Anchored

F I N D I N G P E AC E I N T H E
STORMS OF LIFE

A JOSEPH PRINCE
YOUNG ADULTS RESOURCE
Table of Contents
Introduction ------------------------------------ 6

Day 1 Your Perfect Storm Calm ----------------------- 12

Day 2 It’s Okay to Feel like You’re Not Okay ----------- 16

Day 3 What Ground Is Your Worth Anchored In? ------ 20

Day 4 Conquering the Storms of Life ------------------ 24

Day 5 What Mental Movies Are You Playing? ---------- 28

Day 6 “I Am Successful Because…” -------------------- 32

Day 7 There Is Strength in Being Weak ---------------- 36

Selah Pause, reflect, declare (I) ----------------------- 40

Day 8 This Is Not How Your Story Ends --------------- 48

Day 9 So What If You Have #Issues? ------------------ 52

Day 10 You’re Disqualified ----------------------------- 56

Day 11 Forever Never Alone --------------------------- 60

Day 12 Lost and Found -------------------------------- 64

Day 13 God Is Unfazed by Your Darkest Secrets -------- 68

Day 14 Self- Christ-Consciousness----------------------- 72

Selah Pause, reflect, declare (II) ---------------------- 76

Day 15 Connections/Smarts/Looks/Money The Lord
Will Bring You Places -------------------------- 84

Day 16 God Makes Your Bad Good, and Your

Good Great ----------------------------------- 88

Day 17 How Would You Live Today If You Knew What

Tomorrow Held? ------------------------------- 92

Day 18 Who’s Holding the Mic in Your Life? ------------ 96

Day 19 The Most Reliable Compass for Your Life ------ 100

Day 20 “Your Father Loves You, You Know?” ---------- 104

Day 21 If It’s Not Okay, It’s Not the End --------------- 108

Selah Pause, reflect, declare (III) --------------------- 112

Day 22 Are You Anchored to the Deadweight

of Shame? ------------------------------------ 120

Day 23 The Healthiest #Mealprep Ever ---------------- 124

Day 24 God’s Unlimited Supply > Our Vast Needs ----- 128

Day 25 Protected, No Matter Your Postal Code -------- 132

Day 26 Eat up What’s Eating You --------------------- 136

Day 27 Five Words to Anchor Your Life --------------- 140

Day 28 Anchored People Help Anchor People --------- 144

Selah Pause, reflect, declare (IV) -------------------- 148

Introduction
At the time of this book being written, I’m watching

my daughter, Jessica, graduate from high school and enter

a new season in life—college. Where did the little girl who

was always ready to leap into my arms without a moment’s

hesitation, go? My princess has blossomed so quickly into a

young adult. It felt like only yesterday when I first held that

small, angelic baby in my arms and was overwhelmed by the

intense need to protect her with my life. And while my desire

to shield her from all the hurt the world can cause is as fierce

as my love for her, I know it is not something I can do forever,

or on my own.

Young adults today are growing up in a world where

their values, beliefs, and faith are constantly being challenged.

They are being told what to do, what to think, what to say,

how to be, and what to look like. The demands, expectations,

and criticism come at them as relentlessly as their 24/7 access

to people’s comments on social media, the curated versions

of reality on their friends’ feeds, and the bombardment of an

unfiltered digital world that makes it hard to separate truth

from fake news.

This is the same world I have to release my children

into—but not alone, and not just with my very small hands

that cannot protect them as well as my heart wishes it could.

The only comfort of being a father in a world like this is that I

know one thing: where I cannot, God can.

Isaiah 54:13 (nasb) says, “All your sons will be taught of

the Lord; and the well-being of your sons will be great.”

What a relief to know that the well-being of my children

doesn’t depend on my ability to shield them from the evils of

the world but that the Lord Himself will be their guide.

And so comes the reason you’re holding this book today.

I have been working with my young adults writing team to put

together Anchored. We have specially written and designed

this for young people to have biblical, yet practical handles

to thrive in a (oftentimes scary) world that constantly tries to

define them by its standards.

These 28 thoughts—each grounded in Scripture—will

show you the peace, well-being, and victory that you’ll

experience when you let Jesus anchor your life.

Savor them alone in your quiet moments with Him, or

together with those you love. We’ve also included reflection

prompts and small group discussion questions every seven

days that you can use on your own or in a group.

I pray that as you read this devotional over the next 28

days, the truths of the Lord’s promises will bring you peace

that’s built on the unshakable foundation of His finished work

on the cross for you.

May you start living the abundant life in Christ and fulfill

your God-given destiny!

Praying for you,

1
YOUR
PERFECT
STORM Calm
T
Has it been stormy in your heart, mind, or life lately?

Maybe it’s been hard to act like everything’s alright on the

surface, and secretly, you feel like you’ve been struggling to

stay afloat inside.

If you find yourself nodding, we just want you to

know—first and foremost—you are not alone. This may be

hard to believe when you feel trapped by the weight of your

circumstances or emotions, but Jesus is right there with you

in the MIDST of your storm, and He is perfectly capable of

calming the waves that threaten to drown you today.

He did it for His disciples in the Bible when they were

caught in a literal storm of hurricane proportions at sea (see

Mark 4:37 ampc). Water was already filling their boat, and the

men were panicking.

13
 Meanwhile, Jesus was asleep in the boat. The furious

storm could not wake Him, for He knew who was the true

Master over the waves. Instead, it was the frightened cries of

His disciples that roused Jesus from His slumber. He arose and

rebuked the wind and waves: “Hush now! Be still!” The wind

ceased, and immediately there was a great calm; a perfect

peacefulness (see Mark 4:39 ampc, bolded word ours).

Friend, the Jesus you read about in the Bible is the same

Jesus who wants to be real in your situation today. The storms

of your life do not trouble Him, but the unspoken cries of your

heart will get His attention. And as a child of God, He’s here to

deliver you out of your troubles (see Ps. 34:17).

While it might not happen immediately like it did for the

disciples, you can be sure that God’s committed to being your

anchor through the storms of life. He has promised to never

leave nor forsake you, and that nothing shall ever separate you

from His love. What’s more, He’s said that you are more than

a conqueror through His love for you (see Heb. 13:5, Rom.

8:35–37).
 There will be storms in life, but there is Someone

greater you can anchor your reality to.

We pray that this truth will be your anchor today.

Mightier than
the thunder
of the great waters,
mightier than
the breakers
of the sea—the LORD
on high is mighty.
PSALM 93:4 niv

15
2
IT’S OKAY
TO FEEL LIKE
YOU’RE
NOT OKAY
Do you have days where your heart’s just overwhelmed

with poisonous emotions and you feel like you’ve no strength

(or hope) left to trust in God?

If you’re flipping through your Bible looking for a story to

relate to as you experience this, let us introduce you to a man

who was fearful, depressed, and suicidal.

This man was none other than the prophet Elijah. Even

after God gave him a great victory, he became afraid of an

enemy queen’s threat to kill him, and even prayed for death:

“Enough of this, God! Take my life—I’m ready to join my

ancestors in the grave!” (1 Kings 19:4 msg). Surprise! Even

great men of God can be on the mountaintop of success one

day and rolling in the dumps of depression the next.

17
 But God didn’t leave Elijah in his despair. He made no

demands on the prophet to “feel better!” or “get your act

together!” Instead, God gently allowed the exhausted prophet

to sleep and sent angels to feed him warm meals (see 1 Kings

19:5–6). And when Elijah spent the night in a cave on a

mountain, the Lord was with him too (God had to be there to

ask him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”).

Do you see how the Lord sought Elijah out precisely when

he was deeply not okay, soothed his fears, and nursed him back

to wholeness without any tut-tutting that such a great man of

God should’ve “known better” or been stronger? Friend, that’s

what God wants to do for you today. It doesn’t matter if you’re

just feeling meh or you’re in a full-blown storm of hopelessness

like Elijah was. The Lord who numbers the hairs on your

head cares and will restore you tenderly with His love.

You can come before Him just as you are—whether

you’re weak, exhausted, or depressed—and know that He will

patiently love you back to wholeness.

 He won’t brush
aside the bruised
and the hurt and
he won’t disregard
the small and
insignificant, but
he’ll steadily
and firmly set
things right.
ISAIAH 42:3 msg

19
3
WHAT
GROUND IS
YOUR WORTH
ANCHORED IN?
What is your worth determined by, my friend? Is it by

how well you’re #killingit at work, how toned your physique is,

or how many double taps you get on Instagram?

We may measure our value and place in the world by

these standards, but do you know how much you’re worth in

God’s eyes? You are worth the death of His perfect, only Son on

the cross—as payment for all our failures and imperfections

that once disqualified us from drawing near to Him.

And did you know God said of Jesus, “This is my Son,

chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life” (Matt. 3:17

msg)? This (and more!) is how much God loves you because

He gave Jesus up for you.

Let that sink in for a moment.

21
 If you’re feeling insecure about what your worth is today,

and if no one in your life has ever affirmed that you have any

value, remember this: God looked upon the timeline of all

humanity, thought of you, every mistake you would make,

every sin you would commit, and decided that yes, you were

still worth the death of heaven’s only Son.

The world will want us to measure ourselves against

many other different yardsticks, but remember that this is what

your life is truly worth—your loving heavenly Father traded

heaven’s best for humanity’s worst. His Son willingly gave up

His life for you, so that today you might call God, “Daddy!

Father!” (see Rom. 8:15).

So while it’s great to aspire to improve ourselves, it’s

also incredibly freeing when your worth is not tied to your

accomplishments, but anchored upon the bedrock of how

much God Himself values you.

 You can read more about Jesus’ sacrifice for you on the

cross in Matthew 27–28. It’s a great start to seeing yourself the

way God truly sees you.

Instead of anchoring your worth to the things of

this world, be anchored instead on the foundation of His

unchanging love.

But God demonstrates

His own love toward us,
in that while we were
still sinners, Christ
died for us.
ROMANS 5:8

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 Free Book!

G E T YO U R CO P Y
O F A N C H O R E D TO DAY.

Over the course of 28 days, anchor your heart each day

with a thought that speaks of God’s perfect love—
one that banishes all fear, loneliness, shame, and gives
to you more-than-enough for all your not-enoughs.

These 4 weeks are going to be good!

Pre-order Anchored today and get a free copy of

No More Mind Games—Win Over Discouragement
and Depression.

Learn more at J o s e p h P r i n c e .c o m /a n c h o r e d