I’m sitting at Starbucks and a lady walks in with an 8 month old baby. The guy next to me (an old retired guy playing video games on his iPad) must know her somehow, or he’s seen her (he seems like a regular). Asks how things are going. They exchange small talk. She says, ,”Can you believe he’s 8 months old already?” to which the man replies, “Time flies.”
My mind goes back to when my oldest son was 8 months old. In 18 days he’ll be 18. I can vividly remember him being 8 months old and can recall so many incredible memories in the 17 and a half years that have transpired since those days when he was my baby boy.
Now I’m holding back tears at Starbucks as I think about how much he’s grown and how proud I am of him. Life is such a mystery. We don’t realize what it really means to make the days count.
Fast forward in my brain to when I’m the old guy playing video games at the coffee shop and someone walks in with an 8 month old. My almost 18 year old will probably be almost my age. It’s probably not that far away, but you better believe I’m going to make the most of the time I have between now and then.
Throughout my years of working with young people, one of the most often discussed questions is, “How to find god’s will for my life.”
Many middle school, high school, and college students who desire to follow God’s word are seeking God’s guidance for their lives, and they are usually asking those around them how to find it out to find God’s plan. Unfortunately, we adults can’t often help young people understand God’s will because we struggle with it ourselves. There are a lot of questions that come to mind the more you walk through life. In good times and difficult times, going to God’s Word is the first step to find the peace of God that passes all understanding.
So in this brief blog post, I want us to focus on God’s guidance in the Bible to find out what it says about God’s will for His people. I want to do more than just give you a list of verses because I really want to help you find the will of the lord for you as a child of god. So let’s take a look at these scripture references together and see what they say about God’s will. See the verses below (italicized) and my commentary on them.
Encouraging Bible Verses about God’s Will
God’s purposes stand forever.Proverbs 33:11 says, “But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” – something that this verse tells me is that God is working throughout all generations. The spirit of God is working in the world whether I think He is or not. It might be a little thing to recognize, but as you seek God’s will, you can be confident that His purpose will stand forever (even in hard times).
Those who do God’s will live forever.
1 John 2:15-16 Do not love the world or anything in the world.If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Doing God’s will is important. It is directly opposed to the love of the world. Love God more than the world. Seek Him because He is eternal.
God’s Will is that He be glorified.
1 Peter2:13-15 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men (King James Version).
In submitting to others, God will be praised, which is His will and results in silencing ignorance and foolishness.
Bible Verses to Help You Find the Will of God
Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of god, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Be willing to give God yourself. Worship Him with all of your life. Avoid this world’s patterns and allow Him to transform your mind (by the renewal of your mind). As you get closer to His mind, you will know what is His will.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says: Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Don’t trust only your own understanding. Seek after God’s will (which is why you’re on this post, right?). He is faithful to show you His will.
Proverbs 15:22 tells us: For lack of counsel plans fail, but with many advisors they succeed.
Ask trusted people (who are also seeking God’s will) for advice, especially when you think you may have an idea of what you should do (See below).
Bible Verses to Help You Do the Will of God
Hebrews 13:20-21 – Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
God will equip you to do His will.
Psalm 90:17 – May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us– yes, establish the work of our hands.
God will point you in the right direction and establish the work of your hands.
Practical Steps to Find the Will of God
Walk in His Ways. The best ways to actually find the will of God for the unknown parts of your life is to follow Him in the known parts of your life. What I mean by that is taking one step of obedience (by obeying the Bible) and then taking the next step as God shows it to you. You and I don’t have to have it all figured out, but a Biblical principle is that we need to be obedient in the little things in order to be able to obey in the bigger things.
Pray. You don’t have to have it all figured out, but praying is a good first step. A simple prayer to pray is, “O Lord, what do you want me to do.” I made a video about this prayer that I believe will change your life.
Ask counsel. Those Christians around you will help guide you into the truth. Ask church leaders, mentors, and those around you to help you find the right thing to do. God has given us a community of believers to help us when we don’t know what to do.
Present yourself to Him and allow Him to transform your mind.
Seek Him. Call on the name of the lord. He will show you his good purpose for your life. Seek Him and his Kingdom (like it says in Matthew 6:33 – Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you).
I hope these verses help you and your kids as you seek God’s will for your life.
God’s Word is the foundation of a christian marriage. Or at least it should be.
Married couples who want to honor God and have a strong marriage must seek biblical wisdom through individual daily prayers and regular devotional times. But besides individual daily devotions, one of the best ways to have a successful marriage and foster a lifelong love is to spend couple time seeking god’s design for marriage, praying together and studying the Word of God.
I know what you’re thinking…what about busy couples who don’t have time for quiet times together? Or maybe you’re thinking that these sound like good things, but that you already have a healthy marriage. I do believe that many marriage relationships can be successful without spending a long time studying the Bible together, but if you’re looking to get on the same page about important topics such as parenting, finances, or other topics, studying the Bible together can be a great marriage resource.
One obstacle many couples face when seeking to spend time together in God’s Word is the large number of couples devotionals on the market. There are many that give fresh insight into how to have a happy marriage, and we don’t have time or space to talk about them all in this article, but I want to give you a few that might be great for your marriage, and then I want to give you an important tip on implementing these and moving towards a love story that seeks to follow the Holy Spirit even in a crazy stage of life.
Best Marriage Devotionals
Instead of reviewing a ton of devotionals, I’m just going to talk about what I believe are four of the best devotionals on the market at this time. You can search on Amazon for more, but I know these four are great for christian couples. (By the way, the links below are affiliate links, meaning if you click and buy one, I get a small percentage of the sale.)
The Meaning of Marriage: A Couple’s Devotional: A Year of Daily Devotions by Timothy Keller and Kathy Keller – In these daily devotional readings, the Kellers draw on years of marriage (they’ve been married for over 43 years) as well as biblical insights to help both husband and wife with their spiritual growth. This book could easily be used for a year of devotions, and it helps with Bible studies and practical tips to improve your marriage and have a better relationship.
Devotions for a Sacred Marriage: A Year of Weekly Devotions for Couples by Gary Thomas – This book gives weekly couples devotions for those who are newly married or who have been married for a while now. This devotional is a wonderful way to get started spending time together and seeking God’s purpose for your marriage. Since it’s only once a week, this might be a great way to begin spending time in God’s Word as a couple.
The Love Dare Day by Day: This devotional is an extension of the original book and builds on the Scriptural principles of the love dare. It includes weekly dares and daily readings. The premise of the love dare is unconditional love, and the idea is very practical and would work for couples who are seeking practical ways to implement God’s Word in their everyday lives.
A Couple’s Guide to a Growing Marriage: A Bible Study by Gary Chapman is a devotional designed to help couples grow together instead of growing apart. It focuses on these things: Invite God into the details of your life and marriage, listen in ways that deepen intimacy and friendship, understand your spouse and be understood, keep your love fresh and mutually engaging, and manage conflict constructively, not destructively. These principles are important if we are to live out God’s purpose for our marriages.
BONUS TIP: If you struggle with implementing daily devotions with your spouse: Pick a time frame. You don’t have to try to do this every day for the rest of your life. One of the great things about a challenge like The Love Dare is that it is simply a 40-day challenge. You could potentially challenge each other to simply have devotions every day for a month or on Sunday evening or even just one day per month. No matter what you do, I’m sure you’ll find that a thriving marriage has a strong foundation in God’s Word.
What devotionals have you read with your spouse? What’s an obstacle that you face when it comes to spending time together in God’s Word? Let me know in the comments below.
I recently had a conversation on my Podcast with Jimmy and Kristin Scroggins about their new parenting book: Full Circle Parenting (affiliate). One of the quotes that got my attention in the first chapters of the book was:
“We need our kids to be more influenced by the Word of God than the world around them.”
I love that quote, but sometimes feel overwhelmed about how I can actually practically achieve that. I mean, my kids are influenced by the world around them in almost everything they do: school, internet, friends, etc. The world is constantly influencing and bombarding our minds with things that most likely go against the principles taught in God’s Word.
So, I asked Jimmy and Kristin to give me some practical advice as to how to accomplish what they suggest in the book. How can we help our kids be influenced by the Bible?
Be the Example of Looking to God’s Word: Jimmy says that one of the best things we can do is help our kids love God’s Word by having a quiet time and love for the Bible of our own. They need to see us reading and studying God’s Word, going to church ready to learn from God’s Word, and generally being guided by the Scriptures in our daily lives.
Lean into Resources Offered by Church: Youth groups, youth leaders, children’s Bible studies, and other things that church offers for kids will help put them in front of God’s Word and allow them to think Biblically about issues that are facing them.
Have Continued Conversations about God’s Design: We have a lot of time with our kids, so we can have small conversations over the course of days, weeks, and years about what God’s Word says about certain issues and what we believe about them. Taking advantage of the conversation times is important to help kids be influenced by God’s Word.
Get Them Around Church Leaders Who can Pour Into Them: Parenting and molding our kids takes a lot of people. Help find them good mentors and leaders who can influence them.
Help Them See Their Place in the Body of Christ: If kids can see where they belong and how they can serve, they will see how God created them to be a part of the church and will be influenced by other members of the church.
(This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. I earn a small commission when you make a purchase with my link…but these opinions are my own.)
Although there are many great resources for christian teens to learn more about the truths of scripture during their teen years, there is no argument that the best way for them to live out the christian faith is to read the word of god on a daily basis.
Youth ministry and youth groups are important, and youth pastors and youth workers are great at helping high school students learn and apply the Bible to the realities of life through open discussion and Bible study, but the truth is that if teenagers are going to grow to be young adults who can live out their faith in today’s world, they need to begin to have personal devotion time.
An important factor in growing in their christian life is to find the right bible for them.
Parents ask me all the time what are the best bibles for young people and how to help their kids read the Bible on a regular basis. I believe it’s important for kids to get into the habit of including the Bible in everyday life. So today, I want to talk about the best Bible for teens.
Here’s some smart advice for you: The best Bible for teens (or anyone) is the one they will read!
Tips for Choosing the Best Bible for Teens:
Let’s talk about some tips for choosing the best Bible for your kids…
Choosing the best Bible starts by choosing a good Bible translation.
A good choice for students is the New Living Translation Bible. I recently picked up a copy of this translation, and I believe it is easy to read and helps a young person stay with the bible stories while reading it. Have you ever started your bible study, but then zone out before much time has passed because you stopped understanding what the text was actually saying? A good version of the Bible will help kids read and understand god’s love for them. Other great translations for young christians are the new international version and the English Standard Version.
Choosing the best Bible requires knowing what you want to do with it.
Obviously, you want them to read it. But there’s a difference between reading the Bible and studying it. Do you want it to be a study Bible? If so, look for the best study bibles which have textual notes, a quick view of main themes of the books of the bible, and easy to understand book introductions. Some of these study Bibles give appendices or concordances as well as dictionaries of common Biblical terminology that will help the reader see the way the bible verses can be understood in today’s world. There might even be a question and answer section where students can see how the Bible applies to areas of her life. One of the special sections that has always helped me is a list of the promises of god that is almost always included in a study Bible.
Study Bibles are great bibles if you want to spend time really looking at If you’re looking for a Bible that is more “devotional” in its approach, you can look for a different type of Bible. Sometimes, you want a Bible for daily life and one that you can simply use for daily readings or times to reflect on what God is saying.
Choosing the best Bible requires knowing who will be using it.
Some teen girls (and boys) enjoy drawing, coloring, or journaling in their Bibles. One of the best Bibles for that is NIV journal Bible. I have a few journaling Bibles and know that they help me take notes and occasionally “sketchnote” or draw in them. They have ample space in the margins to write or draw. Another highly popular version of this kind of Bible is the NIV beautiful word coloring Bible. Young girls especially enjoy coloring and drawing, and I know this Bible has pages that are specifically for that. It would be a perfect gift for a girls ages 12-16 (and probably older).
Teen boys (and girls) often find it difficult to get past the list of books of the Bible. The teenage years can be difficult to get boys to read. There is so much vying for their attention, and the things they find on the pages of the bible don’t always excite them. It has been a struggle to get my own kids to like to read the Bible. There are a few Bibles that resemble comic books that help boys get interested in the entire bible. The action bible, while not really a full Bible, has 215 Bible stories told in picture form that tell the story of god’s love for mankind in a visual manner. It is a great idea to get this Bible for the teen guys in your life.
Other Features to help you choose the best Bible for teens
So we’ve been over study Bibles, Bibles for teenage girls, Bibles for teenage boys, and other things, but there are some other features that I believe are important when you look for a Bible that will impact your kids.
You should ask yourself if it’s important that the Bible includes a reading plan. While there are many reading plans available online, maybe you should look to see if the Bible you’re about to get has one as well. This will help your kids stay on track to read the Bible.
Is your kid going to be a college student soon? If that’s the case, you might want to look for a Bible that will help them with contemporary issues they will be facing in the university.
Is there a student edition of the Bible you’re thinking about buying? I remember getting a student edition of the NIV Bible when I was younger, and it really helped me to spend more time reading God’s Word.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is no one “best Bible for teens.” There are many factors that come into play when we are trying to find ways to help our kids come to know Jesus Christ. I hope these thoughts have helped you as you look for the right Bible and that you will find what you are looking for.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, and I’ll try to help you find a great Bible for your teen.
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