Hedgemaker Baptist – God’s Faithfulness in Youth
God is faithful at our birth; he is faithful in our childhood, and he remains faithful throughout our youth. Solomon concluded his inquiry into the meaning of life by saying, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth” (Ecc. 12:1). He continued stating that the remembrance should be before the evil days come, but while the sun, moon, and stars are still shining (v.2). This is a reflection of God’s faithfulness to keep the creation going. This remembrance was to continue, because man is headed “to his long home” (v.5), probably a reference to his death. The idea is that a young man can remember the Creator, because the Creator is faithful throughout the duration of life. God can be trusted.It seems that the age period of youth is when many begin to question the faithfulness of God. When Jesus talked about coming to the Savior, he said that we needed faith as a little child. Typically, a little child trusts and does not doubt. Young people need to trust God like little children. God, of course, has declared his faithfulness to be great (Lam. 3:23). We are assured in the passage that God’s mercies are new every morning. Hope is renewed when these truths are brought to mind (v. 21).
And yet, Satan, the deceiver of the brethren, gets us to doubting God’s faithfulness. It is imperative for youth to remember and recall the evidence of God’s faithfulness that has been demonstrated to the previous generations. It will behoove the older adults to rehearse God’s mighty works of faithfulness so that the next generation does not forget God’s benefits. There are numerous accounts of God’s history being retold for the new generation to hear it and know that God is indeed faithful. Take for instance the historical psalms like 105 through 107. The theme of those psalms was, “O give thanks unto the LORD.” The content of those psalms was a rehearsal of God’s faithful provisions for the nation of Israel throughout their history. Young people sit between the growing years of childhood and maturing years of adulthood. They need to bring the faith of a child and couple it together with experience from older adults, who have learned to trust God when life got tough. Young people need to learn to trust God during their maturing years. God is faithful in our youth. (LEH) |