Browsing Tag

tough times

What To Do When You Have a Bad Day

Posted on July 23, 2014

Bad days are the worst! Sometimes its just the smallest thing that can bring a bad day on. Maybe you showed up late for work and got in trouble by your boss. Perhaps, you forgot your homework. No matter what the situation is, sometimes bad days just happen. Here are a few ways you can combat the bad day blues.

Realize bad days happen for everyone. Bad days happen for every person. So don’t beat yourself up if you have a bad day. Realize that tomorrow will be a new day and you can get new perspective on the situation.
Realize that you are not facing these things alone. It can be easy to feel like you’re all alone or that no one really cares about you and your situation. The truth is God is always there for you to lean on and talk to. He gets it and understands what you’re going through.
Think on what is true. It can be really easy to focus on the bad, and the negative about your bad day. Realize though that this might not be 100% reality. The situation might seem worse to you than it really is. Don’t feel too bad about it, but rather choose to think on good things.
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” – Philippians 4:8

Bad days happen to everyone. Its important when bad days come to take time to focus on getting God’s perspective and God’s help on the situation. Many times, a situation seems worse than it actually is. By keeping God in the mix, it helps you not focus on the wrong things and draw on God’s strength and ability when facing a bad day!

Similar Devotions For Teens

How To Handle Life Changes

Posted on May 21, 2014

Sometimes, life brings lots of changes. Whether it’s a move to a new city, maybe a graduation from school, a new job, a divorce, you name it, those changes can be really stressful. So what are some good ways you can deal with the stress of a life change? Here’s a couple things to help make life change easier.

Draw close to God
Major life changes can really mess with your relationship with God if you’ll let them. When life changes happen, you’re faced with a choice. Will you let those changes draw you closer to God, or will you push Him away?
Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. (James 4:8 NLT)
Don’t be afraid
It’s really easy to fall into the trap of fear when life changes come. You know things aren’t going to be the same as before and many times the fear of the unknown or fear of the changes can become very real. Be sure to watch out for fear in your life and if you see it creeping in be sure to tell it no. Don’t allow fear to become something that holds you back.
Don’t fear, because I am with you; don’t be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will surely help you; I will hold you with my righteous strong hand. (Isaiah 41:10 CEB)
Get Help
Don’t avoid asking for help if you need it. Your youth pastor or pastor has great life advice they can give you to help you through life change. Be willing to ask for their advice or help if you need it. God has placed these people in your life. They can be an encouragement when you need it the most.

Changes in life happen to us all. Sometimes, they’re harder to handle than others. The good thing to remember is that no matter how hard times get, you’re not alone. Find a pastor or youth pastor you can talk to or draw close to God and get his help and advice. God will encourage you like no one else can. Get close to God and see how awesome he really is!

Similar Devotions For Teens

How to Deal With Mean People – Part 3

Posted on October 30, 2013

Mean people can make life really tough. Its especially hard when you’re at school dealing with them day everyday. When I was in middle school, I had to ride the bus to school everyday. Every morning there was a girl who rode the bus that was super mean. She picked on everybody. She’d make mean comments about almost everything somedays it felt like she was out to get everyone. There were days where I couldn’t wait for the bus ride to end so that I could get away from her and get some peace.

Lots of times when we’re dealing with mean people it can be hard to know what to do. You might think the right thing to do would be to do something mean back to them to teach them a lesson.

The Bible has lots to say on the subject of mean people. One powerful verse that deals with meanies is found in Matthew 5:43-44

[quote align=”center” color=”#999999″]”You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer…” (Message)[/quote]
We might feel like the right thing to do is to get even or teach a mean person a lesson. However, the Bible says that we are to treat mean people better than that. It tells us we are to respond to a mean person by praying for them. This can be really hard. Its easier to want to give up on a mean person and avoid them or to hatch a plan to get back at them. The Bible states that we are to do the complete opposite. We are to respond by praying for them. We are to respond by doing all we can to help them.

This isn’t an easy thing to do, but begin praying for those who are mean to others. Start to ask God for ways to share His love with them. God may use you to lead them to Christ. Be open to being used by God and pray for those who are mean to you.

Similar Devotions for Teens

Your Bad Day Checklist

Posted on October 23, 2013

Bad days happen to all of us. Unfortunately, life isn’t perfect and sometimes it just doesn’t go as you wanted it to. With that in mind, we’ve put together an awesome checklist to help you beat the bad day blues.

[list type=”check”]

Don’t blame God – Bad things are bound to happen to you. This doesn’t mean that God is trying to teach you a lesson or is punishing you. So when hard times come, don’t place the blame on God. God is a good God and He wants the best for your life. James 1:17
You Are in Control of Your Attitude – You might not be able to control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude in tough times. You can choose to stay positive and have a good attitude when a bad day happens. Philippians 4:8
Do something for yourself – Sometimes when having a bad day, it helps to do something special for yourself. It might be something simple like buying yourself a candy bar or taking a long walk. Whatever it is, find something that you can do for yourself to help you unwind.
Recognize that tomorrow is coming – Your day might be bad today, but tomorrow is on its way. Sometimes, things seem better in a day or two. Time really does help in lots of different situations. Philippians 3:13

[/list]
Unfortunately, bad days happen to everyone. When you’re having a bad day choose to put things into perspective and realize that your life isn’t over. You may have had a bad day, but the good news is that you’ve got God on your side. God will help see you through when you’re having a bad day.

Similar Devotions For Teenagers

Lessons on Success From Frozen Waffles

Posted on October 4, 2013

Frozen waffles could possibly be one of the best inventions on the planet. There is nothing better when you’re rushing off to school in the morning than being able to stuff a frozen waffle in the toaster and have a hot breakfast ready in just a few minutes. Other than enjoying their crispy goodness, have you ever stopped to think about where frozen waffles came from?

Frozen waffles began with a guy named Frank Dorsa. Frank got his feet wet by making mayo, then he started experimenting with making waffle batter. His waffle batter was really good, and he had lots of people wanting more of it than he could make and keep fresh. This caused a problem. His waffle batter was going bad. He had a great product, but couldn’t keep it fresh long enough to ship it all over the country.

So what did Frank do? He thought outside of the box and decided to ship the waffles frozen.

What if instead of finding a solution, Frank had said, ‘My waffle batter is going bad. Bummer! I guess I’m just going to have to say forget it, and stop making waffles”. If Frank would have done that, he would have cut the worldwide brand, Eggo short.

In the same way, how many times do we do that type of thing with God? Life throws us a problem and we say, “Bummer! I guess I’m going to have to forget it, or do something else”. We hit a problem and give up. We never stand our ground, believe God, and allow God to help us turn what looks like a problem into an opportunity.

[quote align=”center” color=”#999999″]But if any of you lack wisdom, you should pray to God, who will give it to you; because God gives generously and graciously to all. – James 1:5 (GNB)[/quote]

When you’re faced with a problem and you don’t know what to do, ask God. He wants to help you. When you’re teamed up with God, you know you’re bound for success! Let God help you, and you’ll see what once looked like a problem turn around into an awesome opportunity!

###

Story Adapted from: “Eggo Guy – Frank Dorsa.” Mental Floss. September/October 2013

Similar Devotions For Teens

Feeling Overwhelmed?

Posted on June 10, 2013

As a teenager, your life is busy. You have many things that are begging for your attention. You’ve got things like a mountain of homework, your friends, family and job responsibility all asking for your time and attention.

As a doctor in a Washington Post article put it,

“Our teenagers are becoming more over-scheduled and over-stressed” – Anisha Abraham (Georgetown University Hospital) “

With so many responsibilites and things begging for your time, how should you decide your priorities and deal with all the stress that faces you daily?

Here’s a few things I found helpful when going through a stressful time in my life.

Make time for God – Always make sure that no matter how busy you are, that you’re allowing time in your life for God. Your time reading the Bible or listening to a good teaching mp3 is key to your success for the day. Its kind of like trying to drive a car without the tank full of gas. You can go for a bit on fumes, but you won’t go far if you don’t fill up with gas. Making time for God will fill up your spiritual gas tank so to speak. It helps you have the peace and gives you a foundation to stand on when things get tough in your life.
Learn to be ok with what you’re able to do – This isn’t an excuse to be lazy, but sometimes you have to learn to be okay with what you can do. You might not have the award winning science project and also be able to get first place in choir competition. That’s okay. Just do your best, but realize there are only 24 hours in a day and sometimes not everything will be perfect or get done exactly the way you would like it to be.
Pick what’s important – There are so many things calling for your attention. You have friends that want you to hang out. You’ve got homework to do for school and you need to practice your instrument for band tryouts. With so many things calling for your time you’ll probably have to say no to something. You’ll have to decide what things are the most important and then you may have to say no to some things that aren’t as important. If you don’t learn to say no to some things, you’ll find out you’re really stressed in life.

Its important to remember that when things get busy and stressful in life you can always go to God and ask for his help. Many times He can show you a plan or a creative way to get the things done that you need to do so that you don’t have as much stress in your life.

[quote align=”center” color=”#999999″]

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” -Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)

[/quote]

Always be sure that in times of stress you don’t let your friendship with God slip. Its easy to leave God out when you get busy and feel the stress of everyday life. Your relationship with God is key to getting through stressful situations, so decide to not put it to the side.

Pray: God I come to you in the name of Jesus and I thank you for your help that is always there for me. You said that I could come to you to get grace and mercy in my time of need. I ask for your grace, I ask for your help now in my time of need and I believe that you are giving me the wisdom and strength I need to live today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Listen: I’m Good by Trip Lee

Newer Posts