Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

Do you wake up at night worried sick about the future? You are not alone. Fear and anxiety are rife. Stress has become a natural ingredient in peoples’ lives, regardless of their age. News from aroun…

Growing up, church attendance, youth group, and church camp were all regular parts of my life. However, I never really read my Bible or talked about my faith outside of “church stuff.” I probably wo…

“There’s no time,” the voice on the radio says. “You must come now.” I look around the cockpit of the spaceship—my spaceship. The control station, the thick, curved glass of the windows, the sleek…

At the beginning of every spring, I get stressed. The long, harsh winter is finally coming to a close. I know the flowers will start blooming soon, and I worry that I’ll miss it. That I’ll miss seein…

In the book of Genesis, Joseph was the favorite son of Israel, also known as Jacob. And his brothers hated him because of it. One day, they did an evil thing to Joseph and threw him into a cistern. J…

Life is full of ups and downs. When everything seems to be going well—when we have friends and are at peace with those around us, when we have all the material things we need and are in good health—w…

What is it I see going o’er the fields? Some shadow, beast, or ghost? Swooping down low. Ensnaring its prey. My escape from it I cannot boast. It has armies no, legions! They will try to get you …

Jehu Jones Jr. was born enslaved in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1786. His father, Jehu Jones Sr., was trained as a tailor, and he was so skilled that the elite class in Charleston requested his ex…

Do you ever wrestle over what God’s will is for your life? When I graduated high school, I was quite anxious about choosing the “right path.” I grappled with decisions about college, wrote lists of …

Have you ever had a heavy heart—felt the physical effects of your sadness weighing you down? You are not alone. I have felt this way too. Worries, painful experiences, anxiety, grief, or guilt can bu…

In Luke 15, Jesus tells a parable where a father has two sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance, even though his father is still alive. The father does not scold his son but willingly and fre…

One morning, while out for a nature walk, I observed a group of tiny sparrows mobbing a large hawk perched in a tree. Why did they do that, when the hawk was so much bigger than them? Well, while the…

Who is my enemy? I feel like anyone who hurts me in some way is an enemy in that moment. I know I get hurt a lot, so I get lots of opportunities to pray for my enemies! How can I do this? Asking God…

“No one cares what happens to me,” you mumble, wrinkling up the paper you’d been writing on. “What’s the point of even trying?” We’ve all had times when it felt like it was us against the world. W…

The night had been long. Simon felt bone-weary as he cleaned his fishing nets. There on the shore, surrounded by a large crowd, was Jesus. This man had already healed many. He taught with such author…

We were all lined up for the egg toss contEsther Jack threw our team’s egg, and SPLAT! The raw egg hit my new pink blouse and broke. As it slid down the front, it left a long trail. Jack laughed so …

There was a golden engraving on the massive wooden door in front of me: “House of Wisdom” it read. Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the door. Inside, my eyes were greeted by a plush entryway, red…

The rich scent of trees and earth fill the deep woods. Waves of alternating warm and cool breezes wash over your skin as you step from the shadows to the sunlight and back again. Bright eyes of a ch…

Have you ever been content, then out of nowhere a problem or difficult situation replayed itself in your mind? You are not alone. One day, during some solitary time with God, a troubling memory flash…

One of the biggest issues I struggled with in middle school was the overwhelming pressure to find an identity. Most of my friends had their “things”—hobbies, talents, or interests that seemed to def…