Daily Devotional Thoughtful Thursday | August 13, 2026

It’s time for Thursday’s daily devotional. The Apostle Paul gives you a master class in what it takes to walk with God. By no means a weakling, Paul was tough as nails, yet he walked in humility. Paul was meek, not weak, and he was submitted to God. In today’s daily devotional, the Bible says to humble yourself before God. There’s no other way to walk with the Lord.

The Master’s Will

When Paul met Jesus on the Damascus Road, he fell off his horse and was blind for three days. Ananias showed up after the Lord told him that Paul was a “chosen vessel” who’d suffer many things for His name. Paul ate a meal, for he’d been fasting, and then met with the disciples in Damascus. Paul hit the ground running, preaching in the synagogues of Damascus, the city he’d come to hunt believers and take them back to Jerusalem.

From the beginning of his ministry, Paul wasn’t ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In your daily devotional, it doesn’t matter what you did before salvation; after receiving Christ, humility should lead you to do the Master’s will.

A New Life in Christ

In the Old Testament, some gave reasons why God shouldn’t call them. Moses couldn’t speak; Jeremiah was too young, and Gideon’s family was the poorest in the land. Yet Paul didn’t give excuses. He could have cited his deeds against believers, such as consenting to Stephen’s death, breathing out threatenings and slaughter, or seeking letters to bring them bound to Jerusalem. However, Paul said yes to the call and “straightway” preached Christ.

Paul was a changed man and would go on to write that “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” Paul knew from experience that his old life was gone, and he was amazingly new. In this daily devotional, your new life in Christ Jesus is a life of humility and submission to Him.

Preaching the Gospel

After surprising many by his drastic turnaround, Acts 9:22 says, “Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.” An expert in the law and now knowledgeable of salvation by grace through faith, Paul, then called by his Hebrew name Saul, preached the gospel with power. He met opposition right away, for after some time had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him.

They had sent him to catch believers, not to become one. However, Paul escaped the city by being let down the wall in a basket. In today’s daily devotional, when trouble seeks you out, don’t give up the fight. Trust God to make a way of escape.

God Connects You to Others

After arriving in Jerusalem, Paul discovered that the disciples there were afraid of him. They didn’t trust his conversion, perhaps thinking he was a Sanhedrin spy. However, Barnabas took him in and brought him to the apostles, telling them that Paul had seen the Lord and He’d spoken to him. He told them that Paul “had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.” In your daily devotional, when you remain humble, God will connect you to others who can bring you into key spaces.

Learn from Others by Walking in Humility

In Thursday’s daily devotional, Barnabas was a divine connection because now Paul was with the apostles, “coming in and going out,” absorbing the wisdom of those who’d spent three years with the Master. In today’s daily devotional, being teachable and learning from those with greater experience is a sign of humility.