Daily Devotional

“I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for” – Jeremiah 29:11 (MSG)

“What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?”

Remember when you were younger and people would ask you that? Maybe someone has even asked you that recently.

You’ve probably taken some aptitude tests to find out what you’re good at and what vocation you might be suited for. You may have dreamed about “what you wanted to be” both personally and professionally.

But wait. God has a plan for your life! Wouldn’t it make more sense to seek the Creator of the plan? Instead of asking, “What do I want to be?” maybe you should be asking, “Lord, what do You want me to be?“

Because God has crafted you for a specific plan, and He needs you to fulfill it. Believe that, and then seek Him about it. You might pray something like this: “Lord, thank You for leading me into my divine purpose. I will pray and read Your Word and trust You to speak to my heart, letting me know the direction I should go.”

Remember, you are the only “you” on the planet, and God needs you in your place! Thankfully, He knows the path that you should take. Believe Him to reveal it to you.

What’s really great is that God has uniquely equipped you for His plan. You were made to follow it. God’s been working on this plan for your life since before you were born (Ephesians 2:10). He has handcrafted you for good works. He set it up for you, and He believes you’ll do it. It’s your divine destiny.

Since He created the plan and He created you, doesn’t it make sense that He would want to lead you and guide you into it? Life is not a big guessing game, and God hasn’t overlooked you. There is a divine plan for your life — your job is just to find out what it is and walk in it. When you know that, you’re half way to making the right decisions for your life, because you’re seeking Him.

This is an excerpt from the book “How to Make the Right Decision Every Time”

Today’s devotion was written by Karen Jensen Salisbury.

Karen Jensen Salisbury has been in ministry for over 30 years, and a writer for over 40.  She and her first husband, Brent, traveled as itinerant ministers, and also pioneered two churches in the Northwest.

In 1997, upon Brent’s unexpected death, she became Senior Pastor of their church in Boise, Idaho.  She raised their sons, Josh and Ryan, through their teenage years into young men on fire for God. 

Karen was an instructor at Rhema Bible Training College in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma from 2005 to 2014. In March of 2014, she married businessman Bob Salisbury, and they live in Minneapolis. Now in addition to writing books, Karen travels across the U.S. and overseas, sharing what she has learned about the faithfulness of God through good times and bad.

But by God’s grace I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not ineffective. However, I worked more than any of them, yet not I, but God’s grace that was with me. – 1 Corinthians 15:10

I remember always feeling like I didn’t fit in at school. For years I struggled with low self-esteem and thoughts of suicide. I overcame those feelings by spending lots of time reading the Bible and speaking the truth of God’s word over my life.

It’s easy to let the opinions of others influence how you feel about yourself. Sometimes that can lead to you feeling really good about yourself and other times it can make you feel really bad. Basing your worth on the opinions of others is not a good idea. It will always leave you with an unrealistic view of yourself.

Paul talked in today’s Bible verse about how he was who he was based on God’s grace. He viewed himself in light of what God’s grace said about him, not the opinions of others. If you base your worth on how others view you, it will always be unhealthy.

A good thing to do is base your self-esteem on how God sees you. Find verses in the Bible that speak to how God sees you through Jesus. When you do that, you’ll be much happier and fulfilled, because you know that God’s grace is what gives you your worth, not the opinions of others.

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. – Matthew 7:26 (NIV)

Have you ever made a sand castle on the beach or at a park? Have you noticed that if you make one, and then come back a day later or even a few hours later, often the sand castle is gone? Maybe if you’re on the beach, the tide came up and washed over it. If you were at a park, a rain storm could have knocked it over or perhaps someone tore it down to build something else.

When you build out of sand, you know that what you’re building won’t last. Sand isn’t strong, and it doesn’t hold up to bad weather well.

Today’s Truth: God’s Word Over the Opinions of Others

In our lives, it’s easy to build the foundation for our lives on the opinions of others. Maybe we think something is wrong because all of our friends do. The problem with building our lives on things like these is that it’s not a solid foundation. The opinions of our friends might change. The things they might think are ok to do, might not be things that are actually right to do.

That’s why it’s wise to build your thinking and the foundation for your faith on something solid, God’s word. God’s word doesn’t change. It doesn’t adjust based on the opinions of others. It’s been true from the beginning and it’s still true today.

So challenge yourself to bring every thought, every teaching you hear, every thing your friends think is right and examine it against what the Bible says. By doing this, you’re building the foundation of your life on something that is good, strong, and unchanging, God’s Word.

I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. – Psalm 16:8

I can remember one time when I was driving my car. I dropped my phone and somehow it rolled to the passenger side of the car on the floor. I wanted to get the phone back, so I leaned over while driving. The next thing I knew, I was driving in the gravel on the side of the road. When I took my eyes off the road and began looking on the floor for my phone, my car started going in a direction that was no longer safe.

I didn’t get hurt and my car didn’t get hurt, but I learned an important lesson that day. I learned that you go where you look. The same principle is true in our spiritual lives as well. We go toward the things that we spend the most time looking at. Today’s Bible verse talks about keeping your eyes on the Lord. Why is keeping your eyes on the Lord important? Because in life you’ll go where you look. If you want to have a solid relationship with God and to avoid having your faith shaken, you need to keep your eyes on God.

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As you keep your eyes on God, you find that you’re not swayed by relationships, hardships, or anything else that might steal your peace and joy. Keeping your eyes on God makes a huge difference in your life. So challenge yourself to not get distracted and off course by looking at all the stuff going on around you. Choose instead to keep focused on God and His goodness and see Him move in big ways in your life.

Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept.  – Matthew 5:14 (Message)

Have you ever noticed how hard it can be to share your faith with others? Maybe you want to tell a friend who has parents divorcing that you’ll pray for her, but you’re too scared that she might not like you. Or maybe you want to speak up when your friends make fun of another student who is a Christian, but you’re afraid they’ll make fun of you too.

It’s easy to want to hide your faith. Maybe you’re concerned that others will judge you or make fun of you for being a Christian. Today’s Bible verse challenges us to not keep God a secret. It takes guts to step out and share your faith with others. The good news is that often you’ll find that people really appreciate it, especially if they’re going through a difficult time in their lives. So challenge yourself to not be afraid to share your faith with others. Step out and pray for your friend that is hurting or invite the kid who sits by themselves at lunch to your youth group.

Read: What Your School’s Cafeteria Can Teach You About Sharing Your Faith

Your life can have a huge impact on others if you don’t allow yourself to be held back by fear. Step out and see God move through you!

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For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! – Romans 5:17 (NIV)

Jesus made us righteous. His death and resurrection provided new life for us, and that gift is available to us by grace through faith. However, Jesus didn’t only want us to have enough to barely get by and just look to heaven for our hope.

No, Jesus promises us good things here in this life. God’s best is that we walk in blessings and abundance.

Today’s Truth: We Reign in Life With Christ

That means that we don’t have to walk around in fear, upset, or wondering what the future holds. No matter what happens in the world around us, we can know that in Christ we will come out on top. Today’s verse shows us that we reign in this life through Jesus.

So don’t give in to fear. Don’t let worry or concern for the future stop you. Instead, realize that Jesus has provided you everything you need to reign in this life. He’s going to make sure that you have what you need to do what he’s called you to do.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. – Colossians 3:1 (NLT)

In yesterday’s devotion, we talked about the bad news. We saw that no matter how good we are, we still need a savior because we are dead in our sins. There’s no way to get to heaven except through Jesus. Today we’re going to look at some good news.

The good news is that when we accept Jesus as our savior by faith, God sees us differently. God sees us raised to new life in Christ.

Today’s Truth: We have been raised to new life in Jesus.

Why is this important? It shows us how powerful Jesus’ death and resurrection were. No longer does God see us as sinners, but He sees us raised up in Christ. That means that we have access to God. We can talk to God. We can know God. Being raised to new life in Jesus means that we no longer are dead in sins, but we can live life with authority and confidence, knowing that when we pray God hears us, that we aren’t worthless, but that we have value now in Christ.

There’s so many great things that come with knowing that you’ve been raised with Jesus. It helps you when you face difficulty because you know deep down that your father, God almighty is working on your behalf. He’s there to help you come out on top each time.

So today, walk in your authority as a child of God. Know that you’ve been raised to new life in Christ Jesus.