Daily Devotional

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. – Romans 12:1 (NLT)

When you’re thinking about your future, your purpose, your identity, it can often seem overwhelming. There can be times when you’re concerned about choosing the right college or the right job. Yes, those things are very important, and you should go to God with those things in prayer. However, one of the most important things you can do as you begin searching for purpose and identity is simply to spend time with God.

As you spend time with God, through prayer, reading your Bible, and talking to Him, you begin to get to know His heart. As you do this, making the right choices and the right decisions become easier. Why? Because through time with Him, His desires become your desires. Then when you go to make a choice or a decision you’re ready because you’ve already spent time getting to know and understand the thoughts of the one who loves you and gave Himself for you.

Today’s Truth: I find my purpose through knowing God.

Today, instead of worrying about the decisions you’ll have to make in the future, focus more on getting to know God. Determine to spend time worshipping Him. Develop a close walk with Him and sacrifice your desires for God’s. As you do, God will show you what you need to know when you need to know it.

Getting to know God is easy, rewarding, and fulfilling. So do it. Get to know your creator. Spend time in His presence and realize it’s there He will reveal your purpose and identity.

Pray: God, I love you. Today I choose to put aside my desires, wants, and opinions and to focus on you. I choose to make knowing you the priority in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Do you ever struggle with questioning your purpose and your identity? For many, the teenage years can be a difficult time. It’s not unusual for teens to question who they are, why they’re here, and wrestle with purpose and meaning.

There’s nothing wrong with good questions like these. Especially if you go to God’s word to find the answers. Always keep searching for the answers that you need.

Let’s take a look at what God shows us about when He created man and woman.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. – Genesis 1:27 (ESV)

In the midst of all your questions, don’t forget this important truth: you’re made in the image of God. So in your questions, know this, you’re important to God. Because He made you, He knows you. He sees your purpose and potential. So don’t give up, don’t stop asking Him for guidance and direction when it comes to your identity.

God has all wisdom and in His word are the answers you need to every question you ask. Get into your Bible. Study it and search it out to find the answers you need. Also, find a trusted mentor that is more experienced in their faith than you. Ask them for their wisdom and insights about the questions you have.

God wants to help you find your purpose and your identity. Keep seeking Him, and as you get to know Him more, you’ll begin to discover your true identity, in Him.

Today’s Truth: You are made in the image of God.

Pray: God, I thank you that I’m made in your image. Today I choose to get to know you more. As I spend time with you, you’ll show me the purpose that you created me for. Thank you for your goodness and your love, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. – Hebrews 13:8 (NLT)

Its easy to read this verse and think, so what? Who cares if Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever? So why is it a big deal that Jesus remains the same throughout time?

Here’s why: It means that Jesus doesn’t love you one day and then hate you the next. It means that He doesn’t get angry with you simply because He doesn’t have anything better to do. It means He is consistent. His love for you is consistent.

Many people in our lives are fickle. You may have friends who one day turn on you because you wore the wrong clothes or said the wrong thing. That’s not at all how Jesus is. He loves you, and that love is the same everyday.

Today’s Truth: Jesus’ Love and Opinion of you will never change.

Take some time today to think about how great it is that Jesus is the same. That His love and opinion of you doesn’t change.

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

It can be easy to look at Noah and be envious. You can wish that God would use you to do something really amazing like how he used Noah.

Even though Noah was used by God in a big way, I bet to Noah it didn’t feel big at the moment. It probably felt like a lot of work. Taking care of tons of animals day after day would be really hard. Then he was stuck in a boat with what probably felt like unending rain. Follow that up with dealing with elephant poop. Noah had to put in a lot of work to be used by God.

I bet there were times when Noah wished that God had picked someone else to build the ark and take care of all those animals. Yet Noah still obeyed God. His close relationship with God kept him going when things were tough and took a lot of work.

We can do the same thing that Noah did. We might not have to build a huge boat to save the world, but God will ask us to do things for Him in our lifetime. And if we don’t give up and stay encouraged, we can accomplish big things for God. So decide today to draw close to God and let your relationship with God be the thing that keeps you going when things are tough.

“The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10

Many times in life, we hear people blame things on God. If something bad happens many people believe that God is teaching them a lesson or teaching them patience. However, that’s not what the Bible says in this verse.

This verse shows us that Jesus doesn’t want us to just have life, He wants us to live an abundant life. Jesus wants us to come out on top in any situation that we face. So when you’re at school, you can expect to do well. When you’re at work, you can expect promotion. You can expect good things in every situation that you face.

Start today by expecting good things to happen to you. You can be confident in the fact that now that you’re a child of the king. You walk in favor and blessing everywhere you go.

Pray: God, I thank you that I’m a child of the king. Thank you that I walk in your favor everywhere I go today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions

1. What do you think about the idea that Jesus wants to give us an abundant life?
2. Do you expect that good things in every situation you face?

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ – Philippians 3:8 (NLT)

There’s no doubt about it. Singleness is difficult. It’s really hard when it feels like you’re single and alone. In many of the movies we watch and shows on TV, we see people in relationships and often feel like we’re worthless when we aren’t a part of a relationship.

The trouble is relationships aren’t meant to be our fulfillment. God is.

Let that sink in. God is supposed to be our fulfillment. No relationship can ever fulfill you the way God desires to. In fact, pursuing relationships can often be empty when you haven’t let God be your all in all.

God created you for relationships. But in those seasons when you aren’t in a relationship, you can still learn to be content. It doesn’t mean that you don’t desire a significant other. It just means that you realize that a significant other won’t totally fulfill you.

If you haven’t already, determine to put aside everything else to follow after Jesus. Determine that whether you ever find a marriage relationship, you’ll love Jesus with all your heart. Decide that nothing comes before knowing Him.

As you do, you’ll realize that you can be content in those seasons of waiting. Why? You know that God loves you completely. And there’s nothing better than knowing Him.

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. – Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

If you have a desire to be married one day, that’s a good thing. In Genesis, we see that God created marriage and the family, so that desire is a good one. The trouble comes when we want to be married and in a relationship so much that we are unhappy being single, or we settle for a relationship that is less than God’s best for our lives.

In order to not settle for a relationship that is unhealthy, you’ve got to put a bit of thought into it. What do I mean? Well, you’ve got to spend a little time thinking about where you’re going in life.

For example, do you want a family? If so, the person you date should want that too. Do you want to make going to church a priority? If you say yes, then be sure to find a person to date that feels the same way as you do. These are just a few practical things to examine, but there are many more too.

To find a good person to date, you’ve got to know where you’re going in life. As you discover what you want in life, it will help you filter out people that are potentially unhealthy for you to date.

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask God for help. He knows more than anyone whether the person you’re thinking about dating would be a good fit for your life. So go to Him. Ask His wisdom and advice. If He tells you no, then listen to Him and obey. It’s always better to be single than to nurse a broken heart.

Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? – 2 Corinthians 6:14 (NLT)

Yesterday we talked about desiring a relationship and how that desire is a good thing. God placed in us the desire for a relationship. However, we do have to use some caution about who we get into a relationship with.

Relationships can alter the path and trajectory of your life. If you’re dating someone who doesn’t love God, it can make it harder for you to put importance on your relationship with God.

I remember a time when I was at Bible college. There was a guy I was interested in dating who was there studying youth ministry, which was a passion of mine at the time. All things pointed to this being a great relationship. However, as I got to know him more, I realized that he didn’t really have a heart after God.

His relationship with Jesus wasn’t the biggest priority in life. Yes, he was a Christian, but he wasn’t following after God the way I wanted to. I realized that even though he was a Christian and headed down a path that was similar to one that I wanted to go down, he wasn’t a person I should seriously date. Even though it was hard, I had to stop the relationship.

Today’s Truth: Date people who love Jesus as you do.

The truth is, it’s better to be single than in a relationship with someone who isn’t following God the way you are. If their heart isn’t after the things of God, it’s going to make a marriage and family difficult because you’re going to be pulling in two different directions.

So as you go after relationships, make sure that the people you date are ones who love Jesus like you. Also, find out if they are headed in the same direction as you are. That will make things so much easier. Determine to not settle for just ok in your dating relationships. Realize how important you are to God and decide to wait for the best that He has for you.

Pray: Jesus, I ask for your help when it comes to dating. Help me find good relationships that are focused on you and that challenge me to love you more. In your name, I pray, Amen.

Questions

1. When looking for someone to date, do you look for people who have a real relationship with Jesus?
2. How can you help yourself remember to stay content when waiting for a godly relationship?