Something moves all of us. Something motivates us. Something keeps us going when we want to give up. Something makes our heart beat.
For me, that is Youth Ministry. Youth ministry is my heart beat. It keeps me going when ministry gets rough. It keeps me tossing and turning at night. It consumes my thoughts daily. I go to sleep thinking about Youth. I wake up thinking about Youth. I'm in class, thinking about Youth. As I'm buying a book, I'm thinking about Youth. While I'm eating a lovely Lean Pocket, I am thinking about Youth. When I am praying, I am thinking about Youth. When I'm sitting in a restaurant, I'm thinking about Youth. When I am just staring at the ceiling before I fall asleep, I am thinking about Youth.
The state of this generation consumes my thoughts and actions daily. MY generation is falling apart, and the only glue is God. MY generation is asking questions, and the only answer is God. MY generation is crying out, and the ulimate Comforter is the God.
In Nehemiah 1:1-4, Nehemiah finds out about what has happened to the remnants of God's city. He is MOVED and starts to weep. Not only does he weep, but he REACTS. Why was Nehemiah weeping? He saw a need, one that deeply moved him. The city of the Lord was in absolute ruins and disarray. The walls were all messed up and in disrepair. Not only that, but there is now no wall, which means that Jerusalem is now not safe from the enemy. He started to weep because he realized that unless that wall was rebuilt, the city had no hope. The wall was no longer anything of worth. It showed what God's glory once WAS instead of what it WAS, IS, and will always BE. The wall was a terrible and sad reflection of the mighty God that he served.
Makes me think about the US a bit doesn't it. Are we being moved to tears as we look at the world around us? Are we crying when we look at our neighborhood and there's a great chance that they're heading straight to Hell? In fact, do you even know your neighbor? Have you met your neighbor? It's hard to pray or be moved to tears for your neighbor if you have never taken the time to get to know them.
When I look around it does bring me to tears but like I said earlier, especially Youth. When I hear a teen who grew up in a Christian school blatantly deny God and curse His name and His believers, my heart aches. When I sit at Denny's and hear a teenager describe her boyfriend and what happened the night before, my heart aches. When I hear a teen describe the abuse they have had to endure by family members, my heart aches. When I hear a teen describe just exactly how their dad committed suicide right in front of them with a handgun and blamed them for wanting to commit suicide, I weep. I WEEP. I am MOVED. The statistics for my generation are staggering.
Here a few statistics about teenagers aged 13-19:
-1/3 have been drunk in the last month
-40 percent have inflicted self injury
-1 in 4 use illegal drugs
-1 million get pregnant a year (340,000 get abortions)
-1 in 10 have been raped
-9 out of 10 have seen porn online
-50 percent are no longer virgins
-1 in 5 have comtemplated suicide ( over 1,500 kill themselves each year)
Do you see where I'm getting?! Does it keep you up at night that Miami is the 2nd most unchurched city in the US? I don't know if this will keep you up at night, but COUNTLESS nights, this has kept me up. I cannot tell you the amount of times I have wept over my generation. I pray that you would take the time to find out what it is that MOVES you but not only that, you need to REACT. Nehemiah was MOVED and REACTED. Church, we need to step up. Take a look around. I encourage you to take a walk around your neighborhood and observe the people around you. Get to know them, pray for them, love them, weep for them.
We can do this, and change these statistics DRASTICALLY, if we just were to allow God to MOVE in our lives which would in turn, cause us to REACT.
