Many years ago, my cousin was confiding in me about a painful episode involving his son who was a freshman in high school. He was despondent over his recent breakup with his girlfriend. “He’s very angry and depressed. He doesn’t want to see anyone and doesn’t want to talk to me.”
I felt a heavy load on my heart as I listened to him recount the painful details. Teenage romances. The popular media uses terms like puppy love, implying the relationships are ephemeral and not serious. Perhaps the relationship was not meant to last but the intensity of the emotions is real, regardless of one’s age or stage of life. I and many others have experienced the devastating failure of an early life relationship. Equally painful is listening to the admonition that parents and well-intentioned adults often impart to younger individuals. “You’ve got your whole life ahead of you!” It is meant to encourage but is often viewed as patronizing by the listener.
This reassurance has been spoken to me by my parents. I have also passed this on to my children, confident that my age and experiences have enlightened me, yet how often do I need to hear the same reassurance from my Heavenly Father? While I may have moved on from dating, other prickly relationship issues have taken its place. How do I deal with a friend who feels slighted because I did not invite him to dinner with a group of other friends? What about my business associate who is going through a painful divorce? How do I speak to the young couple who have just lost their child? Doesn’t God, who eternally exists, know what we are going through and has plans to prosper us, plans for peace, and not evil? Doesn’t He know what is in store for our lives? Doesn’t He know how to guide us?
…He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born—and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.
Psalms 78:5-7 (NLT)
God continually reminds us through many verses in the Bible that our perspective should not be limited to only this lifetime. He wants us to remember the blessings He has showered upon us and tell them to our children and future generations, to remind everyone that He does know how to guide us because He knows what will happen.
You’ve got your whole life ahead of you!
Only when God, the Father, says this to us, can we trust Him to help us navigate the painful events of this life. When we have confessed and repented of our sins and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we have eternal life ahead of us!
Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.
The Bereans Blog 