God Promised Eternal Life
How to Use This Devotional
This five-day devotional is built to help you experience the kind of peace that doesn’t come from circumstances—it comes from confidence in a promise.
The promise?
Eternal life.
That’s the foundation. That’s the anchor. That’s how we walk through loss, guilt, fear, and even death—knowing that this life is not the end of the story.
Here’s how to use each day:
1. Read the Scripture slowly. Let the words hit you. Not just your head—your heart.
2. Engage the reflection. Don’t rush. Be honest. Wrestle with it.
3. Write your thoughts in the journaling section. What’s stirring in you? What are you afraid to say out loud?
4. Pray the guided prayer. Speak it like you mean it. These are conversations with God, not box-checking rituals.
You don’t need a peaceful environment to encounter peace. You just need an open heart.
Let’s begin.
Day One: A Promise Made at the Cross
Scripture Reading: Luke 23:32–49
“Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’”
Reflection:
Let’s get one thing straight from the start:
The peace your soul is aching for doesn’t come from perfect circumstances—it comes from a certain future.
When Jesus was dying on the cross, He wasn’t handing out religious inspiration. He was giving away the most valuable thing in the universe: eternal life.
Think about the moment:
He’s hanging between two criminals. One hurls insults. The other whispers a prayer.
“Jesus, remember me.”
That’s all it took.
No résumé. No ritual. Just a humble cry for mercy.
And what does Jesus say in return?
“Today. You’ll be with Me.”
Not “someday.”
Not “if you clean up your act.”
Not “if you can prove you mean it.”
Today.
With Me.
In paradise.
That wasn’t just a dying man’s comfort—it was a death-defying promise.
And here’s the kicker: If that promise is real, then it changes everything right now.
Because when you know how the story ends, you stop living like you’re stuck in the middle.
If death isn’t the end…
If eternity is real…
If Jesus has already defeated the grave…
Then you don’t have to carry grief, guilt, or fear the same way ever again.
That’s why we start here.
Because peace isn’t the promise—it’s the byproduct.
Eternal life is the promise. Peace is what it produces.
Journaling Prompt:
What stood out to you most from the story in Luke 23?
Are you trying to earn your way into God’s good graces—or have you ever simply asked Him to “remember you”?
How would your life look different if you really believed eternal life had already started?
Write what you feel—not just what you think you’re supposed to say.
Prayer:
Jesus,
I’m overwhelmed that You would make a promise like that to someone with nothing to offer.
And if You made it to him, I know You can make it to me.
I’ve spent so much time trying to be “good enough” for You…
but today, I just want to be with You.
Thank You for dying in my place. Thank You for rising again.
Thank You that eternal life isn’t something I earn—it’s something I receive.
Help me to live today like the promise still stands.
Amen.
Day Two: Peace Starts the Moment You Trust
Scripture Reading: Luke 23:42–43 & John 14:19
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” – Luke 23:42–43
“Because I live, you also will live.” – John 14:19
Reflection:
It’s easy to think eternal life is something that starts after we die.
But what if that’s not what Jesus meant at all?
Look again at what He told the thief on the cross:
“Today you will be with me.”
Not eventually.
Not after judgment.
Not after you’ve proven yourself.
Today. With Me.
Jesus was saying, “The moment you trust Me, the game changes.”
And that’s the piece so many of us miss.
We think eternal life is a future security plan.
But Jesus didn’t die just to give us a better ending—He came to change the middle of your story too.
Your life doesn’t have to stay stuck in fear, guilt, or regret.
Because when you know where you’re going, you can rest where you are.
That’s where peace begins.
Not with answers. Not with everything working out.
With trust.
This thief on the cross didn’t understand everything.
He didn’t clean up his mess.
He just reached for Jesus and asked to be remembered.
And Jesus responded—not with doctrine, but with a promise.
“Today… you will be with Me.”
That’s what your soul needs to hear again:
Not someday… today.
Not earn it… receive it.
Not get it together… just come to Me.
You don’t have to fear death. You don’t have to live like you’re spiritually homeless.
If Jesus is alive—and He is—then eternal life has already started the moment you put your trust in Him.
That means peace isn’t the absence of struggle.
Peace is the presence of Jesus—now, today, here.
And if you believe that… you’ll live different.
Journaling Prompt:
Have you been waiting for peace as if it only comes “after”? What would it look like to live like peace is already here?
What area of your life feels chaotic or uncertain right now—and how might trusting Jesus with that today bring peace?
Do you believe Jesus is actually with you today—not just watching from a distance
Write what’s real. God isn’t afraid of your honesty.
Prayer:
Jesus,
I want to live like the promise starts now.
Not someday. Not when life gets easier. Not when I’ve earned it.
Now.
Thank You for speaking peace into the middle of my chaos.
Thank You for making eternal life not just something to hope for—but something to live from.
Help me stop waiting for a better time to trust You.
Help me see You in my now, not just in my someday.
I trust You with my today.
Amen.
Day Three: The Promise Is for the Guilty
Scripture Reading: Luke 23:39–41
“We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Reflection:
There were three crosses on the hill that day.
One for a man dying in sin.
One for a man dying to sin.
And one for the man dying for sin.
The man who asked Jesus to “remember me” had nothing to offer.
No resume. No reputation. No second chance.
But what he did have was honesty.
“We’re getting what we deserve…”
That moment—the raw admission of guilt—is where the door to eternal life swings wide open.
He wasn’t making excuses.
He wasn’t minimizing his past.
He just admitted the truth: I’m guilty.
And in that confession, he saw Jesus clearly.
“But this man has done nothing wrong.”
He recognized innocence in Jesus and brokenness in himself.
And that’s where the promise met him.
Not when he had time to prove his sincerity.
Not when he could clean up his past.
Right there.
Right then.
That’s the power of grace:
Jesus didn’t offer eternal life to a religious expert, a moral giant, or a long-time church member.
He gave it to a dying thief who was honest enough to say, “I deserve this—but You don’t.”
So let’s stop pretending we’ve earned it.
Let’s stop dressing up our spirituality to hide our guilt.
Because Jesus doesn’t promise eternal life to the perfect—He offers it to the honest.
The gospel isn’t for people with potential.
It’s for people with nothing left but trust.
Journaling Prompt:
• What parts of your story have made you feel like you’re too far gone for God?
• Have you ever tried to earn eternal life instead of receiving it the way this man did?
• What would change in your walk with Jesus if you admitted your guilt and trusted His grace fully?
Be real. The cross can handle your truth.
Prayer:
Jesus,
I confess—I’ve spent too long trying to hide my guilt or earn my way back to You.
But I see the truth now. I’m the guilty one… and You’re the innocent one.
Thank You for not holding my past against me.
Thank You for offering eternal life to someone like me.
Today, I don’t bring You my accomplishments—I bring You myneed.
And I trust Your promise.
Amen.
Day Four: He Meant Every Word
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:17, 20; Revelation 1:18
“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” – 1 Corinthians 15:17
“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead…” – 1 Corinthians 15:20
“I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” – Revelation 1:18
Reflection:
When Jesus told the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise,” it wasn’t wishful thinking.
It wasn’t a dying man trying to offer comfort.
It was a promise.
But let’s be honest—anyone can say comforting things when they’re about to die.
Final words are rarely tested.
So how do we know Jesus meant it?
How do we know that wasn’t just a moment of hope in a scene of tragedy?
We know—because He got up.
The resurrection is not a metaphor. It’s not symbolic.
It’s a receipt.
It’s proof that Jesus didn’t just mean well—He meant every word.
Paul didn’t tiptoe around it. He said, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile.”
If Jesus stayed in the tomb, then the cross was just a tragedy and the thief’s hope was misplaced.
But He didn’t stay.
He walked out.
And He brought the keys with Him.
“I was dead, and now look—I am alive forever and ever. And I hold the keys…”
Jesus didn’t just conquer death for Himself.
He took authority over it for you.
So when He says, “You will be with me,” you can take Him at His word.
Because the One who made the promise didn’t stay dead.
He meant it.
Every word.
Every drop of blood.
Every breath He fought for on that cross.
And now… that promise still stands.
Journaling Prompt:
Have you ever doubted whether the promises of Jesus were really meant for you?
What does the resurrection prove to you—not just theologically, but personally?
What’s one promise from Jesus that you need to take Him at His word on?
Let it be real. Let it be personal.
Prayer:
Jesus,
You didn’t make empty promises.
You didn’t speak comforting lies.
You spoke truth—on the cross, in the tomb, and from the empty grave.
Thank You for meaning every word You ever said.
Thank You that my hope isn’t built on good feelings—it’s built on resurrection power.
You are alive. And because of that, I will live.
I believe You. I trust You. I take You at Your word.
Amen.
