By Joel Comiskey, Youth in Cell Ministry
God loves to do the unexpected through youth and to challenge the false beliefs that only the older and wiser can be God’s special tools.
Joseph, was a “young man of seventeen” when God interrupted his sleep with some amazing dreams (Genesis 37:5). God eventually used Joseph to save the world from starvation and deliver his family, the bloodline of Christ, to prosperity in Egypt. Joseph listened to God and remained faithful for the twenty-two years that it took for the fulfillment of those dreams and the saving of many lives.
Joshua was Moses’ aid since “youth” (Numbers 11:28). When Moses interceded with God in the Tent of Meeting outside the camp, Joshua would go with him. After Moses received the message to pass onto the people, “his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent” (Exodus 33:11). Joshua’s strong leadership was developed through the many years Moses mentored him. Joshua’s influence can be seen by the fact that Israel continued to live for God even after his death: “Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel” (Joshua 24:31).
Samuel is another excellent example of God’s calling to young people. We read that the “boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli” (1 Samuel 3:1). He first heard God’s voice and call as a child. When Samuel was “old and gray,” he testified that it was from the time of his youth that he was a leader for the people of Israel (1 Samuel 12:2).
Ruth was still a young woman when she became a widow and followed Naomi to Bethlehem (Ruth 1).
David was a mere boy when he defeated Goliath and attracted the attention of the king. David’s character development and faith exploits began when he was a boy shepherd, caring for the sheep (1 Samuel 17).
Josiah was king at the age of eight, and by the time he was in his late teens, God used him to bring a rebellious nation back to God (2 Kings 22:1).
Daniel and his friends were probably teenagers when they were led across the Fertile Crescent into captivity. We can imagine them as young men, quite possibly in their late teens, as they testified to Yahweh and interpreted the king’s dreams (Daniel 1-5).
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a mere youth when the angel appeared to her with unprecedented news of her supernatural pregnancy (Luke 1:26-38).
Some have observed that Jesus led the original “youth group,” believing that Christ’s twelve disciples were probably under the age of eighteen. Christ’s choice of the twelve gives new meaning to youth ministry and motivation to disciple those who are young.
The Apostle Paul first began to work with Timothy when he was approximately sixteen years old. Paul discipled Timothy and developed him to become the pastor in Ephesus, a very important church. He exhorted his young disciple, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). He then told Timothy, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2).