Christian Living

Now That You Are Young

by Hezekiah Fakeye
10/23/17
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One of the major reasons people grow up to a life full of regret and unnecessary struggle has to do with the way they spent and the choices they made in their youth days. The youth days of a man are the most sensitive and dangerous days of his life. It is the time that the most important choices in life have to be made; choices like career, life partner, among others are made in the youth days, and these choices when made will for sure have a lingering effect in the after years of the man. This makes this particular segment of a man’s life very critical and crucial.

Unfortunately, many youths are either ignorant or negligent of the sensitivity of this stage of life and so, they spend it frivolously, giving themselves to youthful lusts and pleasures. The enjoyment and worldly pleasures are what they use their youthful strength crave for; just to wake up to the reality of life in their old age and how wasteful they’ve spent what should have been their productive years. If you are still in your youths and you are reading this, I want to urge you to make up your mind to use your youth days judiciously.

Lamentation 3:27: It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth.

According to the scripture above, it is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. First, I like to draw your attention to the fact that the yoke is inescapable. If you do not bear it now that you are young and full of strength, you will bear it when you grow old, and if may tell you, by that time, the strength will not be there and coupled with the fact that many irreversible wrong choices would have been made, you will only have yourself to be blamed.

Many of the elderly people whose lives are full of regret are those who probably did not bear the yoke when they ought to and thus made the wrong decisions. Now they keep wishing that the hands of the clock be turned back so that they can make amendments, but you know what? It can never be turned back! The deed has been done! The best they can do is to manage the situation. I pray you will not cry ‘had I know’ in your old age. That’s exactly why you have to bear the yoke now that you are young.

Although we can relate the yoke to several things, the central and the most cogent one is the yoke of seeking and finding God, after all, the bible says godliness is profitable to all things (1 Tim.4:8). The youth days are the time that you ought to seek your maker; this is because most of the choices you have to make in life revolve around His guidance.

No one can ever make the right choice without the guidance and wisdom of God. There is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death, the Bible says. Therefore, you’ll need God to guide you into the right path in life. You will need Him to unveil the purpose of your life to you. You will need Him to help you choose the right life partner. These and many choices are going to come your way during your youth days, justifying the reason you have to seek God in your early days.

The Psalmist says “O God, You are my God; early will I seek you; My soul thirst for you; My flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for you in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory (Psalms 63:1-2). That was the secret of David’s exploit in life. He sought God early; he looked for his maker in the sanctuary in his youth. Please note that David did not seek God for riches and fame, he sought Him for His power and His glory.

Job is another example of a successful man in the scripture who shared the secret of his success in Job 29:1-4. He noted that it was right from the days of his prime (youth) that he had the friendship and the counsel of God. He had been a friend of God right from his prime days. Uzziah also sought God in his early days, and the Lord made him prosper (2 Chronicles 26:3-5). Solomon also sought God early and he had a successful life except in marriage. And do you know why he failed in marriage? He made the choice before he met the Lord.

In conclusion, the best time to seek the Lord is now that you are young. Ecclesiastes 12:1 says “Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, "Life is not pleasant anymore." (NLT). The point is clear! The excitement of youth can be captivating, but do not allow it to stand in your way of seeking God. If you do not honour your creator now that you are young, when you grow old, life will not be pleasant to you anymore. Do not run into that kind of regret. It is when you grow old that you should sit back and enjoy the pleasantries of life.  Therefore, now is the time for you to serve the Lord with all your strength and heart, it’s not the time for frivolities. Seek God now and enjoy life to the fullest later.