2. Questions for Teenagers: Can I trust that Jesus wants what is best for me?
I run a leadership program at a local Christian high school, and this year I’ve spent a lot of time with seniors. Most of them are single-focused on their future. Which college should I attend? Or should I even go to college? What about a gap year? And the biggest question of all: What if none of it works out the way I want it to?
My default response is simple: “Well, have you talked to the Lord about it?” Followed by: “Will you trust that Jesus wants what’s best for you, so no matter what, it will work out?” That’s hard. We want things our way and trusting someone we can’t have a face-to-face conversation with in person can be hard. But trusting Jesus is not a transaction—I give you what you want, you give me what I want.
Instead, the deeper trust Jesus is calling us to means we trust in the goodness of his heart, no matter what our circumstances. I often tell teenagers that we can’t trust someone we don’t know, so suggest they focus on one of the four gospel accounts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Ask them to read, always, with a focus on the heart of Jesus. Challenge them to ask why Jesus said and did the things he did, not merely what he did. Jesus told us that if we see him, we’ve seen his father. So the path forward is to see him well.
3. Questions for Teenagers: Can I trust enough to follow Jesus wherever and whatever he asks?
When we see and embrace the heart of Jesus, our trust will need to extend into action—to follow him wherever he wants us to go, and do whatever He asks. It means our love for him leads to willing obedience. But I often hear young people ask: “How do I know it’s God and not me speaking?” Well, relationships are an art, not a science.
More often than not, our struggle is really a result of facing hard choices, not with following where Jesus is taking us. If we’re willing to submit our hopes and dreams to him—to move into them, with the expectation that Jesus will either fuel our momentum or impede it—he will put bumpers around them to keep us close to him.
The “how” of following Jesus takes a lifetime to figure out. But I know that if I don’t learn to follow him, my life feels hollow and without purpose. The sooner your kids experience what it’s like to trust Jesus—in word and deed—the better prepared they’ll be for a life of impact.
This article by Leneita Fix about key questions for teenagers originally appeared here.
