Today's Devotional

You Can’t Just Sit There

February 24, 2026 ●

By Pastor Jerry A. Burns

Ecclesiastes 9:10

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."

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Several years ago, a man named Larry Walters decided he wanted a new perspective on life. So he strapped forty-five helium weather balloons to a lawn chair, packed a sandwich and a BB gun, and expected to rise about 100 feet. Instead, he shot up over 11,000 feet, drifting straight into the air traffic pattern near Los Angeles International Airport. Too frightened to shoot the balloons and come down, he floated for hours, disrupting flights across the country. When reporters asked why he did it, his answer was simple: “Because you can’t just sit there.”

There is something in that statement that resonates with all of us. God has placed within the human heart a desire to move, to act, to live with purpose. We were not created to drift through life in a lawn chair of comfort and boredom. We were made to serve, to obey, to step forward in faith. The problem is not the desire to do something — it’s what we attach our lives to. Walters tied himself to balloons of his own choosing, without wisdom, without counsel, and without understanding the consequences. His need for movement became reckless drifting.

As a pastor, I’ve seen both extremes. Some believers are paralyzed by fear — afraid to serve, afraid to witness, afraid to step into what God is calling them to do. Others rush ahead without prayer, without Scripture, without seeking the Lord’s direction. One group never leaves the ground. The other floats into dangerous airspace. The key is not just movement — it’s Spirit-led movement.

“You can’t just sit there” is true — but neither can you just launch yourself on impulse. The will of God gives us both purpose and boundaries. When we wait on Him, we don’t drift — we soar safely. When we move in obedience, we don’t disrupt — we build. When we step out by faith, anchored to truth, we don’t panic at 11,000 feet — we trust the One who rules the heavens.

Don’t sit in spiritual apathy. But don’t strap yourself to worldly balloons either. Ask the Lord what He would have you to do — and then do it with all your might.

Application

Ask yourself today: Am I sitting still in spiritual complacency, or am I moving forward under God’s direction? Take one clear, prayerful step of obedience — whether it’s sharing your faith, beginning that ministry opportunity, restoring a relationship, or deepening your time in the Word. Don’t drift impulsively, but don’t remain idle either. Trust the Lord, seek His guidance, and then step forward in faith.

Victory Verse

"As for God, his way is perfect; The word of the LORD is tried: He is a buckler to all them that trust in him." — 2 Samuel 22:31

Additional Verses

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way."

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ."

Daily Scripture Reading

Join us as we read through the Bible in one year, growing together in God’s Word day by day. Click on any underlined verse to access Pastor Burns’ helpful study notes and deeper insights.

Standard Plan

Mixed Plan

Chronological Plan

Psalm 90

1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.

6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.

7 For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.

8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.

10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

13 Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.

14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.

16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.

17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

Leviticus 1-2

1 And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.

3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord.

4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

5 And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

6 And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.

7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:

8 And the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:

9 But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.

10 And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.

11 And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar.

12 And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:

13 But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.

14 And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the Lord be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons.

15 And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar:

16 And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes:

17 And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.

(Leviticus 2)

1 And when any will offer a meat offering unto the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:

2 And he shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord:

3 And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire.

4 And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baken in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.

5 And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.

6 Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meat offering.

7 And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in the fryingpan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.

8 And thou shalt bring the meat offering that is made of these things unto the Lord: and when it is presented unto the priest, he shall bring it unto the altar.

9 And the priest shall take from the meat offering a memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.

10 And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire.

11 No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by fire.

12 As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the Lord: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour.

13 And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.

14 And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the Lord, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears.

15 And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meat offering.

16 And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

Mark 5:1-20

1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.

2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,

3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:

4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.

5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,

7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.

9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.

11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.

12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.

13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.

14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.

15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.

17 And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.

18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.

19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.

20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

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This Week's Radio Program

Week Twelve • March 22, 2026

Trust in Him

Trusting God in the Storms (Pt. 3)

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Storms don’t schedule appointments. One moment the sun is shining, the next the wind is howling and everything feels out of control. In this message from Mark 6, we walk with the disciples into a very real storm on the Sea of Galilee — tired, rowing hard, and making little progress. The wind was contrary. The night was long. And Jesus was not in the boat… at least not yet.

But what they did not realize was that while they were fighting the storm, Jesus was watching from the mountain. He saw them toiling. And in the fourth watch of the night — when strength was gone and hope was thin — He came walking on the water. When they acknowledged Him, everything changed. The storm ceased. The fear faded. The destination was reached.

Most of us know what it feels like to row against contrary winds — burdens, opposition, uncertainty, exhaustion. Proverbs 3 reminds us that storms reveal what we’re leaning on. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” The question is not if storms will come — Isaiah 43 says when. The question is: Who are you trusting when they do?

In this message, we explore three powerful truths: a reliance upon God, a recognition of His presence, and a rebuke against trusting our own wisdom. Calm does not come from better rowing — it comes from Christ in the boat. Join us as we learn how to put all our weight down and trust Him fully, even when the winds are strong.

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