I remember a point in my life when I thought that in order to please God and walk in His will, I had to try harder to be the best that I can be every single day.

It sounded like a good idea…until I actually tried to put it into practice.

I tried to better myself by trying harder not to sin, doing more ministry work, and playing the part of being a good Christian.

Not only did it not work, but it became a heavy burden on my life that I did not want to carry.

That’s when the Lord had to correct me on this. 

He said: Val, I don’t want the best version of you, I want my Son Jesus to live out His life through you.

You see, your best version of you is not nearly as good as Jesus in you.

The difference is in you trying to improve yourself from the outside to change what’s on the inside instead of allowing Jesus to change your thinking and character from the inside out.

So how do you let Jesus change you from the inside out?

2 Corinthians 3:18 says:

“But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

The Lord is longing for you to come into His Presence to behold (or look upon) Him so that He can show you His Glory and change your life.

It’s just like those moments when you came into a worship setting and it seemed like God was right there in front of you, but on your own time with Him.

All you have to do is be willing to come to Him and ask:

“Lord, will you teach me how to seek you and behold your beauty?”

As you start to do this in the normal parts of your day, God will change your thinking and start to refine your character to match the identity of Christ in you.

You will naturally start to see changes in your behavior without having to push yourself to act out the Christian life on your own.

It will be just as Paul said in Galatians 2:20:“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

“Now may the God of peace…equip you with all you need for doing his will.” (Hebrews 13:21.)

When God calls you to do something, He equips you with everything you need to do it. This provision includes every aspect of your life: your family, school, work, purpose…all of it!

When God equips you, there are three primary ways He does this:

1. Through the Bible.
   God first equips us through His Word.
   2 Timothy 3:17 says “[a]ll Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.
   God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
2. Through His Spirit.
   The Holy Spirit is our helper, sent to both teach us about God and to remind us of His Word. (John 14:26.)
   This is why it is so important to hide His Word in our hearts—it is the foundation the Holy Spirit uses to guide us.
3. Through the Body of Christ.
   Proverbs 27:17 notes, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”
   God uses mentors and friends He assigns in our lives to help guide, encourage, and build us up in our faith.

When you know God has called you to do something, stay in His Word and follow His Spirit’s leading. He will faithfully prepare you with everything needed to accomplish His plans for your life.

Today’s Truth: When God calls you to do something, He equips you with everything you need to do it.

Today’s devotion was written by Erin Grant. Erin says, “I am who I am because of who He is. God changed my life, and my heart is to be used of Him to bring others into the healing, wholeness, and freedom He intended for each one of us. Ultimately, I long to bring others into an encounter with His heart and manifest presence, and to see revival and salvations ignited across the United States.”

Have you ever felt, deep down, that you were created to be a part of something greater—a purpose bigger than a lifetime summarized by daily life routines?

That is because you absolutely were! Before God created you, Psalm 139 says He fashioned your purpose for you, every day of your life, captured in a book of who you were to become. He planned your calling in advance, uniquely for you (Ephesians 2:10). And this deeper sense of purpose, the call to something greater, represents God’s voice tugging at your heart to step into this beautiful plan designed by His hand for your life.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

We also know that His purposes for you are good; Jeremiah 29:11 says His plans are “for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” And He has written this purpose and His Word for your life on your heart, so that you might walk in it (Hebrews 10:16). Whatever you feel He has called you to do, seek Him today to bring clarity, direction, and wisdom in fulfilling this call on your life. He has greater things for you than you can imagine!

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. – 1 Peter 4:10 (NLT)

Have you ever gotten a birthday gift that came with instructions? Let’s say you got a box of Lego. Those Lego could be used for all kinds of things. You could throw them at your little sister or used as decorations for your room. However, when Lego was created, it was intended for a specific purpose. And that’s why instructions came with the box you got for your birthday.

In the same way, God has given you instructions for your giftings. He asks us to use them to serve others. You can serve by complimenting a friend or helping someone in need. That’s just one way of many that you can use what you’re naturally gifted in to help someone else.

So today, ask God for help. Ask Him to show you creative ways you can use your giftings. You could be surprised at the things He shows you. Don’t be afraid to walk out what He tells you. Choose to use your gifts to serve others and see what God does through you!

God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus he has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do. – Ephesians 2:10

It’s so easy to go from feeling really good about yourself, to not. For me, it usually happens when I say or do something really embarrassing. Then I spend hours beating myself up for not saying the right thing. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably experienced something similar, where you said or did something embarrassing. If we’re not careful, situations like these can really cause us to doubt or call, purpose and even our value.

When you feel bad about yourself, remember this. God made you. He made everything about you and made you the way you are. The good news is that He likes you, just as you are. You don’t have to change anything about you because God thinks you’re great!

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Don’t let situations or other people make you feel bad about yourself. To God, you have purpose and value. God has good things planned for your life, so don’t let circumstances or situations dictate your worth. Instead, choose to believe what God says about you. He says you have value. If you’ll look to Him, you’ll find your true worth.

Read More: 3 Practical Steps to Accomplishing Your Dreams

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. – 1 John 5:14 (NIV)

Have you ever met anyone that had a lot of confidence? Maybe they just weren’t afraid to do anything. Or perhaps you saw them say things to others that you just wished you had the boldness to do. Some people just seem to have natural confidence built into their personality. Regardless of whether you’re naturally confident or not, you can have confidence when it comes to talking to God.

You don’t have to be afraid of God. He is love and He wants only good things for you. That’s good news. So when you go to God to ask for something or even to pray, you don’t have to be afraid. You can talk to Him confidently.

The other great thing is that if we ask things according to God’s will or according to the Bible, He hears us. So when we pray and talk to God, we can be confident. We can know that God is wanting to hear from us and that He hears what we ask.

So today, spend some time praying. Be confident in your prayers, knowing that if they are lined up with God’s will that He hears you and wants good things for your life!

Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day. – Genesis 1:31 (NLT)

It’s easy to look at the world around us, with all the hate, suffering, disease, and bloodshed, and think, what in the world is going on? It can be really upsetting if you let yourself dwell on all the bad things going on in the world.

However, God tells us in Genesis that He created the world and it was very good. So does that mean that God thinks the hate, disease and all the bad things going on right now in the world are good?

No. After God created the world, Adam sinned. With His sin came a curse on our world. So the bad things we see in the world around us are not God’s best. They’re a result of sin.

The world we see today is not the world as God had created it, perfect and very good. It is a world that has been cursed by sin. The good news is that God promises one day that He will give us a new heaven and a new earth. (2 Peter 3:13)

So when you see hate, disease, and bad things going on in the world don’t let them get you discouraged or cause you to doubt God. Rather realize they’re part of the curse, and know that we have hope in Jesus.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. – Ephesians 1:3 (NIV)

If you’re a Christian, you’re blessed. Everything that Jesus did when He died on the cross belongs to you. You’re not waiting to get blessed one day, you’re blessed right now. So what does that mean for you as a teenager?

It means that if you’re struggling with your faith, God promises to give you wisdom and understanding. When you’re stuck wondering what the future holds, God promises to show you your future and things to come. If you feel like you don’t have any friends, God promises to be a friend to you and will help you find your true worth.

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Whatever you’re facing, Jesus has the answer to it. And you can walk in that answer right now. You don’t have to wait until you get to heaven, it’s yours now. So in every situation you face, know that God has your answer. He wants to help lead you and guide you into good things. Be encouraged, God’s ready to help you and bless you.