"Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it." – Proverbs 22:6 (NLT)
I have worked with children for half of my life. Starting at the age of 15, tutoring a special needs child, I have worked with children from birth to the age of 18. Children are everything to me. I love the way they think, I love the things they say; they really are the greatest of us as humans. In particular, I have a soft spot for teens and I attribute this to my own struggles as a teenager. So today to honor these are very special humans, I wanted to present a short post of all the things children, particularly teens, should know that God says about them from Psalms.
Now, this won't be a complete list, that would just be way too long for one post; so, I'm going to make this part one of a short two-part series this week all about what our teens and children should know that God says about them from Psalms! Let's dig in!
Psalm 8:4-5: "What are people that you should think about them, mere mortals that you should care for them? Yet you made them a little lower than God and crowned them with Glory and Honor."
God cares for us! Even though we make mistakes, and we are flawed, and we will one day die, God has made us special and loved and has set us above all of creation! God has made us his connection to the Earth, and as we recognize this, we can see how much He values us.
Psalm 9:17-18: "The wicked will go down to the Grave. This is the fate of all the nations who ignore God. But the needy will not be ignored forever; the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed."
If you are in need, and you are communing with God, you don't have to worry! God is good and all that He does is good, He doesn't like to see us suffer or be hopeless. God has promised to take care of us when we are in need.
Psalm 30:5: " For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning."
God is not mad at you! So many people in our lives hold grudges for things that we have done and ways we might have hurt them; but not God. If God is mad at us, or disappointed in us, it's only momentarily. God loves those who seek Him! He wants the best for us, and though He may show us what we did wrong, He's not going to damn us for our mistakes.
Psalm 32:8: "The Lord says, ' I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.'"
God wants the best for us! He has a good plan for our lives and will guide us to it if we trust Him. This Psalm is very reminiscent of Jeremiah 29:11, which is also good to share with the child or teen in your life.
Psalm 38:11: "The lowly will possess the land and will live in peace and prosperity."
No matter if you are the most popular person in school, or have no friends. No matter if you live in the biggest house on the Block or your parents struggle to put food on the table; all that matters is your relationship with God and remembering what He thinks of you. He says the lowly will possess the land, meaning it does not matter where you come from, if you follow Him you will possess all that He has for you. And let me tell you, eternity with God is better than having the biggest house or the most friends.
Psalm 56:22: "Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit The Godly to slip and fall."
So oftentimes we feel like we will be overwhelmed and fail at the things that we're doing. We just can't measure up! Life is really hard, and when we feel the burden of the expectations put on us or how hard we push ourselves, we can feel like we might drowned. God says in this verse that He will never let that happen to us. He says that He will take care of us if we follow Him which can show us just how much He cares for us.
Children and teens are probably the best that Humanity has to offer the world. From the way they think to how they understand God, they are unique and beautiful! Today we got just a taste of what the Psalms say about us that we should share with our children and especially teens to help them see how God sees them. Later this week we will continue our two-part series on this subject and find out more about God and how He sees us.
