God Is Here Even Now
God is here even now, and he knows what's on your mind before you say a word. You don't have to explain what you're afraid of, or what you're hiding. He already knows.
That kind of knowing would sound frightening if you didn't know where it comes from. He isn't watching this closely to catch you out. He's watching so you won't have to carry what you brought here alone.
Today's Guiding Word
“Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul... And even the hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:28,30-31
Today's first reading arrives at the same place from another direction: “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.” (Wisdom 3:1) What the world reads as ruin, God's hand holds as quiet safety.
Walk Toward the Light in God's Presence
Jesus says the same thing twice today: do not be afraid. Between the two, he slips in a line that sounds frightening at first: fear the one who can destroy both soul and body. But it isn't a threat. It's an order of priority. There's one thing worth your fear, and a great many things that no longer deserve it.
Whatever can be done to your body was never going to be the final word. The sparrow is the picture for that: two of them sold for next to nothing, yet not one falls to the ground apart from the Father. Even the hairs on your head are numbered, not because the count matters, but because you're known that completely.
Saint Gerard, whose feast the Church keeps today, spent a lifetime knowing the one he would eventually die for. When martyrdom finally came for him, he didn't receive it as a punishment. He received it as a gift, because he knew who he belonged to. That kind of trust doesn't come from danger disappearing. It comes from knowing there's no depth where you'd be left alone.
And that's exactly what dissolves the other fear that might be sitting closer to you this morning: that if people saw you as you really are, they'd turn away. In front of God, that fear has nothing to stand on. He already sees everything in you, including the thought you're ashamed of, and he hasn't turned away yet. You don't need a mask in front of him. If anything, the mask is what keeps you from letting him close.
Today's step: name what you're afraid of
Today, the moment a fear surfaces in you, small or large, don't push it aside quickly.
Say it to God, in one plain sentence, exactly as it is. You don't have to solve it. It's enough that you're no longer carrying it alone.
I Praise You, Living God
Heavenly Father, who numbers the hairs on my head
I praise you, Father, because nothing is too small for your attention. A sparrow sells for almost nothing, and still you know when it falls. You know me even more closely than that: you number the hairs on my head, not because you're counting, but because nothing that belongs to me ever slips past your notice.
I bless you, because the book of Wisdom says the souls of the righteous are in your hand, untouched by torment, and that isn't a distant promise but a fact true of me this morning. I exalt you, because you know me down to my deepest thought, and still you draw near. I praise you, because your watchfulness over me was never anxiety. It's life itself: the source I get to begin from again every day.
Lord Jesus Christ, who say twice: do not be afraid
I praise you, Lord Jesus, because today you told me twice: do not be afraid. Not once, leaving me alone with the question, but again, because you knew I wouldn't fully believe it the first time. Your love was never a one-time gesture. It's a presence that stays, returning to me every time I forget it.
I adore you, because you free me not only from the fear of dying, but from the deeper fear of carrying my shame alone. I exalt you, because what I'm ashamed of, you don't hold up to me like a mirror. You carry it away and bury it at the foot of the cross. I bless you, because you're a victorious King who still bends down to search for me like a Shepherd.
Holy Spirit, who gave courage to martyrs and give it to me too
I praise you, Holy Spirit, because you're the one who gave Saint Gerard courage when martyrdom came for him, and you offer me that same courage, for far smaller trials. Not so I'll be a hero, but so I won't run from what I'm afraid to say out loud today.
I bless you, because you search me, and still I don't run from you. I exalt you, because your work in me isn't exposure, it's freedom: you take off the mask I could never take off myself. I praise you, because you're a living Fire, and your flame doesn't burn. It lights the way.
Holy Trinity, one living God who gives courage
I praise you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one living God. The Father numbers the hairs on my head, the Son says twice: do not be afraid, the Spirit gives me the courage to stand before you without a mask.
With you my soul is safe, even when my body still trembles. Glory to you, today too, in this very minute. Amen.
Here I Am, Lord
Lord, I bring you this Thursday, and with it every fear I find in myself this morning, the small ones and the larger ones too. I don't want to hide any of them from you.
I bring you my body, however I actually feel today, and my soul too, with whatever loneliness or anxiety is in it, if it's there. I don't have to perform strength I don't actually have right now. It's enough that you know.
I bring you my family, my work today, the people I'll meet, and the decisions I might make out of fear. Let fear not be what drives me, but the certainty that I'm in your hand.
A Song to Carry Into Today
This song says exactly what today's guiding word says: your soul has permission to take courage, because God is faithful and knows your name.
Take Courage
Kristene DiMarco · Bethel Music recording
▶Listen on YouTubeI'm worth more than many sparrows. He knows my name, and he won't let go.
View the sources used
- Today's Gospel · Matthew 10:28-33 · Jesus teaches us not to fear those who can kill the body but not the soul
- Today's reading · Wisdom 3:1-9 · "The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God" – the peace of the just beneath the appearance of death
- Daily Gospel newsletter (evangelium365.hu) · 09.24.2026 · confirms today's Gospel (Matthew 10:28-33)
- Regnum Christi devotional · "Witness Born of Love" · 09.24.2026 · on Saint Gerard's martyrdom, and how God's testing calls us to a greater love
- Cistercian House, Baja (Hungary) · 09.24 · "the one thing that matters most is…" (subject line only – today's message again arrived as an image, with no text)
- A Miracle Every Day (jesus.net) · 09.24.2026 · "What if we threw off the masks?" – on Psalm 139:1-4,23, on not performing for God
- Fr. Barsi Balázs's Napi ráhangoló (barsitelekmm.blogspot.com) · 09.24.2026 · on the command to "fear" tucked between two "do not fear"s, and trust that isn't recklessness
- Jesus Calling · most recent available: 09.23 · God buries the weight of guilt at the foot of the cross (Psalm 68:19)
- Daily Hope (Rick Warren) · most recent available: 09.23 · taking responsibility in relationships
Today's devotional is built on the twofold "Do not be afraid" of Matthew 10:28-33: the only fear worth having isn't bodily danger but drifting from God, and even that fear dissolves once you know that God numbers your very hairs. Today's first reading (Wisdom 3:1-9) on the souls of the righteous in God's hand echoes the same truth, as does Fr. Barsi Balázs's reflection today (from the primary source, barsitelekmm.blogspot.com, matching today's date) on trust that carries responsibility rather than recklessness, and today's Regnum Christi reflection on Saint Gerard's martyrdom. Today's Miracle Every Day letter is about honesty before God and taking off the mask, which supplies the devotional's second thread: surrendered trust. The Cistercian House's daily message again arrived as an image with no text, but its subject line alone points toward today. Jesus Calling, on US time, had not yet posted today's entry by 7 a.m. in Budapest, so yesterday's (09.23) edition is listed instead, about setting down the weight of guilt, which fits closely with today's message. Daily Hope is likewise listed from the previous day due to the same time-zone gap. The First15 newsletter did not arrive today.
The road we walk together
Yesterday was about how God asks for no explanation, only that you show up; today carries that further: you don't need to hide your fear from him either, because he has known you all along, and he won't let go.