What Are You Really Building On? - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - September 6, 2025

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What Are You Really Building On? 
By Rick Warren

“For we fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 (GNT)

Most people rarely evaluate their values or question their perceptions until they have a crisis. 

It’s often in deep pain that you begin to examine what you’re building your life on. You might realize you’ve been living your life to feel good, look good, or accumulate wealth or power. But in a crisis, you instinctively know that there has to be more to life. 

So why wait for a crisis to evaluate your values? Instead, stop today to consider what you should value. Start by asking yourself this critical question: What’s going to last?

The world seems to value the here and now. Its message is that tomorrow doesn’t matter. Next year doesn’t matter. A thousand years from today doesn’t matter. Eternity and heaven don’t matter. Live for today. Live for yourself. Live it up. You only live once!

But we know that’s not true, because the Bible says something different: “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17 NIV).

Consider what happens when you’re tempted. Temptation isn’t just a battle between good and bad or what’s best and what’s not best. 

Temptation is always a battle between now and later: Will I do what God says and enjoy the benefits later, or will I do what I want and enjoy the benefits now? 

The Bible teaches us to “fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18 GNT).

Whether you’re in a crisis or not, take some time to evaluate what you’re basing your life on. Are you living it up, or are you giving your life away? Ask the hard questions that reveal where you have put your trust and how you have invested your time and resources.

Then choose to build your life on God’s truth. It will last forever and never let you down.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick

Rick Warren is an innovative pastor, renowned author, and global influencer known for founding Saddleback Church, the Purpose Driven Network, the PEACE Plan, and Hope for Mental Health. He has written several best-selling books, including The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold over 35 million copies in 200 languages. Time magazine named Warren the most influential spiritual leader in America and one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Since stepping down from the lead pastor role at Saddleback in 2022, Warren has continued to inspire people through his Daily Hope Devotional and podcast Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope. His first book in a decade, Created to Dream, was released in April 2023.

For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!

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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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