Growing Up God’s Way
Bible Reading: 1 Peter 5:5-7
Humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you. 1 Peter 5:6
“I believe in Christ,” Trent admits, “but he doesn’t have a lot to do with my life. I’m really busy. I’ve got football. And my parents make me play trumpet and sing in the choir at church. But what I really like is skateboarding—and snowboarding. It’s not like I don’t want to read the Bible to find out how God can matter in my life—but I don’t have time. I’ve noticed that God never seems as close as other people say he is. I know that he cares for me, though, so when I hit a big problem, I pray hard then.”
With every year that passes, your parents, teachers, and other adults in your life give you freedom to fling yourself into more and more big stuff. But growing up isn’t a chance to grab that freedom and run. It’s a chance to follow God on your own.
Talk about it: If growing up means getting more freedom, why would you want to surrender that freedom by letting the Lord lead your life?
Here’s why following God is so great.
For starters, life can be a struggle when you call the shots. When you take control of your life, you lack the joy that should be yours as a Christian. Your anxiety can soar sky-high. Peace is in short supply because you’re solving all your problems by yourself. You don’t have much power over temptation, and you might get more discouraged than you want to admit.
But think about what happens when you let God lead you. God makes you brave. He sees everything in your present situation and in your entire future, so he can show you how to live your whole life. While walking without God bogs you down, God promises to lift you up.
The passage you read tells the first step in letting God lead your life. You humble yourself before God and allow him to direct how you live, play, and serve. First Peter 5:5 in the New International Version says to “clothe yourselves with humility.” This refers to a slave putting on an apron before serving. Our job is to imitate our Lord, who put a towel around himself and served his disciples (see John 13:4-17).
How do you “clothe yourself with humility”? By admitting you need God’s power in every bit of life. You admit you need God’s brains. You admit you need God’s love. You make time for God and his purposes—and you admit you need every kind of help he can give you!
TALK: How are you doing in your relationship with God? What’s the next step you can take to grow closer?
PRAY: Tell God you want to get closer to him.
ACT: Make a list of the pros and cons of being a Christian. If your con list is longer and more impressive than your pro list, chat with a mature Christian for more ideas on the great points of following Jesus!