Getting your license is a really amazing feeling. Immediately so much in your life has changed! You feel so independent! Being able to drive by yourself gives you so much freedom. I remember when I first received my full license; I had no vehicle. I could finally drive by myself, with no parents, and yet I had nothing to drive. I remember thinking, "What if someone gave me their van? That would be amazing." I believed that it was God who put that idea on my heart so I continued to pray about it for a few months. One day when I was at church, a kind older gentleman that I barely knew came up to me and said, "I heard you like traveling and hanging out with younger skaters. Would you drive them around if you could? I know someone that can give you a free van to help you." That moment was unreal. It felt like I was in a dream, or like I had just won the lottery. It was a moment when I really felt like God had come through for me in a huge way. That van was very useful and it was used to drive around many teenagers to skate parks, churches, and on road trips to different Christian youth events. I think there was one key ingredient in this situation. I had to BELIEVE that God would come through on this van "idea". On my own it would have been so hard for me to get a vehicle since I really had no money at the time. God gives us all these opportunities in life so we can learn to trust in Him.
In Luke 1:13-15 there is a really cool story of parents that hear from God at a strange time in their lives. God sends an angel to talk to this man named Zechariah saying, "Your prayer has been heard”. The angel goes on to tell him how his wife will have a child. This is outrageous because they were so old and could never have any kids. Alone, and without God’s help, they couldn't have children. Despite that, the angel told him all about the future they will have with their new son. God provided in a huge way, where it seemed so impossible.
Sometimes the future can be scary. When you stop to think about what to do for a living or making huge life decisions, things can be really intimidating. What school should you attend? Where is a good place to live? Who is the right person to marry? The list goes on. But then, as you take a big deep breath you have that moment when you know this doesn't have to be something you're afraid of. This can be exciting. This can be fun. Figuring life out is an adventure. There's a small glimmer of hope you can hold onto knowing that everything is going to be OK. God knows our future and it's so important that we believe Him when He tells us He’ll come through. Now is a good time to take risks in life. Step out where you think He is leading you. What's the worst thing that can happen? Even if we start to fall off the path that God has for us, He will lead us. He won't let us go the wrong way. As long as we spend time in His Word and prayer, He will make things clear. We might not have a angel appear to us in our bedroom, or hear a loud voice from the sky, but God uses people in our lives to help encourage us. God speaks to us in so many ways. God tells us things even through the movies we watch or the books we read. We just have to be listening. We only have to open our eyes and our hearts. Take time today to ask God for a sign and show him that your ready to take on what He has for you. I love how in Luke 1:6 it says that Zechariah was "righteous in Gods eyes and careful to obey." Maybe that’s why God trusted Him with this son. He showed God he was ready for it. Obedience is important. Obviously, we are to obey God, but we are also to obey people that God has put in front of us and over us on earth. This could be our parents, teachers, our pastor, our boss, or the law. It might sound basic, but sometimes it's hard to do. I challenge you to go out of your way to honor those people. Do more than what they ask you to do. Respect them and show God how much you love to obey.
When Zechariah first got the message, he doubted God saying, "How could this be? I'm too old”. Because he doubted, he lost his voice. That's pretty extreme. Just imagine that happening to you and you couldn't talk on your cell phone for months. Talking is the best way to communicate to people, yet perhaps, God was trying to teach him something. Maybe God had to take away something so valuable to him just to show him something. I bet Zechariah prayed more in those moments, and deepened his relationship with Him. When he doubted the message from the angel, he used his age as an excuse as to why it couldn't happen. We tend to do that a lot. He said he was too old but for some people it's opposite, we like to say, "I'm too young. This could never happen because of my age." When it comes down to it, God has big future plans for you. He knows and has planned who you’re going to marry. He knows your future job and where you will be living. So why don't we just believe Him? 1 Timothy 4:12 also says, "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but instead be a good example." Be expecting God to do miraculous things especially if it's something that seems impossible. If we know we can do it on our own than we don't need Him. Let him work in your life in huge ways. Let him work in ways that would be extreme and weird for example. Things like getting a used van to drive around skaters. I hope He brings you to a place where you’re desperate, and even if something has been taken away, let it be a time to grow.
