From the Apostle's Pen

Never too Young to be Confident in God

By Apostle Joseph Hobbs, Th.D.
Ps 71:5-7

5 For Thou art my hope; O Lord GOD, Thou art my confidence from my youth.


6 By Thee I have been sustained from my birth; Thou art He who took me from my mother's womb; My praise is continually of Thee.


7 I have become a marvel to many; for Thou art my strong refuge. (NAS) 


"Jane Brooks has said, "Our children are like library books on loan with a due date that remains unknown." Make the most of every moment with your kids!" * Newsweek, April 29, 1991, p. 10 


Greetings, beloved on this National Youth Sunday. I would like to encourage children and parents alike to exercise greater confidence in the Lord. The idea of confidence in God is another way of expressing the fact that we must believe in and have faith in the unfailing love of God our Father.  


The Psalmist opens by sharing with us that there is always reason to hope in or have bold expectations for God to perform His best will for our lives. There is never a time when God is not a God of superlative goodness, even when we don't understand or clearly see the hand of God in operation we know that He is without question up to something good! The reason that the psalmist can exult concerning his hope in God is because he had been taught from his youth to be confident in God. It is highly likely that this confidence was nurtured through practical moments of sharing with the elders in his family or community. 

I cannot stress enough the importance of the oral tradition in sharing the values and virtues of a life that is fully surrendered to God. It is only through total surrender that we learn to trust God the more through the many situations and circumstances that we are privileged witness the hand of God moving on our behalf. Young people learn more by example than they do by precept or teaching, therefore, we must hand down to them the insights of bold confidence that we have gained and gleaned from our years of reliance upon the Lord. We are never too young to be taught to depend upon God for all things.