Hidden: A Devotional for Teen GirlsНамуна

Day 6 – What's Really Moving You?

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. – Ezekiel 36:26 NIV

Devotional

Let me tell you about a 17 year old girl named Parker. She is the youngest of 3 siblings. Parker thinks her mom treats her older brother and sister like they are perfect, but she always points out when Parker's room isn't clean or when she gets a bad grade. The only attention Parker gets from home is negative and critical. At school, however, she gets a lot of positive attention from her classmates. The girls always want to follow her and dress like her. The boys all want to date her and buy her things. She's pretty and popular. Along the way, Parker has come to believe that the only way to get the attention she wants is to do anything to stay pretty and popular. Whatever the guys want her to do, she does it. Whatever is trending, she has to have it.

This school year, Parker noticed a guy who wasn't interested in her. He didn't follow the other guys and he carried himself differently than everyone else. Parker liked attention, so she did everything she thought would get his. Remember, Parker was motivated to have people's attention. When that didn't work, Parker learned that he was involved in church and loved Jesus. So, she decided to do what she saw him do. She started going to church, bought a Bible to read, and started hanging with his friend group. As expected, Parker got all the attention from the other students in the youth group. They noticed that she was a "good" Christian. Even still, Parker was motivated by getting people's attention not love for God.

Say this out loud: God changes what's in my heart first, not my behavior.

Parker stopped doing "bad" things and started doing "good" things. However, what was in her heart needed to be changed. God wanted to transform what Parker believed about herself because that's what motivated all her behaviors in the first place.

Whether you're behaving in a way that people view as "good" or you're behaving in a way that people might view as "bad" - the question to ask God is, "Why am I doing these things?" As I shared several days back, I did the good things I knew to do, but what moved those behaviors was a distorted view of God as a harsh father who needed to be kept happy so he doesn't get mad and punish me. There is a hidden “why” to your actions, and God wants to talk to you about it. You might always gossip with your friends. But, why? You might always go to church on Sunday. But, why? It’s our “why” that matters because it will tell you the deeper motivations of your heart.

Journal Question

- Ask the Lord to show you some of your current actions and behaviors. This isn't about you fixing you. This is about the Lord meeting you with truth and love.

- Ask the Lord to show you why you do those things. Another way to ask that is - "What lie have I believed about God or myself?" (I believed God was harsh and mean.)

- Ask the Lord, "What do you say about this?" Write down what you're hearing God say. Post reminders of these truths that are being spoken to your heart.