Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

Love is not just a four-letter word. Sometimes we want to hear someone say, I love you and really mean it and show it. My dear husband doesn’t say I love you very often. When he does say it, I know he truly means it. More than anything, he shows me he loves me. He drives me to the doctor, or he fixes things for me. If I’m afraid or upset, he wraps me in his arms and holds me tight. I know my husba...

Hating my father hurt. I had stomach-aches that doubled me over at times. But I tried to hide the pain. Mom shouldn’t have to worry about me, on top of everything else. My dad left us and moved in with another woman. Mom said to forgive him, but I won’t. I can’t. I could hear Mom cry at night, and the anger I felt with each of her sobs grew inside of me. But gradually, Mom started to cry less. She...

Are you hungry for justice? Do you thirst for light in a dark world? Are you desperate for a purpose to go on? Are you searching for meaning in life? Do you wish to be understood? Are you longing to be loved? Bring your hopes to the only One who can satisfy, The Light of the World, The King of Kings, The Living Water and the Bread of Life. He understands what you are facing. He is with you in the...

I held the paper in my hand, reading the message in surprise. A telegram! I didn’t know anybody who sent (or received) telegrams, yet there I stood with one of my own. I’d competed at a local level in a national scholarship program and then advanced to the state event. Participating at the state competition involved traveling several hours away from home and staying with a host family for a week....

Ugh, my daughter said in disgust. Whole peppercorns covered Eloise’s broccoli alfredo and looked like mini meatballs floating on a sea of white sauce. The culprit: a broken pepper grinder. Lately, our pepper grinder had been breaking the peppercorns in half instead of grinding them. Now, the grinder lay in pieces, and I made a mental note to add a new one to the shopping list. Eloise set the broke...

When you read Psalm 136, you might see why I’ve called it a psalm of thanksgiving. The first three verses say, Give thanks. This Psalm was written to be a group song of thanks, meaning that one person or part of the group would sing the first line, then the majority of the group would sing back, His love endures forever. But what exactly is the psalmor songthanking God for? Each verse thanks Him f...

There have been times in my life when I would hear hurtful words, especially when I made a mistake. But there were also moments when I would speak harshly and hurt others. I would be inconsiderate of them. I would be insensitive and fail to understand people. I have been careless with my words. Whenever someone speaks unkindly to me, I have a tendency to speak with rudeness as well. I used to not...

Military conflict breaks out. A tsunami hits. Justice is not accomplished. Christians are martyred. Violence escalates. At times, it seems there are unanswered ills that God is (at best) ignoring or (at worst) endorsing. This conundrum of God’s righteousness in the face of evil circumstances is not new. The prophet Habakkuk wondered how God could allow wickedness among His people. God’s reply was...

We often feel like we have to be a certain way or reach a certain goal because that’s what will make the people around us respect us. I have struggled with this. I feel like I need to be at a certain point financially, bringing in a certain amount of money, in order to not feel ashamed of my life and what I’ve accomplished. The Bible talks about how people admire the rich and those who are able to...

Jesus had the power to heal sickness. He had the power to forgive sins. He still does. You can trust Him with everything because He is great and powerful. Jesus has compassion for the hurting, and He cares for you. He loves the broken. He forgives sinners. Jesus can heal people who are blind, sick, paralyzed, and hurtingand He can forgive our sins. Jesus had the power not to die on the cross. He c...

When life is busy, our minds are constantly full of things we have to do, places we have to go, and people we have to see. It’s very easy to find ourselves becoming a little self-centered. We never intended to live in our own little worlds, but that’s what life seems to demand right now. In the event of Jesus feeding the five thousand (which is recorded in all four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, an...

Do you ever think about eternity? As a little kid, I used to lie awake at night, thinking about what it would be like to live forever and ever and everwith no end. An eternal life with God! There was no way to wrap my mind around the idea. No matter how many zeroes I put on the end of the number of years, it would still be just a beginning to eternity. This is the perspective that the apostle Pete...

Why is this happening, God? When will it stop? Tears fell as I poured out my heart and journaled to the Lord. I had prayed for a particular person in my life for years, but the grueling situation continued. My emotions ranged from despair to anger. What emotions have you experienced lately? What about in the last twenty-four hours? Emotions encompass a wide range: love, happiness, fear, anger, hat...

READ: PSALM 73:26; LAMENTATIONS 3:21-23; MATTHEW 11:28-30 When my alarm clock first went off, I did not want to rise; I laid within my bed awhile; It held me like a vice. A blackened cloud hung over me, Of doubt and fear and pain; I shut my eyes and thought I would Not open them again. It felt like I could not get up, Nor could I face the day; But then in my deep dark despair, I heard my Savior sa...

We all have them: thoughts or desires that pop into our headssome uninvited, others invited. There have been many times when, after such a thought, I was relieved that it was only in my mind and not flashing in lights for all to see. On one occasion, a thought had been plaguing me for several days. I just wanted to be rid of it. This thought was not helpful and would not further my relationship wi...

Ready for Bible trivia? What is the longest chapter in the Bible? The answer: Psalm 119, with a whopping 176 verses! Though it’s long, this psalm is all about the importance of God’s Word and how much the psalmist loves God’s law that He gave to the Israelites. A song about laws seems strange at first. We sometimes think of rules as annoying restrictions that keep us from doing whatever we want to...

Glistening gold, embedded with rubies, topaz, emeralds, sapphires, amethysts, and pearlsthe throne beckoned for something, or someone, to sit upon it. What would suffice? What could fill the desires of my heart and be worthy of that royal seat? First, I placed my family and friends on the throne. “Nothing is as precious as family and friends, surely. How selfless and thoughtful of me.” As I poured...

If only they took the time to really know me…. If only they took the time to ask how I’m doing… If only they understood my interests and what I want my life to be about… Do you sometimes feel like no one knows you or understands you? Do you feel as if your family members are so caught up in their own lives that they don’t really see you or notice when you are struggling? Do you rejoice alone when...

There are things in my life that I had once that I don’t have anymore. There are relationships that were once a big deal to me that were taken from me and are gone now. There are times when the pain of what I lost is very heavy …And there are times when I realize that the fact that I feel pain means I once had something good. I look back on the things I used to have, and I realize I have memories...

Have you ever witnessed an incredible storm? These amazing forces of nature can be mind-blowingand dangerous. One of Jesus’s well-known miracles happened in this context. Because of the hills surrounding the Sea of Galilee, this body of water was prone to sudden storms with fierce winds. When Jesus’s disciples were taking a boat to the other side, a sudden storm came over the high country surround...

Injustice is everywhere; just look outside. It’s hard not to see injustice. Why does God allow it? Humans have been wondering this for a long time. Psalm 73 was written by Asaph and records his struggles as he considers the wicked and those with callous hearts and evil imaginations. He sees how they are prosperous, healthy, and don’t have basic human burdens. Why would God allow this? Where is He?...

If you listen, you can hear it: the wind moving branches of trees long dead, these creaking bones that ache to live again. You hear it in the weary words of a mother at the store, comforting her crying child. You hear it in words unspoken in the eyes of the man holding a cardboard sign on the side of the road. You hear it in the undercurrent of sharp voices and the wound of words too hastily spewe...

The nightmares had started again. It had only been a few nights, and already I felt like I was sleepwalking through the dayspure exhaustion from the moment I opened my eyes. As the shower water beat down on my weary head, I prayed a prayer of the strength-sapped: God, help. Immediately, the words of Jesus filled my mind: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Mat...

God, not in my own strength I can’t do this alone God, not without your help I am too weak to press on God, not without your promises I can’t keep going God, not without you holding me I am too weak to stand God, I need you to lift me My head has fallen God, I need you to help me fly My wings are broken God, I need you to breathe into me My breath is gone God, keep my heart beating Keep me close t...

I am adopted. From what I hear from my parents, adopting me was not an easy task! Lots of paperwork, government background checks, and other miscellaneous thingsit took them many months before they could adopt. Adoption takes lots of money and time. It’s definitely not a calling for everyone, but when God does call people to adopt, it’s a reminder of the adoption we have in Christ. As Christians,...