Transformed – teen devotion – April 19, 2020
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever.
Psalm 146:1-6
Filled with praise
If you drive, you know the most important quality in a car.
Nope. It’s not how it looks. Although, I have to admit it’s pretty sweet to have a nice-looking car.
It’s not how fast it goes. Although, again, it feels really good to zoom past a Prius! (Well, it’s not really hard to do that, now is it?)
You find out the most important quality in a car when it fails in that quality. I’m talking about dependability.
If you want to go somewhere but your car won’t start, you stop caring about how it looks and how fast it goes. The longer you drive, the more you start praising cars for their dependability rather than their looks or speed.
The most amazing quality about God is his dependability.
His dependability is rooted in the fact that he will never die, will never go away, will never get sick. He’s always with you. And most importantly, he will never stop loving you.
God never fails. We are celebrating Easter—the best proof that God always delivers on his promises—especially the promise that you are forgiven and that your eternal future is absolutely secure.
I know this is true, but do you know what I often do? I depend too little on God and too much on other people.
How does that show itself in my life? I get devastated by a harsh comment from another person. I’m driven to feelings of depression when someone lets me down. I find myself living to impress other people.
How about you? Do you struggle with depending too much on other people for your sense of self-worth, your inner peace, and sense of security?
Here’s the good news. God won’t abandon us even when we struggle with depending on him! He doesn’t treat us as we treat him!
Wow! That makes me want to praise God. The longer I live, the more God’s dependability is evident in my life, especially when everything else falls apart. The longer I live, the more I’m filled with praise for God more than praise from anyone else.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for being dependable. I admit I depend far too much on other people for my sense of peace and security. I need your forgiveness. I praise you for never abandoning me! Amen.
