind you of God’s presence — even when life feels heavy. Each devotional is short and easy to read, yet deeply rooted in Scripture and real-life experiences that connect with your daily walk.
You’ll find stories of faith, messages of hope, and practical truths you can carry with you through the chaos, uncertainty, and fears of life.
And just like the book, every devotional points back to one central truth: Our time on Earth is brief, but our purpose is eternal.
When the Door Stays Closed
“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me.”
– Psalm 23:4 (NLT)
There are times when we cry out for God to open a door, but nothing happens. We ask for healing, clarity, or a way out—and all we hear is silence. The waiting drags on, and the lack of response can feel like rejection. But what if God’s goal isn’t always to rescue us quickly, but to meet us deeply?
In his book, The Pressure’s Off, Dr. Larry Crabb shares a story from his childhood. One day, as a young boy, he accidentally locked himself in the bathroom. Panicked, he tried everything to get out. Eventually, his father climbed in through the window and unlocked the door. The moment he was freed, Larry stopped crying, ran past his dad, and went straight back to playing.
Crabb uses this as a picture of how we often treat God. We beg Him to fix the immediate crisis, and when He does, we race back into life, often forgetting the very One who helped us. But what if, instead of rushing to solve the problem, God wants to slow things down? What if the deeper purpose is not to get us out of the struggle, but to sit with us in it?
Sometimes, God crawls into the locked room not just to open the door, but to increase his connection with us. Those are the time when we give Him our full attention. Our eyes are fixed. We’re listening. We’re waiting. That kind of closeness rarely happens when things are going well.
God is often more concerned with our character than our comfort, and what feels like a crisis may actually be His way of drawing us closer. In the stillness that follows struggle, we begin to reevaluate what truly matters. Distractions fall away, and our priorities shift from the temporary to the eternal. Sometimes the trial itself is the tool God uses to deepen intimacy with Him—inviting us to let go of what is trivial and focus on what is lasting in the short time we have on this earth.
The closed door might not mean you're stuck, it might mean God is drawing you in, saying, “Let’s spend time here. I want to show you something.”
Prayer
God, help me stop asking only for escape. Teach me to see Your presence as the answer I need most. If this struggle draws me closer to You, let it not be wasted.
You can read more reflections like this in 3 Seconds on Earth: Breaking Free from Anxiety, Regret, and the Fear of Death by Philip Hemmings at 3SecondsOnEarth.com.
Listen To Our Podcast Episode.
Not everyone connects through reading — sometimes we need to hear the words spoken aloud. The 3 Seconds on Earth Podcast brings the themes of the book and devotionals to life through conversations, reflections, and biblical insights you can listen to anytime, anywhere.
