29 August 2023 – What have I learned today?
2 Chronicles Chapter 34 Verses 1-3 (NIV)
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left. In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols.
1 Timothy Chapter 4: Verse 12 (NIV)
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
Josiah’s father and grandfather had not set the young lad an example on how to follow God. Yet he was open to the nudging and moving of God in his life so that by the time he was sixteen he had set out to find God for himself. We have a responsibility to encourage young people to find God. Church work with young people needs to encourage them to follow Josiah’s example. It doesn’t matter to God if they don’t have a Christian background. By the time Josiah was twenty he was in a position to start tearing down the alters and places that had been set up for idol worship. Step by step as he matured, God led him to restore the Temple and to lead his people back to worshipping God.
Paul also encouraged his protégé Timothy to take a stand and set an example to others as a young Christian. We need to cheer and encourage our young people on. They are the future of the church and can teach us as much as they are learning. I became a Christian at the age of 16 thanks to the example and testimony of a schoolfriend, and I am ever grateful for her boldness and encouragement.
Dear Lord,
I am grateful I found relationship with You at a young age, like Josiah and that You have led and guided my steps for over 40 years. Help me to encourage the young people who cross my path to find You for themselves in a deep and meaningful way, and that they in turn can lead others to do the same. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.