But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. – Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

Have you ever put your confidence in the wrong thing? I remember a time when there was a guy attending youth group, and I was certain he was going to be the person I married. I dreamed of what our kids might look like. Every night, I’d write in my journal about all the great qualities this guy had.

The thing was, I was actually putting my confidence in the wrong thing. I was so certain that he was perfect for me, that I never asked God what He thought about the relationship.

Come to find out, he asked one of my friends from youth group to be his girlfriend. So there I was, completely upset, all because I had put my confidence in the wrong thing. I had made this guy to be so great in my mind, but hadn’t asked God what He thought about my future with Him. If I had, I’m sure He would have shown me that we weren’t right for each other and that we didn’t have a future together.

Today’s Truth: Don’t Put Your Confidence in the Wrong Thing

There are many things we can put our confidence in. However, if we want to avoid major heartbreak and disappointment, we’d be wise to put our confidence in God. He’s the one who can’t lie, make mistakes or disappoint.

So if you’ve been guilty of not building your life on God and His word, determine to make the adjustments needed. God wants you to walk in joy and freedom and that comes by following Him first and putting your confidence in Him.

So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! – Hebrews 10:35 (NLT)

There have been a few times in my life when my confidence has been really shaken. One time in my first year of college, I moved in with my roommate. I was so excited because the two of us were best friends. I knew we were going to have a great time and make so many memories.

We had fun running to the store to get things for our apartment. With our hard work, the apartment was looking good and we were having a blast getting it ready.

Then, a few months after I moved in, my roommate suddenly, without warning decided to tell me she wanted me to move out immediately. She wanted me to find a new place to live and gave me two weeks to do it. My confidence was shaken. I didn’t know what to do. There were no open apartments near me, and I was out of ideas as to what I should do.

It can be hard to know what to do when your confidence gets shaken. What do you do when a trusted friend lets you down in a big way like mine had done?

I chose at that moment to fully trust God. I didn’t know how He would do it, but I knew that He would make a way. So I kept being positive and trusting God when inside I felt like crying. The good news was, about a week later, God came through for me.

Another apartment suddenly became available in the complex where I currently lived. I was able to move into that place, just in time.

Today’s Truth: Place Your Confidence In God

You might have times when you felt like I did in college when one of my best friends let me down. Yet in the middle of that, God was there for me. He provided a way for me to have a good place to live. And God wants to do the same for you.

If a friend has let you down, realize that God is there for you to get through it. Friends won’t always do the right thing, but God will never let you down. He is always faithful, and always wants to provide a way for you and your needs.

Don’t work only while being watched, in order to please men, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will from your heart. – Ephesians 6:6

Working a job can be really hard sometimes. It’s easy to get tired of your job, or feel like you don’t want to work very hard at times. Staying motivated at work can be pretty difficult.

Today’s verse is talking about work. It challenges us to not just do a good job when our boss is watching us or when there’s profit for us, but rather to be doing a good job all the time. We should be working hard and doing a good job because we want to do the right thing for God.

Working hard and doing the right thing when no one else is watching is hard. It’s easier to slack off when no one watches or just take it easy. It takes character to work hard and do the right thing when no one is watching and there is no profit for you by doing it. Challenge yourself today to work hard and do the right thing, regardless of who sees. Choose to live your life to please God.

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. – 1 Corinthians 16:13 (NLT)

I remember a time when I jumped off a cliff. Before you freak out, yes it was a real literal cliff. However, below it was a lake full of deep clear water, and I could swim well, so there was no real danger in doing it. I remember climbing up the rocks to get to the top.

The cliff hadn’t looked very high from the water, but when I was standing at the top of it looking down, the distance to the water seemed farther than I thought. That’s when the fear kicked in.

I stood at the top. I wanted to jump, yet it looked too far down. I saw the people who had jumped before me, down in the water below me and they were laughing and having a good time. I knew that jumping wouldn’t hurt me, yet it looked too far.

Have you ever felt like that when it comes to the things of God? Maybe the dream in your heart feels too far away. Perhaps the things that God is speaking to you to do seem too big and too scary. What do you do when you feel that way?

Today’s Truth: Jump Even When Things Seem Scary

When I was standing on the edge of that cliff, I decided to jump. Yes, I was afraid. However, I knew that once I jumped off, I would be having fun like the people below me. So I shut my eyes and jumped off the rock into the lake. I felt my legs kicking all the way down, and then my body hit the water. I kicked toward the surface, and when my head came out of the water, I was smiling and laughing. I had so much fun!

Often, the same is true with the things of God. If you’ll just jump out into what you feel like He’s calling you to do, you’ll find yourself having fun. Jumping out into the things of God can be scary and beyond your comfort zone. However, God knows you. The things that He speaks to you to do are good. So don’t be afraid to do what He’s calling you to do. Jump out and have fun, then watch as God brings good things to pass in your life!

Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33 (CEB)

Have you noticed that often you have many things pulling you in different directions? You might want to do well in school so that you can get a good job. Maybe you desire to get married. But you also want to make our life count and live for God at the same time. So how do you balance all these things pulling you in different directions?

Jesus answers this question with today’s Bible verse. Instead of trying to find the balance of which things to put our focus on, He makes it simple by saying to first focus on God’s kingdom and His righteousness. When you do that all these other things you might want will be given to you.

Today’s Truth: Focus on God First

What does it mean to focus on God’s kingdom and His righteousness first? This means you spend time with God and learn about His ways of doing things. The main way you do this is by reading the Bible. As you do that, it will help you know God’s heart and what He is all about.

The promise of this verse is that when you put your focus on God’s Word and His way of doing things first, all the other concerns of your life will begin to fall into place. You can then have the peace of knowing that you do not have to keep it all in order, God will. God supernaturally takes care of all your life’s concerns when you put His concerns first.

Today, choose to put God’s Word and His Kingdom first. It might take some time before all your other things in your life all get aligned by God, but know that in time He will make sure that all the things you were concerned about are taken care of.

The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. LORD, Your love is eternal; do not abandon the work of Your hands – Psalm 138:8 (HCSB)

The Bible tells us that God has a plan for our lives. You are vital to God’s plan on the earth. However, the Bible doesn’t always spell out exactly what we’re to do and when. The Bible doesn’t tell us that in two weeks we should sign up for a Spanish class because that will help us when we go on a mission trip 5 years from now. That would be nice, but that’s not how God leads us.

God leads us through our spirits and it’s usually one step at a time. We don’t get the whole plan for our life laid out at once. We discover it by getting close to God and walking out His plan step by step.

And while following God’s plan for your life might sound complicated and scary at times, God gives us hope. He tells us that He will fulfill His purpose for us. God isn’t going to leave us without help. He loves us and wants the best for our lives and our future. His love is eternal. So as you walk out your journey of discovery into His plans for your life you can take comfort in two things.

1. God’s plans are good.
2. God hasn’t left you alone.

God has only good things for you. His plans are good and fulfilling. Also, He doesn’t leave you alone. He’s there to lead you and guide you through them. So today, realize that you’re important to the plan of God. He wants to lead you, it’s just up to you to believe it and follow through in what He’s telling you to do.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. – John 16:13 (NLT)

Do you ever wish you could just see into the future and know what to do? Do you ever wish you knew how all the dreams in your heart were going to play out and how God was going to bring it all to pass?

The good news is in our Christian walk, we’re not alone. We’ve got a helper, the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t leave us to figure all the future decisions out on our own. Instead, we can go to Him and ask Him what to do. The Holy Spirit will help us make good decisions regarding our future if we just go to Him and ask.

Asking the Holy Spirit for help isn’t hard or weird. Most of the time, He will lead you with peace and you’ll just feel that once decision is the better one to make than another. The more you practice listening to the Holy Spirit, the easier it will get to do.

So today, if you’re facing a decision or unsure about something in the future, go get the Holy Spirit’s leading and direction. He will lead you, and show you things to come!