I just spoke this morning at an elite private school in Dallas. The reoccurring theme of my messages was: Ownership. One’s ability to do right isn’t solely constructed upon the knowledge of right from wrong. Such knowledge is a critical foundation upon which we all formulate our choices and shape our convictions. But taking ownership in the knowledge we have by choosing to do right, essentially honoring God, is the key to living the surrendered life about which I often talk.
If you are a teen, you’re going through all the cliche teenager-y stuff that means you’re “growing up”—your body is changing, you’re learning to drive, and adults are always exclaiming about “how much you’ve grown.” (I find myself saying this often to my two girls.)
“Growing up” is something your body does with little to no regard over your actions. You don’t choose whether or not you get older—you just do. But becoming something more than just an adult isn’t about just getting older. It’s about taking ownership in your choices and making the effort to want to know God more (and live for Him.)
This something more I’m talking about is different for everyone. It isn’t defined by how much you know about science, or how well you do in chemistry, or who your friends are, or how talented you are in music or sports. It’s about taking ownership in this idea: God’s got it and I am going to work like made every day to trust that He will use all situations and circumstances of my life to shape me into the man/woman He knows I can be.
It isn’t about having all the knowledge of what lies ahead – it is about trusting that God knows what the future holds and He has your best interest at heart. What is required of you in the process is to trust Him as He reveals it to you in each day, through each relationship, and in every challenge and celebration.
God does have a plan for you, and He’s not going to hide it from you. He wants you to know what it is. You just have to trust Him. Are you willing to trust God that much? Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
In other words, God is saying: “Give me a chance. Let me prove to you that I have it all under control. Let me show you that I am capable of doing something amazing with your life. Let me make you into the person I created you to be.”
Maybe things in your life are okay right now. Nothing catastrophic has happened lately. But every time you look in the mirror you find something wrong with yourself, something that’s just got to be changed. Or maybe everything is wrong right now and all you think about is how you have to change every single thing about yourself. If you want to have the ability to fight that feeling and look in the mirror and be happy (or at least happier) with what you see, you need to give God a chance. Things may be good, but He can make them great. Whether you’re completely depressed or pretty happy, you always need God—because, in Him, you can be so much more than you ever imagined you could be. You can be who He created you to be.
