Daily Devotional

Let’s be honest. None of us really like when life is difficult, do we? I know if I had my way, I’d avoid all tough times entirely. However, God never promised us a life free from trouble.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 (NLT)

Today’s Bible verse shows us that we will have trials in life. But the good news is that we can find peace in Jesus. As we grow and develop in our relationship with Jesus, we realize that no matter what, Jesus is there for us. We don’t have to worry about the future, we can be at peace knowing that Jesus is doing the heavy lifting in our lives.

So today, if you’ve been burdened with all the trials and troubles of life, be encouraged. Jesus is there with you, keeping you safe, providing for your needs, and helping you each step of the way. Don’t give up or be discouraged, storms will come, but you’ve got Jesus to help you stand strong.

Today’s Truth: With Jesus, I can stand strong in life’s storms.

Does life seem stressful to you sometimes? I know it does for me. There are times when I have way more to do than I have time in a day. Or sometimes, a relationship not going well will stress me out.

The thing is, even when things are stressful, we can choose to be at peace internally. Being at peace doesn’t mean that our circumstances are good. Rather, peace is a heart position that is independent of what’s going on around you. There might be really bad things happening in your life, but you can choose to be at peace in the midst of them.

So even if you’re in the middle of a stressful situation. Even if it feels like you can’t make it through, know that God is good. He’s there helping you, leading you, and guiding you through the midst of whatever you’re facing.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 (NLT)

Today’s verse shows us that there are going to be times when life isn’t necessarily easy. However, Jesus is faithful. He will see you through to the other side.

Today’s Truth: I can be at peace even if my circumstances aren’t perfect.

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.  – Ephesians 4:2

Being patient with others is really hard. Other people sometimes just don’t do what you want them to do. They don’t say what you want them to say and treat you the way you wanted to be treated. Regardless of how others treat you, the Bible tells us that we are to give others a break.

We have the love of God in our hearts and we are to be loving others out of that love. It doesn’t matter what others do to us, what matters is our response to them. When faced with a person that doesn’t treat you right, you’ve got a choice to make. Will you respond to them out of anger or will you respond to them out of love?

The Bible tells us that love is always the right choice, but it isn’t always easy. So today, choose to love others. Realize that you’ve got the love of God inside you to do it. Even when they drive you crazy and make you mad, ask God to show you the good in the situation. Today, choose to practice patience with others.

A song of ascents. I call on the LORD in my distress, and he answers me. – Psalm 120:1

Life can get really tough at times. You might be faced with a difficult situation or a difficult person. Perhaps things at school aren’t going the way you’d like them to, or you dread going home because things aren’t going well there either. Regardless of what is going on in your life, you can take comfort in the fact that you’re not alone.

Today’s verse encourages you that at any time and in any place you can go to God for help. When you go to God, you can have confidence that He hears you and cares about what you have to say. You have a right to fellowship with God the Father because of what Jesus did. Jesus made a way for you to come to God.

So no matter what you’re facing or what you’re going through, go to God for help. Go and get the help and strength you need to face your problems and fears. You’re not doing this alone. You’ve got God on your side.

When we come to God, we have to believe that He exists. And that takes faith. We can’t see Him, so we have to believe that what He’s said about Himself in the Bible is true and that it makes sense about what we see in the world around us today.

But today, we’re going to look at the last part of Hebrews 11:6. It tells us that God rewards those who sincerely seek Him.

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)

Seeking God is something like a craving. Let’s say you’re really craving ice cream. So ice cream kind of becomes all you can think about. You might ask your mom if she has any in the freezer. If she doesn’t you might ask her to get some for you at the store or go get some yourself. Why? Because when you crave something, you really want it and aren’t afraid to figure out a way to get it.

That’s how we should be going after God. We should be finding ways to get to know Him more. That involves seeking him out and finding more about Him through His word. So challenge yourself to seek God more today. Figure out ways to include Him in your life. Know that He wants to help you and be a part of everything you’re going through.

Do you come to God daily? Hourly? Asking for His help in each situation and circumstance that you face? Because God is willing to have a close relationship with you. He wants to help lead, guide, and direct you each moment and step of your life.

But to come to God, you’ve got to believe that God exists. And sometimes, that can feel a little silly. You can’t see God with your eyes, so you might wonder, how do I know that He really exists?

Our world is very contrary to God, so much of culture mocks people of faith. Science often comes up with reasons to doubt God and the world He created. But to have a close loving relationship with God, you’ve got to believe that He exists, and you can’t see Him, which makes things kind of difficult.

But here’s the thing. We all instinctively know that God is real. When we look at the creation around us, we see complexity and diversity, and it’s hard to explain those things without the Biblical God. Faith in God is really logical. No, you can’t see Him with your eyes, but you know He’s real if you’ll let your heart go there. Our world, universe, morality, and much more only make sense when you factor in the God of the Bible.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

When we come to God, we’ve got to believe that He exists. Once we believe that He exists, we can begin to enjoy the wonderful relationship He desires for each of us.

There’s an exciting relationship with God that we can all have. The good news is, it doesn’t take you being any kind of special person to walk in that relationship. You don’t have to be the best Christian, or do everything right. It just takes faith in God.

But what does it mean to have faith? That word can seem a little hard to grasp. To help understand, if we look the word up in Greek, we see that faith can be defined as belief, confidence, or trust. So faith is confidence and trust in God. That means we trust God in every area of our lives. When we feel scared about the future, we can trust God. When we don’t know what to do or feel overwhelmed, we can be confident knowing that God has the answer we need.

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)

Hebrews 11:6 talks about it being impossible to please God without faith. But I love the idea associated with that. Because I’m not good enough. I’m not that special, but that doesn’t matter to God. He just cares that I love Him, trust Him, and look to Him in every circumstance that I face.

If we want to have a close walk with God, we’ve got to choose to live our lives full of faith, confidence, and trust in God.

Today’s Truth: We can be confident that God has the answer we need.

So today, challenge yourself to put faith in God. Know that faith is what impresses God, not us being awesome, but our simple faith in Him each day. Determine to focus your attention on God today rather than your problems. Yes, the world isn’t perfect, yes, your life isn’t perfect, but God loves you and simply wants you to place your trust in Him.

You could be a super Christian. You might do all the right things and really have a deep and personal relationship with God. But here’s the thing. If you’re not loving others, all the good you do doesn’t really mean that much.

As Christians, we should be standing up for what’s right. When we see someone hurting or not making good choices, we should be leading them back to God, but we also can’t become jerks about it. We’ve got to respond to others in love. Because others, just like us, need God’s mercy and grace.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. – 1 Corinthians 13:2 (NIV)

So today, stand up for what’s right. But as you do, be sure that you’re doing it with a heart of love. Speak the truth, but speak it so that your heart is right and loving.

So if you’ve found that sometimes you aren’t kind when someone makes a mistake or when they don’t follow after God, realize that you can be a part of the solution. Help them find their way to God, but in a loving, kind way. And then pray and see how the Holy Spirit can help lead you to be part of the way back to God.