Daily Devotional

What do people expect of teenagers? Not much, according to Google. Typing in “teenagers and” in the search engine results in suggestions like “teenagers and social media,” “teenagers and depression,” “teenagers and vaping,” and “teenagers and drugs.” Not very positive associations! For many parents, educators, coaches, etc., a successful teenager is one who does well in school, stays out of trouble, and isn’t a total goofball.

Scripture, however, offers a different vision of what the teen years can look like. The biblical record has many examples of young people doing amazing things for God’s kingdom. Here are just a few:

• Joseph was sold into slavery at 17 years old (Genesis 37:2). His diligence and responsibility earned him a position managing the entire household of Potiphar. Joseph’s leadership skills were so apparent that he ended up running the very jail where he was imprisoned! Joseph also displayed integrity and purity in his resistance to Potiphar’s wife’s advances…hardly something teenagers are known for today.
  
  
• Samuel began ministering alongside Eli the high priest shortly after he was weaned (1 Samuel 1:24), probably around three years old. Samuel was essentially doing full-time ministry as a child/teenager. He also heard the voice of the Lord, becoming a prophet of Israel and steward of God’s revelation at a young age.
  
  
• David was anointed as the future king of Israel as a boy and fought Goliath as a teenager (“a youth,” 1 Samuel 17:33). Beyond slaying giants, the young David was a teen of many talents: a skilled shepherd, the official court musician of Saul, even Saul’s armor-bearer (i.e. bodyguard). Courage, martial prowess, a heart of worship, and tenacious faith—David had all these as a teenager.
  
  
• The boy king Josiah began his reign at the age of 8 (2 Kings 22:1). At age 24 (still young!), Josiah oversaw the restoration of the Temple and the reinstitution of the public reading of Scripture (2 Kings 22–23).
  
  
• Jeremiah received a call to prophetic ministry when he was only a “youth” (Jeremiah 1:6). When God appointed Jeremiah to the prophetic office, Jeremiah tried to gave his age as an excuse. God’s response is powerful: “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’ for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 1:7–8).
  
  
• Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were also “youths” when they were captured and subjected to the Babylonian “re-education program” (cf. Daniel 1:4). In this pagan environment, these four boys held to the faith of their heritage and chose to follow God’s law (including its dietary restrictions!), even if it meant risking their lives. Talk about resisting peer pressure!
  
  
• Many scholars believe that Mary was also a teenager when she gave birth to Jesus, perhaps as young as fourteen. Mary’s faith, obedience, and humility jump off the pages of Luke 1, and her psalm-like prayer (Luke 1:46–56) reveals a deep knowledge of Scripture and God’s character.
  
  
• A final example is Timothy, who became a companion of Paul as a young man and was later entrusted with leadership of the church in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3). (At that point, Timothy was probably closer to thirty or forty, still considered young for a religious leader in that day.) Timothy was apparently self-conscious about his age and inexperience, so Paul instructed him, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example…” (1 Timothy 4:12).
  
  
• Other examples include Miriam (Exodus 2:4–10), Joash (2 Kings 11–12), Naaman's servant girl (2 Kings 5:2–3) and according to some scholars, most of Jesus’ disciples (Matthew 10:2–4). Even Jesus himself shows up as a preteen (Luke 2:41–51).
  
  

These examples make it clear that young people—young adults, teenagers, even children—are capable of godly character, spiritual maturity, and even great deeds for God. For many of these young men and women, their teenage years were springboards into a lifetime of extraordinary service for God. Imagine a generation of young people with this vision! How great could be their impact!

If you’re a young person, don’t sell yourself short or think you have to be over 40 before God can use you. If you’re a parent, grandparent, or anyone who works with youth, don’t sell them short, either. God can and does use young people for His glory, and not just when they’re older.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.