Secondary School Crowd

They existed in the same groups as I did when I attended secondary school.

Isaiah 10:1-34

Reference: v.33 Behold, the Lord God of hosts
will lop the boughs with terrifying power;
the great in height will be hewn down,
and the lofty will be brought low. (TNIV Bible)

Explore: I recently drove past the local secondary school just as all the students were heading home. While the congested traffic caused me some delay it gave me time to look at the teenagers of today.

While their haircuts were slightly different and their accessories were not recognizable, they existed in the same groups as I did when I attended secondary school. There were the fashion conscious girls, the studious boys, the skater kids, the sporty jocks and all the others in between.

I remember living in that world and wanting to be accepted by everyone.  I never really felt like I fitted into any specific group and everyone seemed so caught up in their own acceptability that I often got left out.

I saw a girl who could have been me 20 years ago and I wanted to wind down my window and call out to her to say, “It’s going to be ok. You’ll turn out alright and people will like you for who you are, not for who they want you to be.”

Clearly I didn’t as that would have been super weird and rather scary for the poor girl! But it reminded me of a time when I felt so completely useless, surrounded by peers who seemed to have it all.

Application: If only I could have been a prophet in that girl’s life to let her know that, if she hung in there, life was going to turn out ok.

Isaiah the prophet looked at the Israelites and could see the destruction that was heading their way. Unlike me he was willing to wind down the window and tell the people about their future.

God was going to bring justice and Isaiah did his best to tell them about what was to come. They didn’t always listen, but at least he spoke out.

I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen to that secondary school student in her future, but we do know that if we have Christ in our lives our future is filled with hope and purpose.

While I couldn’t speak to this one girl I can speak to others, to share the hope and purpose that God has in store for all of us. Let’s hope that I have the courage to wind down my window and speak it out loud.

Prayer: Lord, there are people who come into our lives needing to know of Your hope, grace and future. May we be bold in speaking the truth and giving hope to our generation. Amen.

Who do you know who needs to hear of God’s hope and purpose for their lives?

acceptance, hope, Isaiah, prophet, purpose, students