Recently, I woke up and the first thought that entered my head was, "Wow, another day to do what I love the most, ministering to teens." I couldn't wait to get to work that day because it was Wednesday, and I knew that I would see most of our students that night at church. I was also excited because with Wednesday comes another chance to share my heart with them through our worship service.
That night, God showed up in a BIG way and the worship time was powerful and the lesson time flowed smoothly. As I was leaving, a student asked to visit with me privately. After spending time with them, I prayed with them and watched them drive off towards home. I stood there in the parking lot and cried as I thought, "How in the world am I going to help this student."
Its times like these that I feel so inadequate to work with teenagers. What do I say? How can I really help them? Am I ready for the challenges these students face? Needless to say, I couldn't sleep that night as I tossed and turned asking God to help with this dilemma.
One of the reasons I love reading about Jesus so much, is that you see the human side of Him just as often as you see the God side of Him. What I mean is, Jesus was so vulnerable!! So transparent!! One of the ways he exhibited this was in John 8 . . .
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28 So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him." 30 Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.
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Notice Jesus says, "I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me, he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him. This is what I long for!!!! This is one of my prayers as I spend time with students!!! I don't want to speak unless the Father has taught me what to say.
Needless to say, I have spoken without the Fathers leading more times than I care to admit. But this is my prayer. This is one of my deepest desires. This is the hope that I hang the privilege of ministry on!! Why? Well, read the verse again
, " He has not left me alone."