As young people, we don’t really talk about all the things happening in our lives. We don’t speak about the life challenges and changes we face daily. But today, I just want to share a bit about the God I serve — a God who is faithful. You know, as a young Officer of The Salvation Army, I’m totally and completely confident that my God is unmatched.
When I look at the things I’ve been through in my life, I am convinced that God is a Mighty Warrior, great in battles, and Jehovah is His name. There is one thing that has been pushing me in my Christian journey, and that is this: having Jesus as a personal Saviour doesn’t eliminate problems — it simply means there is a faithful Friend who walks with you through every part of the journey.
Paul writes about this so beautifully in 2 Corinthians 12, when he cries out to the Lord to remove a thorn in his life. Even though he cries to God, the Lord replies, “My grace is sufficient for you.” I want to encourage young people — and everyone — that it doesn’t matter what thorn you may have in your life right now, it doesn’t matter the crisis or trial. I want you to know that His grace is sufficient for you, because He is faithful enough to walk with you even with the thorn still there.
And for you to see the faithfulness of God, you need to have faith in Him. I am the kind of person who is not easily shaken because of the conviction I have from the Word when it says, “Do not worry about anything, but pray about everything.” As young people and as people of God, prayer is our weapon — one we must use.
I’m writing this encouragement fully aware that there are people struggling with family issues, people struggling to find schools, people struggling to find jobs, and some struggling to have a plate of food on the table. But in all of that, I encourage you to put your trust in the Lord, and He will come through for you. He did it for me when I lost my mother three months after being commissioned as a Salvation Army Officer, and He has sustained me because my trust was in Him alone.
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I lack nothing.” This is a powerful truth we can all hold onto and declare because it gives us hope — that when we walk with Jesus, we will lack nothing. And it gives us the assurance that if God is for us, no one can be against us.