St. Marys United Methodist Youth

Tonight, Corey H. brought the lesson to us at Youth Worship (UMYF). He did a phenomenal job preparing this good word. He was kind enough to offer the text for our enjoyment on our website:

Purpose? I Have a Purpose?

I was reading my Bible a few nights ago, and as I was reading, something fell out. I picked it up, and it was a folded piece of paper sealed with a small sliver of duct tape. I opened it, and discovered that it was a message I had received from one of my youth leaders up in PA. We had just gone on a youth retreat, and we all received these letters of encouragement on our last night there. We also all received verses to read and study. The one verse that I got was Jeremiah 29:11-13, which reads (Holman Standard Bible)

“11 For I know the plans I have for you”-this is the Lord’s declaration-”plans for your welfare and a hope. 12 You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all of your heart.”

This is a truly powerful passage. At the time, the Israelite people were exiled from their homelands because Babylon had invaded them, and deported them as slaves. The people were in despair because they were being mistreated, and felt like God abandoned them. You can draw parallels to the time in Egypt. Then Jeremiah comes along and begins to prophesy. Just imagine how powerful this message must have been to an exiled Israelite? You’re down on your hopes, and the Lord Himself says that He has a plan for you. Not for everyone, but YOU.

But, this plan requires you to do something…it doesn’t say that if you sit down and just wait, that it’ll happen, no sir. It says to call to Him, and pray to Him. Seek HIM, first and lean not on your own understanding, and you will find HIM when you earnestly search with all of your heart. Not just some, but all of it. Sometimes we try too hard to hear His voice. I do plenty of times. But remember this: “The Lord was not in the earthquake.” So, we all sometimes expect some miraculous occurrence to happen, the sky to part and God to suddenly yell, “BEHOLD! I HAVE PLAN!” But very rarely does that happen, although it would be cool to see. We sometimes have to quiet our hearts and minds and just listen, much like you would to some beautiful music. Let Him speak, and you receive. That is very hard today in a world where we have “noise” at every turn, but it’s a skill that we need to learn. By quieting ourselves, we can truly seek Him, and listen to “the still small voice of God.”

Now this sounds all fine and dandy, but what if when we do all these things, we don’t hear the Lord right away? That’s where faith comes in. Remember, faith is trusting and believing in what we cannot see, and knowing that it’s there. I cannot see the air, but I know it enters my lungs, and that it blows around as wind. Thusly, I cannot see God directly, but I can see everything he has done, and that proves that He is there always. Everything in life works out to His glory, and to His alone, some times at the expense of our own. If we are to truly seek Him, we must “Pick up our cross and follow Him.” Have faith in His everlasting grace and knowledge, and you will be fine. So in all things, remember Jeremiah 29, and trust in His timing, and you will be strong and resolute in all trials and tribulations that may come your way. Read encouragement verse:1John 3:1