Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. – Luke 6:28 (NLT)

Don’t you hate it when people pick on you? Or maybe not even you, but you see all the hate in the world. You see kids being bullied for the dumbest things, and see people in the world being unkind and hate all around. And it can make you really feel disillusioned about people and the future.

Here’s the thing. You can’t change other people. People are going to do bad, ugly, and horrible things. And this has been happening since the beginning of time. Just think about Abel who was killed at the beginning of Genesis, simply because his brother got jealous of him.

Realizing that you can’t change someone else can make it all seem pretty helpless. However, we’re not left helpless or without power. In the Bible, we’re challenged to do something different. When people curse you, you’re to bless them. When someone hurts you, you are to pray for them.

How crazy is that? That’s not usually my first response, praying for someone when they treat me badly. Yet that’s what the Bible encourages us to do. The Bible doesn’t promise that people will always treat us well. It doesn’t tell us those horrible things will stop in the fallen world we live in. What it does do is to tell us to pray for those people and bless them.

Prayer can do what we can’t do. And when we pray for and bless those who do bad things to us, we’re helping ourselves and them too. Instead of allowing people to hurt us, we’re forgiving and asking God to help them! Wow. What would our world look like if we spent time each day praying for those people around us doing bad things?

Have you had friends that didn’t understand you due to your faith in Jesus? Maybe they didn’t get why you wouldn’t give into peer pressure and do the things they were doing. Perhaps they simply didn’t understand why your faith was so important to you.

It’s easy when you feel misunderstood to want to give up. You might wonder if standing up for what’s right is really worth it. However, regardless of how others treat you and regardless of whether you feel understood, we’re encouraged in the Bible to stand strong.

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. – Ephesians 6:10 (NLT)

Life isn’t going to be easy. People aren’t always going to be nice to you and understand where you’re coming from. However, you’re called to stand strong in the Lord. No matter what the battle is. And that takes guts. In a world that doesn’t understand Jesus or even really seem to care about Him.

Today be encouraged. No matter how lonely you feel in your stand for Jesus, you’re never alone. There are others who are standing up for God. They might not live near you or be at your church, but they are out there. So stand up boldy for what’s right. Stand firm in your faith, and don’t give up!

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. – Matthew 5:11 (NLT)

Have you ever been mocked for your faith? I remember a time when I had a job and my boss just hated Christians. He did everything in his power to make life hard for me. I worked at a restaurant, and he would try to knock trays of food and drinks out of my arms, all because he didn’t like me and what I stood for as a Christian.

Instead of retaliating, like I wanted to, I felt like God was leading me to ignore the bad treatment and to just keep a good attitude in the situation. So each day I showed up to work and I did my best to act like my boss’s actions didn’t bother me. I always treated him fairly and with respect.

After a year or so of working there, my boss’s attitude toward me began to change. He was never really over the top nice to me, but once he told me that I was the first Christian who hadn’t let him down or flaked out on him. He never came to know Jesus, but he respected me and with time treated me better.

Just like me, you’re going to face situations where people aren’t going to treat you right due to your faith. When that happens, ask God for wisdom. The person who is mistreating you might have a lot of hurt from other Christians that is causing them to act the way they do. If you ask Him, God will give you wisdom and show you how you should respond.

Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. – Ephesians 6:11 (NLT)

Have you noticed that you face battles in life? Life would be a lot easier if God just granted you all your wishes. Then, if you face something tough in life, you could just wish it away on God, and it would be gone. Unfortunately, our battles in life don’t go away by wishing. 

But it’s not all bad news. God furnishes you with the armor you need to fight your battle. Your job is to pick it up and use it when facing the battles of life.

Today’s Truth: God Has Given Us What We Need to Fight Our Battles

Those battles look different to each of us. Sometimes the battles of life are difficult circumstances. At other times you may battle fear and it causes you to not step out and do the thing God is calling you to do. Then at times, you fight against lust or things of the flesh and it can be hard to stop doing the things that are wrong.

However, the important thing to remember is that God has given you all the tools you need to fight. You just have to stand up and fight believing that you’re equipped and that God is on your side. Regardless of the battle, you can be encouraged, you’re not alone. You have the weapons you need to fight your battles each day.

But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded – 2 Chronicles 15:7 (NIV)

It’s so easy to want to give up. Especially when things are taking longer than you expected. Maybe you thought that you’d be promoted at your job by now. Perhaps there’s a promise from God that hasn’t come to pass yet in your life. Whatever it is that you’re waiting on, today’s Bible verse is for you.

This verse encourages us to not give up. As we all know, patience is hard. No one likes waiting. Yet it’s in those times of waiting that we often have the chance to develop character. You might realize in those times that you need to work on improving our attitude. Possibly you realize that you’ve based your happiness on things other than God.

Often, it’s during difficulty that we begin to see what our hope really is in. If waiting has you down and discouraged, it might be an indicator that you’ve been placing your happiness in your circumstances rather than in Jesus.

So today, if you’re having difficulty being patient, don’t give up. Know that your work will be rewarded and that God sees it. Choose to put your happiness in Jesus and don’t let circumstances dictate your joy.

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Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. – Ephesians 4:11 (NLT)

Leadership can be hard sometimes. You might be in a place of leadership in your school, church or home group and you might feel overwhelmed. There can be times in leadership where you simply aren’t sure what to say or what to do.

In the body of Christ, God has put many different spiritual gifts. And each place of leadership in the church is important. Regardless of where you’ve been place to lead, here are a few things to remember.

1. Keep Learning.
   Keep reading your Bible. Listen to good Bible and leadership teaching. Grow each day. If you approach your leadership always learning and growing, you’ll go far as a leader. Regardless of how far you’ve come, there are always ways to learn and improve.
2. Rely on the Holy Spirit
   You have the Holy Spirit to help lead and guide you. So when you don’t know what to say or what to do in a difficult situation, rely on the Holy Spirit. He will give you ideas and help that will be vital to your success as a leader.
3. Give yourself Grace.
   As a leader, you’re not always going to be perfect, and that’s ok. Give yourself room to learn, make mistakes, and grow. Don’t expect perfection from yourself or others.

Being a leader in your school or church can be fun, but also challenging. Know that if God has called you to a place of leadership, you’re equipped to do it. Don’t be afraid to walk in the things He’s showing you to do.