Dear young person,
I have a burden for you since you are facing many challenges. The society in the West is becoming more tense and confusing by the day.
My heart goes out to those in high school and college who are trying to make a stand for Christ. I believe you will face opposition unlike anything I had to face.
Here are some thoughts I want to share with you as I think about your lives.
God is not your enemy
The world and its system will tell you that God doesn’t want you to enjoy life. That he’s a big stick in the mud. A killjoy. That he wants to take away your fun.
Don’t listen. It’s just not true. God wants the very best life for you. He wants to fill you with satisfaction that you can never find in anything or anyone but him.
Satan wants to destroy your life. He will dangle in front you glitter and gold and promise you that what he offers is the best thing you can have. He’s a liar. He’s a murderer. Don’t listen!
Life is hard
No one gets a free pass. No one gets immunity. Life is full of failures, abuse and hurts. Sometimes life is so messed up that we don’t know how we can go on.
When those times happen we have a choice. We can blame God and get mad at him. We can try to solve our problems on our own. That never works, it makes it worse.
Or we can give control over to God and let him heal our lives. It won’t be easy but his way is always best. Trust me I know.
I resisted God for over 5 years. I ran from him trying to do things my way. I can’t begin to tell you how much of a disaster that was. Once I let go and gave God full authority in my life he started making the necessary changes in my life. I pray you will do the same.
You are not the future of the church
You are the present. You matter now. If you are in a church that doesn’t give you a place to learn, grow, fail, mature and serve then find another church.
Don’t let anyone despise your youth. You have a voice in the church. You are so important and needed. Don’t let anyone tell you you are not.
Jesus wants you to be a follower, a disciple. He wants you to give him your all and that means being a part of a vibrant family of Christians who will accept you for who you are.
God cares more about your heart than anything else
I wish I was taught this when I was young. It’s not about rules and commandments. It’s not about trying hard to please him. It’s not about looking good on the outside.
God is so interested in you. He gets excited when you talk to him. He is thrilled when you read his Word and discover how great he is. He wants to do supernatural things through your life. He wants to wow you.
He can only do that when you give your will and heart and mind. That’s what he cares about. When I was young I was so discouraged all the time because I tried so hard to live up to a perfect standard. I failed over and over. I hadn’t learned that I will never live up to it. The power can only come from him.
Don’t be afraid of your sin
Let me say this straight to you. You are going to mess up big time. Maybe you are reading this and you already have. You have done something and you can’t even believe you were capable. You feel ashamed.
Here’s the crazy thing. God isn’t bothered by it. Does he hate sin? Sure. But he sent his Son to take care of that. Jesus took the beating for that sin you have or will commit. The beautiful mystery of repentance is that God is always waiting to forgive.
He doesn’t have a hard time saying, “I forgive you”. Please, please don’t let sin ruin your life. There is enough grace to deal with it. I have seen many young people live in shame for many years because of sin. It doesn’t matter how big or small. Jesus will forgive and he will forgive completely.
People are full of sin
I think it’s safe to say that not too many things would shock me any more. I used to think that lots of older people were close to perfect and holy. I was totally mistaken.
I’m not saying all adults are really bad people. No, I know many, many who are great. But I have learned not to expect too much from those who are older. They will let you down. Only Jesus is worth our unquestioning trust.
At times in my life I have been hurt and disappointed by older Christians. I thought they were better. I thought they were more mature. Don’t get trapped into following after anyone other than Jesus.
Let it out
I lived for many many years with questions, doubts, shame and hurt. I thought I was alone. I felt trapped. I didn’t think anyone would listen and show love to me. I was wrong.
Whatever you are facing in life please reach out to someone. Send an email to us as assemblyHUB (info @ assemblyHUB .com), talk to a counselor or pastor or elder or any mature believer.
Don’t go it alone. You will be surprised to find out that most people, at least the honest ones, will have similar or worse struggles than you. They can help.
Wrapping it up
I feel like there are many more things I would want you to know. I want you to have the very best in life. I know now, after many years, that Jesus really is awesome. I know that he really does give hope and meaning to life.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect any other author or an official position of the assemblyHUB team.
Crawford Paul
Crawford is an elder at Rolling Meadows Bible Chapel in Ontario and has a passion for the assemblies. He and his wife Beth serve in various ways within the assembly to build up and encourage the believers. He is president of Legacy Ministries Canada, an organization focused on helping individual Christians, local churches and Christian organizations with financial, legal and governance matters. Check it out at legacycanada.org
Taken from AssemblyHub.com
