Don’t Grow Cold - Encouragement for Today - September 24, 2025

Carbonatix Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Carbonatix

Jess ConnollySeptember 24, 2025

Don’t Grow Cold
JESS CONNOLLY

Lee en español

“… my body wasted away … My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.” Psalm 32:3-4 (NLT)

“Are you feeling warm or cold?”

It was an emergency counseling session with my long-trusted therapist. After something deeply painful happened in my family, I showed up teary and unraveling.

But she kept checking on my body temperature.

She explained: When someone is in trauma or shock, the body often feels cold. It’s a signal of dissociation — the nervous system freezing to protect you. She didn’t want to end our session until I felt warm again.

I immediately remembered two painful events from the past year: one where I was emotionally frozen, cold, and detached — the other where my face flushed with tears and my chest burned with grief. I didn’t feel ashamed about either response. But the second, where I stayed connected to the pain and to God, was where healing truly began.

This made me marvel at God. He has designed our bodies to endure the unimaginable, but He has also given us clues for when it’s time to come home to ourselves.

You may have already done something warming today. Maybe just reading this devotion, reaching for hope, is the bravest thing you’ve done in a while — especially if your pain has left you numb.

David, a man after God’s own heart, described in Scripture what happens when we stay cold, hide our pain or sin, and disconnect from God: “My body wasted away … My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat” (Psalm 32:3-4).

But then something shifted in the next verse. When David confessed, he warmed back up physically, spiritually, and emotionally. He found forgiveness and renewed strength:

“Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone” (Psalm 32:5, NLT).

David didn’t pretend that he didn’t need God. He didn’t see grief or guilt as threats to his faith but as invitations to deeper connection with his Father.

David likely wrote this psalm after confessing his sin with Bathsheba. He’d first written Psalm 51, a beautiful lament and cry for mercy. But Psalm 32 is post-repentance, a reflection of the warmth that followed truth-telling and surrender.

Maybe we're not hiding major moral failures, but we’re weary from circumstances beyond our control: heartbreak, burnout, betrayal, disappointment. Even in those spaces, David’s words offer us both encouragement and warning. Healing can’t happen while we’re emotionally frozen.

There’s no shame if you’ve stayed numb to survive. But there’s another way that begins with turning toward God and telling the truth about how you got here … and how it feels to be here now.

We can’t ask, “What’s next?” until we’ve answered, “What’s happening in me right now?”

It will require courage and trust. But in time, you’ll be grateful you chose to stay warm instead of letting your heart grow cold.

God, You aren’t afraid of my feelings. Thank You for creating me as a whole person — body, mind, and spirit — and for staying near even when I shut down. Help me come back to You today with honesty and warmth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

OUR FAVORITE THINGS

For more encouragement to face what’s hard with honesty and hope, grab a copy of Jess Connolly’s new book, What Comes Next: 40 Days of Healing After Heartbreak, Burnout, or Brokenness.

width

ENGAGE

Follow Jess on Instagram @jessaconnolly or at jessconnolly.com. You can also listen to The Jess Connolly Podcast!

Enter to WIN your very own copy of What Comes Next by Jess Connolly. To celebrate this book, Jess’ publisher will give away 5 copies! Enter to win by filling out the form here. {We’ll randomly select 5 winners and notify them via email by Monday, September 29, 2025.}

FOR DEEPER STUDY

Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (NLT).

Isaiah 61:1b-2, “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted … to comfort all who mourn …” (NIV).

What part of your heart has grown cold, and what might it look like to bring that part back to God today?

How do you tend to cope with deep pain? What helps you feel emotionally and spiritually “warm” again? Share with us in the comments!

© 2025 by Jess Connolly. All rights reserved.

 

Salem News Channel Today

Sponsored Links


September 26 - Phoenix, AZ
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts


November 2 - Detroit, MI
Zion Christian Church in Troy


October 6 - Los Angeles, CA
Pasadena Convention Center


November 5 - San Antonio, TX
Norris Centers – The Grand Red Oak Ballroom


October 8 - Sacramento, CA
William Jessup University


November 7 - Tampa, FL
The Palladium at St. Pete College


October 22 - Minneapolis, MN
Crowne Plaza AiRE


November 15 - San Francisco, CA
Fremont Marriott Silicon Valley


October 23 - Philadelphia, PA
Green Valley Country Club


November 16 - Denver, CO
CU South Denver - Formerly Wildlife Experience


November 2 - Chicago, IL
Chicago Westin Northwest in Itasca


November 21 - Cleveland, OH
Holiday Inn Rockside in Independence



Salem Radio Network Speakers

Larry Elder is an American lawyer, writer, and radio and television personality who calls himself the "Sage of South Central" a district of Los Angeles, Larry says his philosophy is to entertain, inform, provoke and to hopefully uplift. His calling card is "we have a country to save" and to him this means returning to the bedrock Constitutional principles of limited government and maximum personal responsibility. Elder's iconoclastic wit and intellectual agility makes him a particularly attractive voice in a nation that seems weary of traditional racial dialogue.” – Los Angeles Times.

Mike Gallagher Mike Gallagher began his broadcasting career in 1978 in Dayton, Ohio. Today, he is one of the most listened-to talk radio show hosts in America, recently having been ranked in the Talkers Magazine “Heavy Hundred” list – the 100 most important talk radio hosts in America. Prior to being launched into national syndication in 1998, Mike hosted the morning show on WABC-AM in New York City. Today, Talkers Magazine reports that his show is heard by over 3.75 million weekly listeners. Besides his radio work, Mike is seen on Fox News Channel as an on-air contributor, frequently appearing on the cable news giant.

Hugh Hewitt is one of the nation’s leading bloggers and a genuine media revolutionary. He brings that expertise, his wit and what The New Yorker magazine calls his “amiable but relentless manner” to his nationally syndicated show each day.

When Dr. Sebastian Gorka was growing up, he listened to talk radio under his pillow with a transistor radio, dreaming that one day he would be behind the microphone. Beginning New Year’s Day 2019, he got his wish. Gorka now hosts America First every weekday afternoon 3 to 6pm ET. Gorka’s unique story works well on the radio. He is national security analyst for the Fox News Channel and author of two books: "Why We Fight" and "Defeating Jihad." His latest book releasing this fall is “War For America’s Soul.” He is uniquely qualified to fight the culture war and stand up for what is great about America, his adopted home country.

Broadcasting from his home station of KRLA in Los Angeles, the Dennis Prager Show is heard across the country. Everything in life – from politics to religion to relationships – is grist for Dennis’ mill. If it’s interesting, if it affects your life, then Dennis will be talking about it – with passion, humor, insight and wisdom.

Sean Hannity is a conservative radio and television host, and one of the original primetime hosts on the Fox News Channel, where he has appeared since 1996. Sean Hannity began his radio career at a college station in California, before moving on to markets in the Southeast and New York. Today, he’s one of the most listened to on-air voices. Hannity’s radio program went into national syndication on September 10, 2001, and airs on more than 500 stations. Talkers Magazine estimates Hannity’s weekly radio audience at 13.5 million. In 1996 he was hired as one of the original hosts on Fox News Channel. As host of several popular Fox programs, Hannity has become the highest-paid news anchor on television.

Michelle Malkin is a mother, wife, blogger, conservative syndicated columnist, longtime cable TV news commentator, and best-selling author of six books. She started her newspaper journalism career at the Los Angeles Daily News in 1992, moved to the Seattle Times in 1995, and has been penning nationally syndicated newspaper columns for Creators Syndicate since 1999. She is founder of conservative Internet start-ups Hot Air and Twitchy.com. Malkin has received numerous awards for her investigative journalism, including the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) national award for outstanding service for the cause of governmental ethics and leadership (1998), the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award for Investigative Journalism (2006), the Heritage Foundation and Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity's Breitbart Award for Excellence in Journalism (2013), the Center for Immigration Studies' Eugene Katz Award for Excellence in the Coverage of Immigration Award (2016), and the Manhattan Film Festival's Film Heals Award (2018). Married for 26 years and the mother of two teenage children, she lives with her family in Colorado. Follow her at michellemalkin.com. (Photo reprinted with kind permission from Peter Duke Photography.)

Sponsored by:

Don’t Grow Cold - Encouragement for Today - September 24, 2025

Carbonatix Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Carbonatix

Jess ConnollySeptember 24, 2025

Don’t Grow Cold
JESS CONNOLLY

Lee en español

“… my body wasted away … My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.” Psalm 32:3-4 (NLT)

“Are you feeling warm or cold?”

It was an emergency counseling session with my long-trusted therapist. After something deeply painful happened in my family, I showed up teary and unraveling.

But she kept checking on my body temperature.

She explained: When someone is in trauma or shock, the body often feels cold. It’s a signal of dissociation — the nervous system freezing to protect you. She didn’t want to end our session until I felt warm again.

I immediately remembered two painful events from the past year: one where I was emotionally frozen, cold, and detached — the other where my face flushed with tears and my chest burned with grief. I didn’t feel ashamed about either response. But the second, where I stayed connected to the pain and to God, was where healing truly began.

This made me marvel at God. He has designed our bodies to endure the unimaginable, but He has also given us clues for when it’s time to come home to ourselves.

You may have already done something warming today. Maybe just reading this devotion, reaching for hope, is the bravest thing you’ve done in a while — especially if your pain has left you numb.

David, a man after God’s own heart, described in Scripture what happens when we stay cold, hide our pain or sin, and disconnect from God: “My body wasted away … My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat” (Psalm 32:3-4).

But then something shifted in the next verse. When David confessed, he warmed back up physically, spiritually, and emotionally. He found forgiveness and renewed strength:

“Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone” (Psalm 32:5, NLT).

David didn’t pretend that he didn’t need God. He didn’t see grief or guilt as threats to his faith but as invitations to deeper connection with his Father.

David likely wrote this psalm after confessing his sin with Bathsheba. He’d first written Psalm 51, a beautiful lament and cry for mercy. But Psalm 32 is post-repentance, a reflection of the warmth that followed truth-telling and surrender.

Maybe we're not hiding major moral failures, but we’re weary from circumstances beyond our control: heartbreak, burnout, betrayal, disappointment. Even in those spaces, David’s words offer us both encouragement and warning. Healing can’t happen while we’re emotionally frozen.

There’s no shame if you’ve stayed numb to survive. But there’s another way that begins with turning toward God and telling the truth about how you got here … and how it feels to be here now.

We can’t ask, “What’s next?” until we’ve answered, “What’s happening in me right now?”

It will require courage and trust. But in time, you’ll be grateful you chose to stay warm instead of letting your heart grow cold.

God, You aren’t afraid of my feelings. Thank You for creating me as a whole person — body, mind, and spirit — and for staying near even when I shut down. Help me come back to You today with honesty and warmth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

OUR FAVORITE THINGS

For more encouragement to face what’s hard with honesty and hope, grab a copy of Jess Connolly’s new book, What Comes Next: 40 Days of Healing After Heartbreak, Burnout, or Brokenness.

width

ENGAGE

Follow Jess on Instagram @jessaconnolly or at jessconnolly.com. You can also listen to The Jess Connolly Podcast!

Enter to WIN your very own copy of What Comes Next by Jess Connolly. To celebrate this book, Jess’ publisher will give away 5 copies! Enter to win by filling out the form here. {We’ll randomly select 5 winners and notify them via email by Monday, September 29, 2025.}

FOR DEEPER STUDY

Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (NLT).

Isaiah 61:1b-2, “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted … to comfort all who mourn …” (NIV).

What part of your heart has grown cold, and what might it look like to bring that part back to God today?

How do you tend to cope with deep pain? What helps you feel emotionally and spiritually “warm” again? Share with us in the comments!

© 2025 by Jess Connolly. All rights reserved.

 

Salem News Channel Today

Sponsored Links

On Air & Up Next

See the Full Program Guide