2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. (Isaiah 12:2)
This week in student ministry, we started a series on love, sex, and dating. Honestly, I dread these talks. Not because I don’t enjoy the content, I very much do in fact, but because of the truth it uncovers. They often want so desperately for a salvation that lasts that they will turn to anything. Perhaps the most powerful desire humans have is to connect with another heartbeat. There is something affirming in another soul whispering “me too”. Currently in teen culture, this desire is heightened like never before with the proliferation of social media outlets. These exist to connect people and therefore make those who are not connected feel even more alone. When teens make contact with other teens who might understand a little of what they are experiencing, they often put up blinders to the damaging affects of that person’s character. This is where life taking relationships start. This is also why I tell them they can only date after I have conducted a thorough interview on their potential suitor, or they are 35 years of age or older. This is only fair.
And so our teens don’t necessarily feel strong under the cloud of expectations, cliques, and the herculean pull to connect with others. What they need is salvation, and not salvation that the world provides which rests on shaky earth, but the salvation that rolls in steady and patient. While this only can come from a savior, we must be the ones who arrange a meeting between the victor and the one in need of rescue. If we as the last generation cannot properly articulate Godly trust and fearlessness with our lives, then there is no hope of students ever wishing to follow us or the Church. Faith can never be lived in a vacuum but must be on display. Our story of continued salvation must be attractive and authentic if we have any hope to reach them.
But first, we must be willing to answer the question: what do I rely on to save me? If it is anything besides our Lord, we are numbing our testimony and hurting those around us. What I love about this passage is how He is described as a strength and a song. This has an incredible range of being. Our Lord is strong enough for our troubles but also a song of true and childlike joy.
Today, where is your salvation? What is your song?
Matt simon blog 