There was a time when God asked me to pray for someone I didn’t know at a store. I felt really embarrassed to do it. I did not want to pray for the person. To make things worse, I didn’t even know her. However, the store was empty, with no other customers, so I decided to ask her if there was anything I could pray with her about.

The moment I asked her, she broke into tears. She had been going through a really hard season in life, and me offering to pray for her really impacted her.

Just like I experienced, sometimes God will ask you to do something. And it might seem really weird, maybe even difficult to understand. Let’s check out today’s Bible verse to learn more.

The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. – Genesis 12:1 (NIV)

Can you imagine that? What if God asked you to leave your country, your people, your family and go to the place He showed you? Would that feel strange? More importantly, would you do it?

God sometimes asks people to do things that seem scary and strange. He doesn’t do it to make life harder for you. Instead, He’s usually wanting to bless someone else through you.

So today, check your heart. Are you willing to do something God asks you to do? Even if it seems crazy? God wants to use you to do big things for Him, but you have to be willing to be used. Take some time today to examine your heart. Make the necessary adjustments to your heart so that if God ever asks you to do something for Him, you’re ready and willing to do it.

Today’s Truth: Be ready to obey God.

I know I have often thought of the Bible as a spiritual book. I’ve gone to it’s pages when I needed comfort or encouragement. And time after time, I’ve gotten the help and encouragement that I needed. However, the Bible is a historical book too. It’s pages can help us understand the world around us better.

We can often just put the Bible into religion or a spiritual box. But there’s power when we realize how much it’s history explains the world around us.

That is why is was called Babel – because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. – Genesis 11:9 (NIV)

In today’s verse, we read the account of the tower of Babel. Maybe you’re like me, and have never given any thought to the significance of the tower of Babel. However, the tower helps us understand why things are in the world the way they are. Here are a couple of examples.

First, the tower explains why we have different language families today. It shows us why people don’t all speak the same language, and why when we go to different areas, different languages are spoken.

Secondly, we see things like ziggurats built in many different civilizations around us in the world today. Many of the ancient peoples built similar looking buildings all over the world. Could that be because at the tower of Babel, people built that kind of buildings? And as a result of the dispersion of people after the tower, those people took their building skills and ideas with them?

It’s interesting to think about. We can rely on the Bible not only because it speaks to us about spiritual things, but also because it speaks to us about natural things too. The Bible explains why the world is the way it is. And when we read it, we can begin to understand why we see what we do around us.

So today, realize that the Bible has a lot of importance in your life. Not only does it speak to spiritual things, but it also speaks to us about natural things too.

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. – Genesis 15:6 (NIV)

Sometimes it’s easy to read over these verses and not really think about what they’re saying. You can think, ok Abram believed God. Great, and move on. But sometimes we can stop and really think about what Abram was doing when he believed God.

Abram was not in his homeland. He was living in tents in a land that wasn’t the land of his fathers. He was believing God when God told him he would have kids. Abram was getting older, and still hadn’t had children. Yet God told him he would have many children.

Would you believe God if you were Abram?

When it looked like everything God spoke to you had no way of coming to pass? Could you believe God against all odds and all circumstances that seem to contradict what God had spoken to you? That’s what Abram did.

What a faith he had. But here’s what’s great, Abram wasn’t all that special. He wasn’t better than everyone else or a better leader than anyone else. The Bible tells us simply that Abram believed God. That’s what made Abram special.

So how about you? Do you believe God against all odds? Do you know that He has good things in store for you, and will you follow Him in spite of what’s going on around you? That’s what Abram did. He followed God even when it felt like nothing was changing or happening. As a result God moved in a mighty way in his life.

So challenge yourself today to be like Abram. Believe God and see what God can do in your situation.

Trust. That can be a really hard thing to do. You might trust your parents. Perhaps you know that they’ll always get you a present for Christmas, so you trust that each Christmas morning you’ll wake up, and have a gift from them. Trusting someone you can see can be easy if they’ve proven themselves.

Trusting God though, can be a lot harder. How do you trust someone you can’t see?

One of the best ways to get started trusting God, is to read the Bible. The more you read the word, the more you’ll realize how trustworthy God really is. You begin to see accounts of people who trusted in God and how God saw them through. You can also read books about people of faith in History. Reading their accounts can help you begin to trust God. A third way could be simply by beginning to step out and trust Him in daily ways. Maybe you can trust Him to show you what classes to pick in the fall. Perhaps you can trust Him to speak to your heart as to where you should go to college. Begin trusting Him in small ways and the more you say yes to God, the more you will trust Him.

Commit everything you do to the LORD . Trust him, and he will help you. – Psalm 37:5 (NLT)

Each day, try to trust Him more. As you read your Bible, ask God to show you ways that you can depend on Him and trust Him. As you do that, you’ll see Him continually come through for you.

I can’t even begin to tell you all the times I’ve felt alone in my faith. How many times I’ve said no to peer pressure because what my friends were doing wasn’t right. Time after time, it’s felt like I’ve been alone in my stand for my faith.

Now, me saying that isn’t to say, look at me, look how good I am. Not at all. I still deal with sin. I still lie, mess up, don’t honor my parents and do all kinds of bad things. But what I’m saying is, I can understand a little bit where Noah was coming from in Genesis 6:9.

This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. – Genesis 6:9 (NLT)

Noah was a righteous man. He was saying no to the bad things going on in the world at the time. Was he perfect? No. But his heart was faithful after God and God counted Noah righteous.

So what about you? Do you follow after God? Even when it might mean that you’re standing all alone? Or do you cave to the pressures of the world?

As a child of God, you should be living your life to please Him. You should be striving after Him in all you do. So challenge yourself today, to make any changes you need to make to live for Him. Yes, there will be times when you’ll feel that you’re all alone. But stand strong. Let God fill you and stand up for Him in the world.

Today’s Truth: Stand for God, even if it means standing alone.