Daily Devotional

I know that who I hang out with makes a big difference in my life. I remember a time when I was spending a lot of time with a friend who would use bad words. Like all the time. Every other word almost was a curse word. And guess what? Before I knew it, due to all the time spent with my friend, I realized that her vocabulary was becoming mine. More often than not, I found myself thinking and speaking words that weren’t good.

It’s amazing how much our friends can influence us, for either good or bad. That’s why the Bible talks about the friendships that we keep.

Walk with the wise and become wise,
    for a companion of fools suffers harm. – Proverbs 13:20 (NIV)

So how about you? What are your friendships like? Are your best friends those that are pushing you closer toward God? Or are they pulling you away from Him?

The friends that you keep really influence the trajectory of your life. If you want to serve God and live all out for Him, you’ve got to pay attention to the friendships that you have. If you don’t have a lot of godly friends, pray and ask God for some. He hears you, and wants to help you with those relationships.

Don’t be afraid to seek out godly relationships. They will help you grow in your relationship with God!

Today’s Truth: Godly relationships will help your relationship with God.

Have you ever wanted to talk to God, but felt like you couldn’t? Maybe you wondered how do I talk to Him? is He too busy to even care?

It can be really easy to think those thoughts. God has so many people to think about, and so many requests, and you might feel like yours isn’t the most important or that God can’t really be concerned about you! The good news is that God isn’t limited like we are. He doesn’t have limits to His strength, His power, or His ability to hear you. Look at what today’s Bible verse says.

The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth. – Psalm 145:18 (NIV)

God wants you to call on Him. In fact, He likes hearing from you. He is near to anyone who calls on Him. So instead of feeling like God is too busy, realize that He looks forward to hearing from you. He is near to anyone who will simply talk to Him.

So don’t be afraid to go to God. Know that He hears you, and wants to talk to you. Call on Him in the good times and the bad. And know that He is never too busy to hear from you!

Today’s Truth: God is never too busy to hear from you.

Have you ever messed up? Maybe you tried to be nice to the mean girl on the bus, but she kept pushing your buttons and before you knew it, you were losing your cool with her. Have you ever tried to do the right thing, but continually came up short? If so, you’re not alone. Many times we struggle doing the right thing. Let’s take a look at the mistake Eve made.

The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. – Genesis 3:6 (NLT)

Eve made a mistake. And it was a pretty big one. The one thing God had asked her not to do, she did anyhow. I’m sure she probably felt bad for her decision after she ate the fruit. But by then it was too late, the mistake had been made.

When it comes to mistakes, we can often be really hard on ourselves. Sometimes we don’t give ourselves the grace we give others. Here’s the truth, however.

Making mistakes is part of life. You’re not always going to control your temper perfectly. You’re not always going to choose to do the right things. However, if you know that you can go to God, tell Him about your mistakes, it makes all the difference.

So today, know this. We all make mistakes. It’s ok to make mistakes. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t do everything perfectly. Instead, go to God, tell Him about the mistake. Get His help, His wisdom, and His guidance on how to handle the situation next time.

God loves you, that love is independent of your performance. If God isn’t holding your mistakes against you, why do you?

Today’s Truth: It’s ok to make mistakes.

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
    They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
    They will walk and not faint.- Isaiah 40:31 (NLT)

What do you put your trust in? Is it in your ability? Do you practice your instrument for band every night, hoping to make the jazz band at your school? Do you look to what you can do when making a decision?

Now, there’s nothing wrong with hard work. Practicing an instrument is good discipline. But there’s a balance. One day, God will call you to do something bigger than what you can do on your own. And it’s good for you to come to the place where you put your trust fully in God and what He can do through you.

When you come to the end of yourself, and fully surrender and trust God, that’s when amazing things can happen.

Today’s Truth: When you fully surrender your life to God, amazing things happen.

So do your best at everything you can, work hard, but don’t put your trust only in your efforts. Instead, know that trusting in God will help you find the strength and equipment you need for your journey. In God, we find everything we need and long for. Don’t be afraid to go to Him today to get everything you need.

Pray: God, I want to fully surrender my life to you. I love you and want to do whatever you call me to do. I know that with your equipping, anything is possible.

It’s that time of year again. If you haven’t already, you’re probably heading back to school. And sometimes that can be a tough time for some of you. While some people really thrive and love school, there are others who have genuine fears about going back to school.

Some might be concerned about academics, and feel pressured to do well. Others might hope to do well at band, choir or a sports team. While others may have concerns about their ability to make friends, find their classes, and all sorts of other things.

Doubts can fill your mind when it comes to starting school. You might feel anxious and upset. If you do, here’s a verse that will help encourage you.

When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer – Psalm 94:19 (NLT)

When you begin to doubt yourself and your ability, take comfort in God. He’s there to give you hope, cheer and what you need to do well this year. Put your trust in Him. See Him come through for you in ways you might have never expected.

Today’s Truth: You can live at peace, even in difficulty.

You can live at peace, even in the middle of difficulty if you choose to put your focus on Him. He cares for you, and will help you through this time in your life.

Pray: God, I thank you that you are with me each and every day this school year. Help me to put my focus on you. I choose to walk in hope and joy in you, knowing that you promise to never leave me. Amen.

If you need more tips on going back to school, check out our resource, Every Teenager’s Guide to Going Back to School.

Have you ever played the game Chutes and Ladders as a kid? It can sometimes be the most frustrating game ever. Especially when you land on a chute, and are forced to go back on the game board. Each turn you get, you’re trying to move your character toward the end of the board and win.

But sometimes, you land on things that don’t really help you out.

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. – Ephesians 5:1 (NLT)

In our life with God, sometimes it can feel the same way. We’re trying to imitate God. But sometimes, we hit a chute and we mess up. And while we don’t want to excuse sin, we also can’t expect ourselves to always be perfect. Regardless of the chute we face, God’s grace is there for us.

We just have to pick ourselves up, keep going and try to imitate God more and more. It isn’t always easy, but it’s always important to remember that a mess up doesn’t have to stop us. Instead, we can learn from it, become more like Jesus and move on toward our goal of imitating Him the next day.

Are you headed back to school soon? If so, you might be feeling some anxiety. Maybe you do well in school but the students in your school you don’t really get along with, and it makes the idea of going to school this fall tough. Or perhaps the opposite is true. Maybe you have lots of friends, but the schoolwork, projects, tests and things like that make you feel upset and overwhelmed.

If so, know that you’re not alone. Going back to school is something that most students don’t look forward to. However, you can know that even if you struggle with things at school, you’re loved and Jesus has what you need to get through.

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. – Romans 8:37 (NLT)

In today’s verse we see that despite all the things that happen to us, we have victory in Christ. That’s good news. Regardless of what you face at school, you can expect to have victory in Jesus!

Even if you have difficulty with schoolwork, you can expect God to show up in your life and give you wisdom to help you get better grades. If relationships have been tough, you can know that God wants to help you there too.

Go to God. Involve Him in what concerns you. His help is what you need to come out with victory at school and in life. Don’t be afraid to go to Him and lay those concerns at His feet!

What would happen if we simply did what God asked us to do? Have you ever thought about that?

What is a small thing that God has asked you to do? Maybe you felt led to pray for your little cousin. Perhaps God was speaking to you to give a few dollars in the missionary offering at church. Are you willing to do that?

So often we want to do something really big for God, but are we willing to do the small things too?

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. – Genesis 12:4 (NIV)

Abram was asked by God to leave his home and go to a new land. That could be looked at as a big thing in one way, but in another, it’s kind of small. He was just asked to leave home. Not to fight a war, build a boat, or do something really major. Just leave home.

And Abram was willing to do it. The small(ish) thing God asked him to do, ended up being a really big thing. As a result of Abram’s obedience, his name was changed, he had a baby, he became the father of a nation, and the list goes on.

So how about you? Are you like Abram? Would you be willing to obey God in small or big things? Are you willing to talk to that student at your school that no one likes? How far would you go to obey God?

These are good questions to ask yourself. Being used by God often starts with a small yes. You simply say yes to something God is prompting you to do. That yes, like Abram’s yes, can become the start of something great. Be encouraged today, don’t be afraid to do the things that God is asking you to do. He will provide you with what you need to do what he’s asking you to do.