READ: PSALM 9:9-10; JOHN 14:16-21; ROMANS 5:5-8; 8:16, 35-39

One morning, I rushed into my parents’ room to say, “Good morning.” Mom removed her wedding ring and shoved it to the bottom of her jewelry box. “Mommy, where’s Daddy?” “He’s not coming back,” she said. I returned to my room and wept in my closet. The number of times I saw him after that, I could count on my fingers. Abandoned. I felt utterly and completely abandoned.

As a teen, I made foolish choices to mask my pain. Losing my earthly father made it hard to believe there was a heavenly Father who loved me. But God never let me go. One day, I felt a strong urge to go to church. In a small church, I heard joy in the singing. And the smiles of the people shone in their eyes and reached into my heart. I felt a quiet voice telling me it was time to come close to God. I longed for the community, the love, and the joy these people shared. I knew I had done much wrong. But Jesus had already paid the price for my wrongdoing by dying on the cross. I admitted my sins, trusted God for forgiveness, and asked Him to be the leader of my life. I was no longer abandoned or alone. I had a heavenly Father and a family of Christians.

When we feel hurt by an earthly parent, trusting in our heavenly Father can be difficult. But Psalm 27:10 tells us, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” God has promised to never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6). Nothing in all of creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39). Our heavenly Father will never abandon us, and in Him we find love and joy that will never end. • Mary Schilling

• Sometimes a loss in our lives makes it hard to trust others. But God has so much compassion on us and patiently brings healing to our hearts. Through His Word and His Spirit, He shows us He is trustworthy, and He provides fellow Christians who can show us His love in tangible ways. If you’ve experienced a deep hurt, who is a safe adult in your life you could talk to about it? If you need someone to talk to, you can request a free conversation with Focus on the Family’s Counseling Department by calling 1-855-771-HELP (4357) weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Mountain Time). Please be prepared to leave your contact information for a counselor to return a call to you as soon as possible. In Canada, book your appointment by calling 1-800-661-9800 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) and ask to speak with the care associate.

• Can you think of a time you tried to mask your pain by doing things you might regret? Jesus invites us to come to Him, confess our wrongdoing, and rest in His love and forgiveness because He already paid the price for our sins. Consider taking some time to come to Jesus now.

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)

READ: EPHESIANS 2:4-9; 3:12-21

One of the things that bothered me about God while I was growing up was that I thought He just loved me because He had to. I learned that God loved the whole world (John 3:16), but I didn’t think He really loved me personally. I thought He just loved me because I was part of “the world.” And honestly, I thought the main reason God saved me was so that He could save other people through me.

Thankfully, God has been slowly breaking down this lie that says He doesn’t really love me for me. Over the years, He has provided different mentors who I’ve been able to honestly share my struggles with. Through these people loving me, praying with me, and pointing me to Scripture, I’ve learned that I can share my struggles—including all the messy questions and anger and shame and sorrow—with Jesus. And I’ve discovered that He really does love me. He’d love me even if I was in a permanent coma and couldn’t do one single thing for Him. He saved me, not because He wants me to do anything for Him, but because He delights in me and longs for me to be with Him.

So now, when I look at the cross, I see Jesus’s love for me. He wanted to be with me so badly that the cross was worth it to Him. And through His resurrection, He frees me from every lie of the devil that accuses God of not being loving, and accuses me of not being lovable. It’s getting easier to spot these lies, and to know that they’re not true. But even when they feel true, I can bring them to Jesus and ask Him to remind me, or perhaps show me in a new way, that His love for me really is better than I could hope.

Sometimes I can do this on my own, other times I need a Christian friend or mentor to remind me of Jesus’s promises and to pray with me and help me process what I’m feeling, thinking, and maybe even believing. But every time, Jesus meets me with tender compassion, life-giving truth, and—always—love. • Hannah Howe

• When do you struggle to believe that God loves you for you? Consider spending some time in prayer, asking God to help you know His love for you in a deeper way. (Ephesians 3:14-21)

• Who are trusted Christians in your life you can be honest with about your struggles—people who will listen well, pray with you, and point you to Scriptures where Jesus promises to love you, forgive you, give you grace, and always keep you and be with you?

He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. Psalm 18:19 (NIV)

READ: PSALMS 103:1-22; 139:7-12; JOHN 14:16-18

Have you ever heard someone say, “I really feel the Lord’s presence?” I hear this most often after or during a worship service. Whether it be a church service, youth group, or some other event, I’ve heard many people say they feel closest to God when worshipping through music. Maybe you agree with them, and during worship songs you find yourself throwing your hands up in praise to God and singing with joy. Or maybe you’re not sure what you feel. You want to feel the closeness to God it seems everyone else is feeling, but all you hear is music.

I love worship songs and raising my hands in praise to God. But I must remind myself that worship is not about my feelings. Worship is about bringing honor and praise to our God, the one who loves us more than any other. And God’s presence is not dependent upon how we feel. He is always with us! We can never get further from or closer to God’s presence. In Psalm 139, David writes, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there” (verse 7-8). If we’ve put our trust in Jesus—believing that He died and was resurrected to save us from our sins—then through the Holy Spirit, we are always with God (Matthew 28:20).

If you have a difficult time remembering that God is with you when you don’t specifically feel His presence, it might help to spend time focusing on God’s presence outside of worship services. You could try writing out a few Bible verses (such as the verses from Psalm 139) and hanging them up in your bedroom or somewhere you’ll see them often. If it’s a challenge to focus on God during worship when you don’t feel anything, tell Him. Pray during the worship. Talking to Him about our struggles helps us remember that He is there, and that worship isn’t actually about us and our feelings. It’s about God and His never-changing presence. And we can worship Him whether our feelings cooperate or not. • Elizabeth Cooper

• Can you think of a time you didn’t feel connected to God during worship? God invites us to talk to Him when we don’t feel connected to Him. We can tell Him we don’t feel anything during worship. We can tell Him we don’t feel His presence. And we can tell Him that we’re going to praise Him anyway, because He is good and loving and so worthy of our praise.

• Besides music and singing, what are some other ways that you like to worship God?

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:13 (NIV)

READ: JOHN 8:32; EPHESIANS 6:10-20

I participate in a unique physical therapy program for a spine condition I have. Before getting into a swimming pool, I snap on a wide, thick flotation belt, which makes my body very buoyant. With this big blue belt around my midsection, I go to the deep end and stay upright. In that position, I can do all sorts of exercises to help my spine condition improve. And I am improving, as the vertebrae “decompress” in that nearly gravity-free environment.

Part of the program involves just hanging still, weightless, held up by that belt alone. The spine enjoys a nice decompression that way. The belt holds me up, and I can just be still. My flotation belt reminds me of the belt of truth that Paul describes in Ephesians 6. Paul says, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil…Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist” (verse 11, 14).

For the Roman soldier, the belt not only held his clothing in place (kind of essential), but was also vital for holding the short, effective Roman sword. That belt was indispensable.

Truth is indispensable as well. Without a firm understanding of who God is, and who we are in Christ, we are liable to fall for all sorts of lies. Believing lies is easy; we often don’t even know it when we have fallen for some lie from our enemy. That’s why we are instructed to “put on” the belt of truth, knowingly, purposely binding the truths of God around us. Because truth has power. Knowing that God seeks us, that He wants us, that from the beginning He planned a way to include us in His family through Jesus’s death and resurrection, and that He loves us with an everlasting love, counters the lies that tell us differently.

Of course, none of us is perfect, and until Jesus returns we will continue to find ourselves straying from the truth. But that’s okay. In John 14:6, Jesus tells Thomas this astounding statement: “I am…the truth.” Like my flotation belt, Jesus will hold us up when we are over our heads in a sea of crazy untruths. We won’t drown. Even when we fall into believing lies, Jesus will hold us in His love (Exodus 14:14; Romans 8:38-39). Floating with His flotation belt of truth snuggly wrapped around us, we can be still in Him, safe and secure. • Kristen Merrill

• Our world has been broken by sin, so it can be hard to distinguish lies from truth. Thankfully, God has given us His Word, His Spirit, and His people to help us. Who are trusted Christians in your life who can remind you of the gospel and help you identify lies you might be believing?

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (CSB)

READ: PSALMS 40:1-3; 119:1-16; 1 JOHN 1:8–2:2

Tanisha stepped off her lander onto the strange planet. The ground was soft, almost gelatinous. Odd formations surrounded her. But when she took a step toward one, her navigator—programmed by the king himself to guide her on her mission—beeped insistently. Glancing at it, she saw it was directing her the opposite way. It was no big deal if she explored for a minute though, right? She silenced the navigator and continued forward.

With each step, the ground became stickier, and it was harder to lift her feet. She tried to turn around, but her right foot was stuck fast. She tugged frantically, until without warning her foot popped out of her boot and she fell headlong. She tried to get up, but she sank deeper into the muck with each movement. Completely alone on this strange world, Tanisha knew the ground would swallow her within minutes. Why hadn’t she paid attention to the navigator!

Suddenly, she remembered: she had an emergency signal that went straight to the king. But could she really ask him for help when this whole mess was her own fault? Tanisha realized it was her only hope. Carefully working the emergency signal out of her pocket, she pressed the button. As the ground began to close over her, she prepared for the worst.

Then, she felt a touch on her arm. Strong hands lifted her out, but Tanisha, feeling both relieved and ashamed, was unable to look at her rescuer. When a familiar voice said her name, she almost fell over in shock. The king, here? After what she’d done? Perhaps he was angry with her. Surely he wouldn’t let her continue the mission. But when she glanced at the king’s face, his eyes were compassionate. He held out the navigator, and said simply, “You’ll be needing this.” • Faith Lewis

• Have you ever felt like Tanisha? In this allegorical story, she had the navigator, and God has given us the Bible to guide and help us. God’s Word may feel restrictive at times, but all His commands are for our good. The truth is, though, we can never keep His commands perfectly, and He knows this. In fact, the primary reason He gave us His commands was to show us our need for Jesus. John 20:31 says the entire Bible was written so that we would constantly and consistently place our confidence in Jesus—who is Messiah, the promised one foretold throughout the Old Testament—and by believing that we “may have life in his name.” If you want to know more about this good news, see our "Know Jesus" page.

• When we disobey God and get into bad situations, we may feel unworthy of rescue. However, God knows that we all sin, and He loves us so much that He sent Jesus to save us by His death and resurrection. When we repent from our sin, we are placing our faith in His promised forgiveness. Until Jesus returns, we will continue to sin daily because, while the Bible shows us what the good way is, it cannot keep us from sinning. But Jesus’s obedience to the Father on our behalf is our confidence and hope. Consider taking a moment to pray, confessing any sins that come to mind and resting in His sure forgiveness.

• If you’ve put your trust in Jesus, His Holy Spirit lives in you, empowering you to turn away from sin and embrace joy-filled obedience to God’s good ways. When you face temptation, how could it be helpful to remember that in Jesus you are forgiven, and that you have the Holy Spirit?

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105 (NIV)

READ: LEVITICUS 19:4; JOHN 4:1-26; 1 CORINTHIANS 10:14

When things get tough, my instinct is to run—run to everything else and away from what is causing me pain and stress. I run to overworking. I run to comfort. I run away from staying connected with others.

We all have vices we turn to when things get tough. It’s easy to go to things like overwork, exercise, screen time, food, shopping, or busyness because we like to think they fill something in us that we’re seeking. It’s easy to run to something else because it takes our minds off of what is truly going on in our lives.

But that’s not where we want to go. Even good things—like exercise and work—can turn into something sinful when we begin to idolize them. Sometimes we don’t recognize it at first because we convince ourselves we’re doing a good thing. We justify our actions because we say what we’re doing is for the benefit of ourselves or others.

The problem is, there can quickly come a point where we turn to those things instead of to God. That’s when we know we have crossed a line. That’s when we know we need to turn back to the only one who can fill us.

Only Jesus can satisfy our deepest needs. Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus— believing He died and rose again to save us—we don’t have to chase after idols anymore. As we rest in His love, we often find that idols begin to lose their appeal. And even when we are facing tough times, Jesus gives us strength to persevere. • Tynea Lewis

• What do you tend to turn to when you get stressed? How have these things let you down?

• We’re all guilty of turning good gifts from God into idols, especially when life is hard. But God has so much compassion on us, and He invites us to come to Him and be refreshed in His presence. Consider taking a moment to pray, confessing any idolatry that comes to mind, resting in Jesus’s sure forgiveness, and being honest with Him about all the needs and longings you have today.

“Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you…I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the LORD.’” Jonah 2:8-9 (NIV)

READ: ZECHARIAH 13:7-9; 1 PETER 1:3-25

The image of fire appears many times in the Bible. For example, in Exodus 13, God comes as a guiding pillar of fire to the Israelites. And in 1 Kings 18, He uses fire to show His power and legitimacy against the false god Baal.

But another type of fire mentioned in the Bible is a refining fire. When metals are heated in a refining fire, this process removes impurities. The metal has to go through this fire in order to become strong. Otherwise, a sword that contains impurities may crack in the heat of battle.

The judgement of God is compared to a refiner’s fire. Although these are intense images, it’s good to remember that God is not only almighty and powerful, He is also loving and faithful. He knows that sin twists and breaks everything it touches, and He does not leave sin undealt with.

The good news is we have a Savior who already took on the wrath of the Father and His judgment for our sins. Because of God’s great love for us, Jesus suffered the punishment necessary for sin by enduring the cross. He gave up His life for us so we could be spared from that punishment. And in His resurrection, Jesus gave us new life in Himself so we can begin to be refined. Once we put our trust in Jesus, we are conformed to His image (Romans 8:29).

There’s a good reason the picture of a refiner’s fire is used in the Bible. This work of refinement isn’t always fun or easy. It can be embarrassing and painful for us to look inward and come face-to-face with our own shortcomings. But this is all part of the process of becoming more like Christ. Thankfully, God has given His people the Holy Spirit, who guides us in the process of refinement. He helps us examine ourselves, notice actions and thoughts that aren’t Christlike, and bring these to God. Take heart, His love and forgiveness never fail, and He is always at work in us, transforming us to become more and more like Jesus. • Naomi Zylstra

• How does it feel when you see something in yourself that’s not Christlike? As we examine ourselves, we can thank God for helping us notice sin, and we can confess our sin to Him. We can also thank Him for Jesus’s death and resurrection, through which He has provided our forgiveness and is already working to renew us. Consider spending some time in prayer, asking God to reveal impurities in you that He wants to refine today, and thanking Him for His mercy.

These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold. 1 Peter 1:7 (NLT)

READ: PSALM 103; ISAIAH 1:18

Egg-eaters are one of a chicken keeper’s worst nightmares. Nothing can ruin your day faster than when you head out to the henhouse, only to discover your hens have smashed their freshly laid eggs, leaving you with nothing but a sticky, eggy mess to clean up.

I found myself in that situation several years ago. My flock had started eating eggs, and while I was able to break most of my hens from this bad habit, my little rescue hen, Ivy, continued to smash her eggs daily.

Cleaning up Ivy’s broken eggs was frustrating, but every time I finished cleaning up her mess, I looked down at Ivy, and she looked up at me with her adorable face that always seemed to say, “You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Sometimes, Ivy’s egg messes reminded me how much God loves us. He cleans up our sinful messes and wipes away any trace of our wrongdoings. In Psalm 103, David reminds us how far God’s forgiveness reaches. “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west” (verse 12).

Isn’t it amazing that God’s love is so perfect that He can remove all traces of our sin? Isaiah 1:18 says: “‘Come now, let’s settle this,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.’”

Just as I cleaned up Ivy’s eggy mess, God wiped away our sinful messes the moment we put our trust in Jesus, believing in His death and resurrection. Let’s thank our heavenly Father, who removes our sins and remembers them no more. • Erin Snyder

• Because of Jesus’s death and resurrection, those who have put their trust in Jesus are clothed in His righteousness—in God’s eyes, it’s as if we never sinned. No longer do we sit in our eggy, sinful mess. How does it make you feel knowing God has removed your sin “as far…as the east is from the west”?

• When we confess our sin, God always forgives us, but He doesn’t always remove the natural consequences of our sin. While those consequences can be painful, Jesus walks through them with us, offering His strength and comfort. And when He returns, all will be made well. Consider taking a moment to confess any sins that come to mind, and rest in Jesus’s sure forgiveness.

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. Psalm 103:12 (NLT)