Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

READ: JOB 42; ROMANS 12:15

The book of Job wrestles with a question we’ve been asking for a long time: “Why do we suffer?” While we may rush to answers like “suffering makes us stronger” or “only bad people suffer,” these fall flat when we see a friend in heart-wrenching, life-sucking, can’t-get-out-of-bed anguish. And they aren’t the answers God gives in the book of Job.

The Bible tells us that Job was “blameless—a man of complete integrity” (Job 1:1). But God permitted Satan to steal Job’s wealth, attack Job’s health, and kill Job’s children. Job’s friends traveled to be with him, and they mourned with him silently for a week. Then Job spoke, cursing the day he was born.

But, instead of comforting him, Job’s friends insisted he must have done something wrong to deserve this terrible suffering. They argued back and forth for several chapters as Job defended his innocence and made a legal case against God for his unjust suffering. Meanwhile, his friends repeatedly accused Job of some forgotten or overlooked sin in his past.

Finally, God spoke.

But God didn’t say, “Hey Job, here’s why I’ve allowed you to suffer.” Instead, He revealed His glory in a whirlwind and reminded Job that He is the loving, sovereign Creator of the universe. God showed Job and his friends that He is there, and He is bigger than suffering. His reasons for allowing suffering aren’t simple, and they aren’t always for us to understand.

I know that’s not the answer we want. Or at least, it’s not the answer I want. I would like a precise, point-by-point breakdown of exactly why all the suffering had to happen. But that’s not what God gives us. He doesn’t give us a list of reasons. Instead, He gives us Himself. And, at least for Job, that’s enough. After he heard God’s answer, Job said, “I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me…I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes” (Job 42:3-5).

As believers, we can know that Jesus dwells with us in the dust and ashes of this broken world, sharing in our suffering and promising that sin and death will not have the last word. As the all-knowing, all-powerful, loving God of the universe, Jesus became human, suffered on the cross to defeat sin, rose from the grave to defeat death, and is returning to destroy suffering forever. Jesus knows personally what suffering feels like, and He is determined to free us from the grip of sin and all its effects (Hebrews 4:14-16; Revelation 21:1-5). And even as we wait for the day suffering will be over, Jesus is with us through the Holy Spirit, comforting us in all our troubles (John 14:16-18; 2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

So where does that leave us?

Well, whenever we’re suffering, we can rest in Jesus’s loving arms. We can bring Him all our pain, our anger, our questions, and our frustrations. God may not show up in a whirlwind like He did for Job, but He is right there with us, inviting us to fix our eyes on Him.

And when our friends are suffering, we can sit with them in their pain. Hurt with them. Love them. And point them to Jesus, who loves them even more than we do, and who is returning to destroy all sin, suffering, and death—forever. • Taylor Eising

• Because the God who holds us through suffering is so big yet also knows our suffering personally, we can bring all our hurts and pains to Him through lament. He can handle it. What laments do you want to bring to Him today, either for your own suffering or the suffering of others? Consider taking a moment to tell Him about whatever is on your mind.

• Comforting a friend in pain can feel awkward, especially when we don’t know what to say. But, sometimes, being with them silently is the best thing we can do. How did Job’s “friends” make his pain worse? What do you think they could have done to bring comfort to Job?

• Jesus feels our pain with us—He even weeps with us. How could this truth help us draw near to Him for comfort when we’re hurting? 

Then Job replied to the LORD...“I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.” Job 42:1, 5 (NLT)

READ: PSALM 66:19-20; MARK 5:21-43; JAMES 1:19

You know the feeling when you’re having a conversation with someone, and then you notice them looking at their phone while you’re talking? When this happens to me, I’m tempted to stop and ask, “Are you listening to me?” Because I wonder if my words actually matter to them.

Listening is an important part of communicating, but we often take it for granted in our busy lives. Demands like homework, jobs, and extracurriculars fill our schedules. To stay caught up, we may try juggling several things at once. The problem is, all this multitasking can affect our ability to really listen and love others well.

Jesus was a good listener. In Mark 5, Jesus was on His way to save a twelve year-old girl who was close to death. You can imagine the girl’s father and Jesus’s disciples urging Him to hurry. But along the way, Jesus felt the pain of someone else near Him, and He stopped to help. The person in pain was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve long years. Jesus listened to her story and then said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over” (verse 34).

In this moment, and throughout His ministry, Jesus demonstrated how listening involves more than just hearing words. He paid attention. He let people know their value and responded in love. He even took time to listen as He suffered on the cross (Luke 23:39-43).

James 1:19 says we should be “quick to listen.” We can learn to listen and love others well as we remember that Jesus is always listening to us, always loving us. • Kristine Brown

• Can you think of a time someone truly listened to you? What was that like?

• How can listening to others well show the love of Jesus?

• James 1:19 tells us to be “quick to listen” and “slow to speak.” What could it look like for you to practice this in your own relationships?

But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. Psalm 66:19 (NLT) 

READ: JEREMIAH 1:1-9; 11:1-5; 1 TIMOTHY 4:12; 2 TIMOTHY 2:23-26

Jeremiah was a young man when God called him to be a prophet—a messenger to speak to the people on God’s behalf. At that time in Judah, the religious leaders had abandoned God’s Word. As a result, widows, orphans, and immigrants were being taken advantage of—in clear violation of God’s Word—and the leaders weren’t doing anything about it. Although people were worshipping God in the temple, many were also going out and worshipping false Gods, and some were even engaging in the horrible pagan practice of child sacrifice. Jeremiah was to tell the people of Judah to repent of their evil and follow God instead.

Even though Jeremiah felt too young and unqualified for this task, God still worked through him to warn the people that judgment was coming, to call them to repentance, and even to point forward to the hope of God’s promised Messiah (Jeremiah 30-33).

Sadly, nobody listened.

People don’t always want to hear what a younger person is telling them. Older people sometimes believe they are wiser than young people. And sometimes younger people don’t want to hear what an older person is telling them either. At times, we all resist being told the truth.

Yet, Jesus tells us, “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32). God doesn’t want us to be held captive to sin; He wants to free us! That’s why God asks each and every Christian, no matter their age, to tell His wondrous story—which centers around Jesus the Messiah dying and rising again to save us from sin. God calls us to teach others to follow Jesus. Yet it is truly difficult to tell others about Jesus when they willingly turn away and reject the good news.

Though people didn’t listen to Jeremiah and even threatened his life, he persevered and spoke the truth boldly and in love—just as all believers are called to do (Ephesians 4:15; 6:19-20). He listened for God’s voice and spoke when God commanded.

In the same way, even when no one listens, God asks us to speak and tell about Him, and He promises that He will be with us as we do (Matthew 28:20). Like He did for Jeremiah, God will guide and empower us to tell the true story of the gospel, and He will work through our words. • Anna Gregory

• What is the hardest thing for you about telling others about Jesus? What can 2 Timothy 2:23-26 show us about what it means to witness well—even when no one listens? (For more about the gospel, and how to share it with others, see our "Know Jesus" page.)

Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Ephesians 4:15 (NLT) 

READ: MATTHEW 6:19-21; JOHN 3:16-17; 14:1-4; REVELATION 19:6-9; 21:1-5

Do you like to host parties? Back when I worked in youth ministry, I used to host gatherings at my house frequently. I would spend a day or more preparing—picking my menu, cleaning the house, and writing a lesson with my co-leader. I would set out blankets and pillows. I would get the space heater going and light a candle. All of this to ensure that when my guests came over, they would feel welcome, loved, at home.

Did you know that Jesus is doing the same thing for you? Scripture tells us that Jesus is preparing a place for us right now!

However, while my guests would come and go, Jesus is inviting you to stay forever. And though all I did was prepare for a day or so, Jesus literally came to earth as a human baby, lived thirty-three years, and then died on the cross for your sins and rose from the grave to defeat death—all to make the way for you to be with Him forever.

While we don’t know a whole lot about what the new heavens and the new earth will be like, we do know some things. We know there will be no more crying, and nothing will fade there. We know there will be a great feast. One of the best things about parties and gatherings is the people who are there. It’s not like we enter eternity by ourselves—we’ll be together with Jesus and with all our fellow believers! Sounds pretty great, right? But I think the biggest thing is that we know we are wanted there. This is one place you’ll never have to question if you’re invited or if you’ll feel comfortable. Jesus is preparing a place for me and for you. Want to go with me? • Natty Maelle

• Have you ever been somewhere you didn’t feel welcome, wanted, or maybe even safe? How does it make you feel knowing that Jesus is inviting you somewhere you will feel all of those things and more?

[Jesus said,] “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:2-3 (NIV)

READ: PSALM 139:1-4; ROMANS 5:6-8; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17

We curate the caption and crop the distraction,
Chasing the applause of a virtual reaction.
We polish the exterior to hide the interior,
Afraid that our true selves are somehow inferior.
But in the quiet, when the screen goes black,
We feel the heavy weight of the perfection we lack.
See, Jesus didn’t come for your highlight reel,
He came for the brokenness you try to conceal.
No filter could cover the crimson cost of sin,
So He opened His arms to let the rebels in.
On the cross, He was exposed, stripped, and bruised,
So the real you would never have to be refused.
He was buried in the dark so you could walk in the light,
Tearing the veil to make your future bright.
The grave couldn’t hold Him, the stone rolled away,
Giving you mercy that is new every day.
You are not a brand, a post, or a trend,
You are chosen, beloved, and called His friend.
So drop the performance, let the pretense cease,
And rest in the rhythm of His perfect peace. • Ty Scott King

• Why do you think it’s sometimes easier to show people a curated version of ourselves rather than who we really are? What parts of yourself do you try to curate, edit, and hide away?

• Jesus sees the unedited version of you, and He loves you so much that He died and rose again for you. How could this truth affect the way yo view your mistakes, flaws, or things you just don’t like about yourself?

• Are there any areas of your life where you feel like you’re putting on a performance instead of trusting God’s grace? Consider spending some time in prayer, laying these things down at Jesus’s feet and asking Him to help you see yourself the way He sees you.

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) 

READ: PSALM 77; ROMANS 8:35-39

Have you ever felt abandoned by God?

Psalm 77 records a fervent prayer of Asaph. At the beginning, Asaph searches for and calls out to God, so we’d think everything would turn out okay, right? But then Asaph groans! He remembers the ways God helped him in the past, but he feels agony that he is no longer in that place. He starts to wonder if God still cares about him. He goes so far as to question God’s character, wondering if He is even compassionate and merciful anymore.

In the same way, we may have moments when we cry out to God, remembering that He is with us, and we still feel no comfort. That’s because our circumstances bring us real pain, and we know that God can do something about it. But He doesn’t. And we can’t understand why He doesn’t.

But just when Asaph is going down that path, everything shifts. This is when he intentionally directs his thoughts to God’s faithfulness. Asaph is essentially saying, I’m going to choose to remember what God has done for me in the past. Even though my circumstances have changed since then, God has not changed. My situation is different, but God is still the same.

By the end of the psalm, in one sense, nothing has changed for Asaph. His situation is unmoved. But in another sense, pondering what’s true about God changed everything for Asaph, as his mind shifted from the pain of his circumstances to the awesomeness of His God. It’s like he was saying, You have done great things. Nothing stood in your way when you led your people out of the most difficult, hopeless situation. No one and nothing has ever stood in your way.

Think about what Jesus has done for you and for me—what His life, death, and resurrection have saved us from, and what He continues to rescue us out of. God has not changed, even if our circumstances have. No matter what’s going on in our lives, God has not given up on us. He never has, and He never will. • Andrew Jacob Mead

• Can you think of any examples of good things God has done for you in the past—ways He has rescued, provided for, sustained, or delighted you? Consider taking a moment to thank Him for this! (James 1:17)

• Can you think of a time you felt abandoned by God? Jesus felt abandoned by the Father when He was on the cross, so He knows how we feel (Matthew 27:45-46). And because Jesus died and rose again for us, nothing can ever separate us from Him. (Find out more on our "Know Jesus" page.)

But then I recall all you have done, O LORD; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. Psalm 77:11 (NLT) 

READ: ISAIAH 53:3-4; EPHESIANS 1:3-7; 1 PETER 2:4

When my parents divorced, I moved to a brand-new town at the beginning of fourth grade. After feeling rejected by a parent and leaving my hometown where all my old friends were, it felt good when I made three friends at my new school. But suddenly, one day, none of them wanted to play with me anymore. They didn’t want to be my friends. For about a month or so, they intentionally ignored and made fun of me. I felt rejection—again.

It hurt to be rejected like that. I was new to the area, and I’d thought these were my only real friends. Since then, I’ve learned that when we face rejection, it helps to remember three things:

1. Jesus experienced rejection too. You are not alone. Jesus knows. Jesus has gone through the pain and the heartache. He was betrayed by a close friend— and then disowned by a friend who was even closer. His disciples completely abandoned Him in His most painful hour. Jesus can relate to us. He’s been there before. He has felt our sadness. And that’s the next point.

2. It’s okay to be sad. Sometimes we think that sadness is a sign of weakness. But we read in Isaiah 53 that Jesus was “a man of sorrows.” He knows our hurt and pain. He experienced deep sadness, and He wept. It’s okay to be sad and acknowledge hurt. It’s healthy to cry and feel the full weight of our pain, knowing that Jesus won’t let it break us. And that’s the third point.

3. We are not crushed. If we’ve put our trust in Jesus to save us, why don’t we break? Because we’ve been chosen by the all-powerful God, the one who created everything! So even if the whole world rejects us, it won’t crush us, because God will never reject us. His Spirit lives in us, sustaining us through heartache and reminding us of God’s unfailing love (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

So whenever we’re rejected, we can run to Jesus, remembering that He knows our pain, and it’s okay to be sad. Rejection cannot crush us, because who we are in Jesus can never be taken away. • Andrew Jacob Mead

• When we face rejection, how could it be comforting to know that Jesus experienced the greatest rejection of all—and He endured it for us? (John 1:10-12)

• When we feel the pain of rejection, how could it be helpful to remember that God chose us? Consider taking a moment to talk to Him about any times you’ve been rejected. He wants to help us process these terrible experiences through prayer, Scripture, tears, and conversations with trusted Christians in our lives who can show us the compassionate love of Jesus.

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. Ephesians 1:4 (NLT) 

READ: DEUTERONOMY 33:26-29; ISAIAH 40:1-11; JOHN 10:10-11, 27-30

When I was little, my dad had a friend who visited us, named Dennis. Once we took him on a walk through the woods on some family property. My parents probably suggested I change into more suitable shoes, but I wore sandals. Before long, I stepped into a pile of biting fire ants. As the insects swarmed my feet, Dennis quickly reached down and scooped me up. As he held me, he brushed the bugs away. I felt protected and safe in his arms, high above the stinging ants.

Later, we ate lunch with Dennis. During the meal, I choked on an onion ring. Dennis knew how to help. I don’t remember how the onion got dislodged, but I do remember Dennis comforting me again in the safety of his strong arms. The strength he shared—and the safety I felt—is something I remember about Dennis decades later.

When I ponder God’s character, sometimes these memories of Dennis come to mind. In the Bible, we find that whenever we’re in trouble, God reaches down to rescue us. In Jesus, He endured the cross so that we could be held, protected and safe, in His strong arms. Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, not only do we receive forgiveness and eternal life, but Christ also ushers us into a relationship with God our Father. And what a Father He is!

The prophet Isaiah says, “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart” (40:11). And later, Isaiah shares God’s words to us, “I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you” (46:4). Sometimes it’s difficult to envision God as a loving Father, especially if our parents were distant or harsh. But God the Father looks after us with care and holds us close in our need—like Dennis did for me. • Allison Wilson Lee

• Can you think of any people in your life who’ve shown you the compassionate strength of God the Father? How did their actions show God’s love?

• How could remembering that God carries us close to His heart help us trust Him more? Consider taking a moment to talk to Him about this, and maybe even imagine Him holding you this way.

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Deuteronomy 33:27 (NIV) 

READ: EXODUS 24:12; 34:6; ROMANS 7:1-22; GALATIANS 3

Kids under ten can be pretty blunt. While listening to the book of Leviticus, a freckled-faced girl commented, “I feel like the God of the Old Testament is so different from the New Testament. He’s sitting on a couch saying, ‘Bring me more grapes! Do this! Don’t do that, or you will be punished!’” While her words were startling, this nine-year-old made some sense.

Throughout the Old Testament, we find accounts of God punishing sin and disobedience—by death, fire, plagues, and the like. Where is the God of mercy who died on the cross to save us? Did God eventually soften up over the years? What was the point of giving us the law anyway?

First, it’s important to remember that, from before the beginning of creation until the end of time and beyond, God remains the same. Like a diamond, He has many facets. Not only is He completely loving and merciful but He is also fully holy and just. God in His goodness and holiness cannot be a part of sin, which breaks and destroys. And, sadly, we have all sinned.

Thankfully, God’s plan all along was to come to us in Jesus as “the sacrifice that atones for our sins” (1 John 2:2). The law is useful because it reveals God’s righteousness—and our inability to carry it out. All our good deeds will always be “nothing but filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). We need a Savior—the Son of God Himself who did no wrong. Only His sacrifice for us could make us truly right with God. The law is powerless to save us from sin and death, but in Christ Jesus, we receive the fullness of God’s mercy and new life. • Savannah Coleman

• Consider just a few examples of God’s mercy in the Old Testament: saving Noah’s family from the flood (Genesis 6-9), rescuing Lot’s family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:1-29), delivering the Israelites out of slavery (Exodus 1-14), or calling Nineveh to repentance and showing them compassion, even though the city had been wicked to the core (Jonah 3–4). When we read the Old Testament, how could it be helpful to go into it expecting to see God’s rescuing love?

• Consider just a few examples of God’s justice in the New Testament: Ananias and Sapphira’s consequence for lying to God (Acts 5:1-11), the parable Jesus told of the widow and her adversary and how that relates to God’s justice on behalf of His children (Luke 18:1-8), and the defeat of Satan at the end of time (Revelation 19:11-21; 20:10). How could it be comforting to know that God does not turn a blind eye to evil and injustice, but promises to right every wrong?

But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes. Romans 7:13 (NLT) 

READ: PSALM 119:105; PROVERBS 6:23; JOHN 1:1-18; EPHESIANS 5:1-20

Once, when I was about fifteen, I was in the woods late at night with my scouting group. We turned our flashlights off to practice stealthy forest maneuvers—just to see if we could make it back to camp without a light. We decided that one of us would be the leader. The girl in front (she claimed to have excellent night vision) inched slowly ahead, and we each followed, one after the other.

To avoid branches in our faces, roots twisting our ankles, nettles ripping our skin, or losing the path altogether, we had to stick as close to the girl ahead as we possibly could. Each of us placed our hand on the shoulder of the one in front of us. And in that way, we made it back to base camp uninjured. However, what if the girl we were following was just plain wrong? She could have led us all into a slimy pond with hordes of mosquitos! Perhaps just using our flashlights wouldn’t have been such a bad idea.

Light is key. As Christians, we look to Jesus, who is the Light of the world. We grow in our relationship with Him through spending time in His Word, the Bible. That’s why the Bible is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path (Psalm 119:105), because it points to Jesus. It reveals to us the love of the Father. Through Jesus’s death and resurrection, He calls us and adopts us as His own sons and daughters.

How can we walk in our new identity as “children of light” (Ephesians 5:8)? We walk in the light through the power of the Holy Spirit living within. As we read the Bible, He illuminates the truth of God’s Word to our hearts.

We live in a very dark world. But, thanks be to God, He has not left us in some dark forest with just one of our number claiming some special skills as our only way through. We don’t have to mindlessly hold on to the shoulder of the one ahead. We can turn on the light. • Kristen Merrill

• Some people refer to their daily time in the Bible and prayer as a “daily illumination” because they’re spending time with Jesus, the Light of the world. We all need time like this because we’re all living in a dark world until Jesus renews His creation (Revelation 21:1-5; 22:5). Can you think of a time Jesus’s light illuminated a dark place in your life?

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (NIV)