“I press on toward the goal” (Phil. 3:14)
When he was 19 years old, Andy Andrews lost his parents. His mother died of cancer, and then just weeks later his father was killed in a car accident. Soon after, Andy found himself living under a pier on the Alabama coast; but he also began to question his future and the philosophy that would shape his life. He began to ask himself about his beliefs and in time formed a life philosophy that would shape his future.
Andy Andrews is now a world-renowned author, motivational speaker and traveler, but his beginnings were meager. Through some of his novels such as The Traveler’s Gift and The Noticer, Andy has shared his life philosophy and faith with others.
The apostle Paul once wrote that, “suffering produces endurance.” This is a tough pill to swallow, but through our own hardships and difficulties, we often learn valuable lessons about ourselves and more importantly about the strength and sustaining power of God. Our difficulties do not have to defeat us. As Andy Andrews learned, hardships also can cause us to find a better path.
As you consider your ministry to teenagers and the many difficulties you are facing, don’t despair in these hardships. Perhaps you can use these difficulties to refine youth vision for ministry, involve others or even develop a new path for ministry. You also may find yourself leaning more heavily on God’s grace and strength.
As with all hardships, they eventually cease. That’s when we find God has been sustaining us all along. Let your thoughts ride this week on God’s strength, and take your steps and make your decisions in this hope.
