Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life. – Ephesians 3:17

I learned some HTML programming while in school. One fun thing I learned was how to go to source view in a browser. When viewing the source, you can see all the HTML code that makes up a web page. If a link to a stylesheet wasn’t typed properly, a page could look horrible. I realized quickly in my basic web programming class that the source mattered.

In our lives, this is true too. Our source matters. Where do we base our happiness? When we feel down and unworthy, where do we go to find our value and worth? The things we look to be our source make a huge difference in the trajectory of our lives.

Today’s Truth: Look to Jesus to be the source of what you need for life.

Often, we discover the source of our worth and happiness when things are tough. When things are good, it’s easy to say that Jesus is your source. It’s when things get really hard that we struggle and often realize that perhaps we hadn’t made Jesus our true source. So today, regardless of what you’re facing, be encouraged. Jesus loves you. He wants to be your source. So look to Him. Read your Bible and put in the effort to make Jesus the source of all you need in your life.

Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.  – Psalm 55:22 (HCSB)

Sometimes in the really difficult situations in life, it’s hard to want to keep going. It can be tempting to want to give up, quit or check out. How do you keep going when life gets hard?

This verse gives us some ideas of what we can do when we get discouraged. It tells us to cast our burden on the Lord. When we carry our burdens, we get tired and weary, but if we instead go to God with our burdens, we find strength.

Today’s Truth: When we take our burdens to God, we find strength.

Today, regardless of what you’re going through, know that you can make it. God will sustain you and help you through it. Go to God with your worries, fears, and troubles and see God come through for you.

So now the case is closed. There remains no accusing voice of condemnation against those who are joined in life-union with Jesus, the Anointed One. – Romans 8:1 (TPT)

Have you ever told on your brother or sister to get them in trouble? Maybe you got in trouble for forgetting to do the dishes and instead of owning up to it, you thought of two things your brother did wrong and told your mom. Secretly, you were hoping he would get in trouble instead of you. Basically, you were accusing your brother.

And while God can’t get you out of trouble with your mom, He isn’t accusing you. God isn’t bringing up all the wrong things you’ve done. Instead, He has closed the case against you. Because of what Jesus did for you, all guilt, shame, and condemnation have been removed from you.

Today’s Truth: You can live in freedom. God isn’t holding your sin against you.

This means you can live a life full of freedom. You don’t have to be held back by feelings that you don’t measure up or that you’re not enough. In Jesus, you are more than enough. Your worth comes from what God says about you, not others.

So today be encouraged, God loves you. He’s not holding your sins against you. He has closed the case. Choose to believe God over your feelings, fears and what others say about you. When you do, you’ll experience freedom in Christ Jesus.

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. – 3 John 1:2 (NIV)

It can be easy to believe your emotions. They feel so real, don’t they? And sometimes our emotions scream so loud, it’s hard to hear anything else. Especially when you’re really mad. Then it seems like it’s impossible to hear or focus on anything else.

The thing about emotions is that they aren’t always truthful. That doesn’t mean that they don’t feel real. It just means that at times, when we respond emotionally, we’re not always responding in the best way.

For example, if you get mad at your mom, and start yelling at her and end up saying unkind things, you aren’t choosing to respond in the best way. As a result, you won’t always get the best results.

Today’s Truth: Emotions aren’t always truthful.

Part of being an emotionally healthy person is learning to take a step back when handling big emotions. Sometimes the best thing you can do is give yourself a moment to process what happened. Then instead of blowing up or getting mad, you can choose to respond in a more productive way that will get you better results.

God wants you to prosper in every way, including in your soul and emotions. So today, if you’ve been guilty of letting your emotions determine your response, ask God for ideas how you can respond in more healthy ways. Let Him show you how you can become an emotionally healthy person.

There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. – 1 John 4:18 (Message)

Fear. It’s something we all deal with from time to time. The crazy thing about fear is that it hits each of us differently. Some are afraid of the dark, others fear small spaces, while others fear speaking in front of people or being alone. There are lots of different varieties of fear, but the thing that all fears have in common is that they stop us.

Fear stops you from doing more, saying more, and being more. It holds you back and if left unchecked, fear will keep you from doing the things that God is calling you to do. So, how do you go about curbing the fears that hold you back?

A great way to do that is to begin to focus on God’s love. Today’s Bible verse shows us that love banishes fear. That means that the more we focus on the fact that God loves us, and that He’s provided everything we could ever need to do what He’s called us to, the more we realize that fear doesn’t have a hold on us any longer. Fear can’t be effective in our lives if we’re so focused on God’s love for us. God’s love drives out all fear. It shows us that God will take care of us in every situation and every circumstance.

So if you’re struggling with fear today, take some time to begin to think on God’s love. Find scriptures in the Bible that tell you how loved you are and stories that show you how God came through for those who loved Him. As you focus on these things, fear will have to leave your life!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. – Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)

Have you noticed that often when you look at what others are doing you get discouraged? You might be comparing your summer vacation plans to another person’s and feel like you’re not doing anything great on your summer break. Or perhaps you just feel like you don’t measure up to those people around you. If you spend all your time comparing yourself to others you won’t be able to accomplish the race that God has for you.

The race that God has for you to run will look different for you than it looks for others. If you’re going to make it to the finish line you’ll have to draw close to God and lay aside the things that try to trip you up, like comparing yourself to others.

Challenge yourself to run with endurance today. Don’t give up when it looks like others are doing better things or getting promoted faster than you. Stay the course and be encouraged knowing that others are in heaven cheering you on.