Tell the Next Generation
By: Whitney Hopler
Bible Reading:
“I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old – things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.” – Psalm 78:2-4, NIV
My paternal grandmother, Lena Wyckoff, told me many memorable stories about how God worked in her life before she passed away at age 98. She emphasized how God was close by her side through everything she experienced – in good and bad circumstances alike. Grandma’s long life was full of highs and lows. She enjoyed lots of love in her life from family and friends, yet she was widowed young and suffered a lot as a single mother afterward. She faced many challenges, but she overcame them all with God’s help. Along the way, Grandma stayed close to God through prayer and recorded the details of how God answered her prayers. She shared wonderful stories with me about the power of prayer and God’s faithful answers to prayers. Thanks to Grandma’s stories, I was inspired to build my own prayer life with God.
Think back to the stories you heard when you were growing up. Maybe a parent, a grandparent, a Sunday school teacher, or a close friend sat with you and shared about how God was working in their lives. They told you about the prayers God answered, the times God brought them through difficult seasons, and the wonderful ways God showed his love. Those stories were not just nice memories from the past. They were living seeds of faith planted into your heart to help you understand who God is and how well he cares for you.
In Psalm 78:2-4, the Bible reminds you that you have an important role to play in God’s plans by passing along the stories of how God has worked in your life. God wants you to share his praiseworthy deeds, his power, and the wonders he has done with the next generation of people, like your descendants, and other younger people you know.
You don’t need to be a biblical scholar or an experienced public speaker to share inspiring stories of God at work. All God asks you to do is be an honest witness of how he has worked so far in your life. You can do so well just by sharing genuine stories about God in your everyday conversations with the people you know. God will bring you lots of opportunities to tell the next generation about him. You can tell stories whenever you’re spending time with your children and grandchildren – especially during family meals, when everyone is paying attention to family conversations. You can also share your stories with young people you know from your church and other places in your community. Get to know a few younger people as friends, offer to pray for them about the concerns they share with you, and share stories of how God has helped you in similar situations.
When you share your stories about God, you help younger people make connections between God’s faithfulness in the past and the hope they need for the future. Every time you share a story of God’s wonderful work in your life, you help a younger person see that God is real, active, and trustworthy today. You help them realize that the same God who performed wonders in the Bible, and who guided believers throughout history, is ready to guide them in their own lives right now.
Never underestimate the power of your positive influence on the next generation when you share your stories about God. Even the simplest stories you tell younger people about God’s wonderful work in your life can help them learn and grow closer to God.
So, ask God to help you notice the opportunities he gives you to share your faith stories, and to share the Gospel message in fresh ways through those stories. Your stories have eternal value!
Intersecting Faith & Life:
As you consider why it’s important to share stories of God’s wonderful work with younger people, reflect on these questions:
- Who in your past faithfully shared God’s wonders with you, and how did their words inspire you to grow closer to God?
- What’s one story of how God answered your prayers that you can share with someone younger this week?
- What fears might hold you back from sharing your faith stories, and how can you rely on God to help you overcome those fears?
- How can you make plans in your schedule regularly to talk about God with the young people around you?
- Who is a young person in your life right now who needs encouragement? How can you pray for that person today and share an encouraging story with him or her?
Further Reading:
Joel 1:3
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Psalm 145:4
2 Timothy 1:5
Psalm 71:18
Go Deeper: Boldness is the Key to Spreading The Gospel
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Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Tom Merton
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