Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

They were beautiful, but wild and seemingly untamable. These horses of mine galloped across the white sands, surging at times into the foaming sea. A jet black mane and a tail that looked like wispy smoke trailed behind my stallion, Fear. He wasn’t always unruly, but when that glint appeared in his coal black eyes, I knew it would be near impossible to catch him. Passion pawed at the waves with a...

In James 3, we are given metaphors for what our “tongue” (or the words we say) is like. James says our words have inherent power, and that power can be used either for good or evil. He explains the power of the tongue with two analogies: the bridle of a horse (verse 3) and the rudder of a ship (verse 4). Have you ever ridden a horse? Horses are large, powerful creatures, but they can be turned thi...

Have you ever heard such wonderful phrases as these? “You are precious to me.” “I love you.” “I am with you.” “Do not fear.” Do you know anyone who would speak so tenderly to you? This is how the God of heaven speaks over His people. And even more. He says: “I have created you.” “I have redeemed you.” “I have called you by name.” “You are mine.” “I will be with you.” “I am the Lord your God.” All...

Not everyone has great parents. Not everyone has a family history they are proud of. If that’s you, know this: God loves you no matter who your parents are. They might be criminals. They might be people you aren’t proud of and never want to be like. But if you’ve put your trust in Jesus, you have been adopted into God’s family. You are God’s child. No matter who your ancestors are or what they hav...

READ: PSALM 13; ROMANS 8:18-39 Horatio G. Spafford was a lawyer, an investor, and a follower of Christ who suffered many tragedies in his life. Spafford’s son (also named Horatio) died of scarlet fever at age four. And in October of 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed all his investments along Lake Michigan. Two years later, in 1873, Horatio thought it would be a good idea to travel with his fa...

I can’t. But God can. I am weak. But God is strong. I am afraid. But He can make me brave. I can’t do it alone. But I don’t have to be alone. In my darkness, God is my light. In my pain, He gives healing. I love the verse in Isaiah that says if we hope in the Lord, we will soar on wings like eagles. We will not grow weary or be faint. God will give us strength. Sometimes, we need to be weak so tha...

When God created the world, He saw that it was good (Genesis 1:31). But when the first humans went their own way against God, sin and brokenness messed up that goodness. While we are still made in God’s image, and we like to try to create good things too, we will never reach perfection in our broken world. We make mistakes. We mess up. For example, I love to write, and a big part of that process i...

This morning as I was reaching for my Bible, I was soul-weary from a week of grief and tears. I needed to be saturated in the tRuth Then, a picture popped into my mind so instantly and clearly, I felt sure it was from God. The picture was of an IV line threading from my Bible into my arm. Doctors use an IV line (or intravenous line) to give a patient fluids or medicine. The small tube feeds straig...

Two of your closest friends are whispering to each other, glancing at you every now and then, giggling. What thoughts enter your head? Does your mind spin something negative without knowing the truth of the situation? Spoiler alert: Your friends were actually planning a surprise birthday party for you! Over a few days, you send multiple texts to a family member and even try to call them, but they...

I’m twenty-eight years old, and I wish I had realized sooner that God is my truest friend. As a teen, I was told that everyone could make friends easily. But in school, I felt as if I was the only one who couldn’t. I desperately wanted to, but I had a hard time finding true friends. I would make friends only to have them walk out of my life, sometimes permanently. This took an emotional toll on me...

Do you often think about what is to come tomorrow, next week, or next year? None of us know what is to come. It’s up to God to know. He holds the future, and He will be with us when we get there. We can trust Him because He’s good, and His faithful love endures forever (Psalm 136:1). As we rely on God and follow Jesus, we don’t have to worry about the future. Instead, we can be free to focus on th...

I sometimes struggle with the fact that God offers the same kind of grace and love to someone who has hurt me as He does to me. I mean that person doesn’t deserve all that, do they? Maybe you are the kind of person who goes out of your way to do nice things for others. And then you have someone in your life who only thinks about their own needs. Does it bother you when you realize that God loves t...

God can do all things. There are countless passages in the Bible about amazing things God has done. The Exodus is a good example. God rescued the Israelites, along with many other people, from the ruthless rulers who had enslaved them in Egypt. God sent plagues until Pharaoh let the people go, and then God went ahead of His people in a pillar of fire and cloud to guide and protect them. When Phara...

College preparation is daunting. You outline the roadmap to your futurea blueprint setting a foundation for your life. Thus, you strive to place every step perfectly in order, as though you were scaling a mountain and had to plan each foothold to reach the summit. In high school, I applied to a wide range of colleges, considering numerous paths, though I’d always planned to study English. By the m...

I might feel weak, not ready to face the bullies I see around me. I might feel weak, not prepared for a health battle in front of me. I might feel weak, unable to stand up for myself. I might feel weak but I serve a God who is strong. You will have days when life gets to you and you feel weak. You will have days when you are tired. But even on those days, God is strong, and He is prepared to be th...

“This better be worth it, I muttered through gritted teeth. The straps of my backpack bit into my shoulders, making each step feel heavier than the last. “Malik said it would be just around this bend. If he’s wrong, I’m gonna tell him to carry this stupid weight all this way.” I knew it didn’t actually work that waynobody could carry somebody else’s weightbut the thought made a wry smile stretch a...

How should we react when negative and unkind words are spoken to us or about us? Do we react in anger to defend ourselves or get involved in arguments in order to clear our reputations? Do we meditate on these hurtful words and hold grudges? Years back, I would respond to such words in a rude way, either to defend myself or to hurt the people who had spoken hurtful words to me. I would meditate on...

Miriam was a prophet, a leader, and a singer. In Exodus 15, she led the women in a dance to the Lord on the day He saved them from slavery in Egypt by parting the Red Sea and defeating the army that pursued them. In this instance, she used her mouth for good, to sing praises to God. However, in another incident (Numbers 12), Miriam used her mouth wrongly. She and Aaron spoke against their brother,...

Confess your sins All the wrong things you do He won’t condemn But He will make you new When you are weary Remember the words He’s spoken Come to Him He heals the broken God’s Word is powerful He’s never lied He loves the sinners To them, His grace applied Confess your sins Let Him heal you Come to Him Let Him make your life new Bethany Acker When we do wrong, we don’t have to try to hide our sin....

“Where is that pearl?” Mira worriedly wound a strand of her long, lavender locks around her finger. She swam up to a glistening sea anemone and peered around it carefully. Nothing! Hey girl! Mira whipped around to see the freckle-filled face of her best friend grinning back at her. Lena! You scared my tail off! Mira huffed, smoothing her turquoise scales. Lena laughed and said, What are you lookin...

READ: ROMANS 8 Sometimes, even the best-laid plans don’t work out. There’s nothing wrong with planning, and, in fact, it’s healthy. However, what I have learned since I was a teen is that God is working His purposes through all things, even when my own plans fall apart. Trust me, I know personally the pain of a lost dream and plan. My fiancé was someone I really loved. We seemed perfect for each o...

Living creatures thirst for water. Thirst is the kind of feeling that makes one unsettled until water is found to quench it. As humans, we also experience spiritual thirstthe kind of thirst God alone can satisfy. In Psalm 42, the psalmist compares his longing and thirst for God to that of a deer for water. When a deer has an overwhelming longing for water, it can’t settle till it finds it. In a si...

If I could just reach a little farther Stretching as much as I canI see that hand reaching toward me I feel myself falling awayDown I goSave me! Just like that, I am grabbedHe pulls me upI am rescuedI am warm and wrapped in peace One cry to HimOne catch when I was falling awayI am okay nowHe is with meHe holds me and whispers to meI have been saved Emily Acker No matter how hard we try, none of us...

Most of us don’t enjoy waiting; it feels like a boring, passive exercise. Just the word “waiting” might stir up images of sitting in a doctor’s office with nothing to do. Or maybe it feels like the endless days before summer vacation, staring out the window or watching the clock. Waiting seems like a non-activity. As Christians, we wait for many things. We wait for God’s perfect timing and for His...

Sparrows are the most common birds in the world, and almost every type of sparrow is small and beige with brown streaks. It’s no surprise that many people, even experienced bird-watchers, have trouble telling them apart! That’s why bird-watchers don’t just look at outside appearances to tell species apart. Even though many birds look the same on the outside, different species of birds often act di...