What Does God Say?
At the start of this week, I had the privilege of joining our Northside seniors on a trip to Catoosa, Oklahoma. We spent three days in fellowship and fun, and I watched as they spent some much-needed time away from the worry of this world and made memories during an exciting time of transition. The most memorable moments during our trip were when the seniors took turns answering three simple questions: What are you excited about? What are you afraid of or anxious about? What does God say about this? I listened as the seniors talked about their fear, excitement, and the Word of God, and I was not disappointed.
As expected, they are excited about the freedom the next step has to offer, and they are eager to make decisions for themselves. They were honest and thoughtful about their fears, for the most part realizing that while exciting, the adult world is untested and new. They shared some of their favorite scriptures about not worrying, seeking refuge through God, and being strong and courageous. The answer to the final question proved to be the most profound, because it was often an answer to their fear and anxiety.
The world answers the first two questions in this exercise every day. It takes no coaxing to have someone tell you what they are excited about, and with a close relationship most will share their personal fear and anxiety, but sadly, for those without Christ, that is where the sharing ends. They must take their excitement and struggles and try to make sense of them in a broken world. I am overjoyed that our graduating seniors do not have to face the world without knowing what God says. I heard each one of them eloquently share the depth and meaning behind their excitement and struggles, and in each instance, the depth and meaning came from knowing the Word of God.
We are blessed to so easily access the words and promises of our Creator, but too many times we take this accessibility for granted and our Bibles collect dust and get left behind. Our meaning, our purpose, and our existence are defined in the Word of God, and when we write it on our hearts and teach it to our children, we are giving them the key to understanding who they are.
“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers” 1 Thessalonians 2:13.