I was surprised and blessed to be asked to share something at the ceremony.
The students who were promoting had been in my class years ago and I love them.
When I realized that I would not be able to attend my heart thanked God for being asked.
But God…
Another adult involved in the ceremony asked me if I’d like to write down what I wanted to share and she would stand in for me.
Talk about a blessing!
The following is what I wrote and she shared.
To begin I am deeply blessed to have the honor to send you not only my prayers, but also a word of encouragement as you take part in stepping into the road that leads to adulthood. Not many young people realize that the four years of high school are literally the last years of learning how to hone your skills, thoughts and habits, to introduce you into adulthood.
Many people use the four years of high school to live for themselves, to indoctrinate themselves into habits and activities that are not only harmful for them, but instill abuses and addictions into their future as adults.
It is my prayer for each of you that you do not follow the wide path of the world, but that instead you look to scripture and listen and most importantly apply God’s truth to the next four years of your life and continue that habit into adulthood.
With that being said I asked the Lord what verse would crystallize what His plan for each follower of Christ is, where we could find it simply and directly lined out. He led me to Micah 6:8.
Oftentimes, when a scripture is familiar we begin to disregard it’s important especially when we have grown up from childhood hearing it quoted and not really understanding how to apply it.
I know this was true with my own childhood. I didn’t understand the importance of many scriptures that I had been raised with and memorized, but as an adult the Lord began to open my understanding and to help me learn how to apply these things to my everyday. The truths, the blessings, the direction, and the very gifts of life have been granted to me through that and I’m so thankful to my parents, my teachers, and my Sunday school for having me memorize so much scripture.
With that being said, let’s look at Micah 6:8.
Micah 6:8 NKJV — He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
Although these are simple words, the first thing it begins with is to show you what is good. Many things in this world try to tell you they are good, they are right, they are true, but we only find those things in God’s Word. Nowhere else is there true goodness without God. We must understand, that God is good and in Him we find goodness.
The Lord requires of us to do justly. That isn’t a sometimes thing and it’s not a when you want it. Simply and straightforwardly it tells us that we are to do right at all times.
Often people, become confused as to what is correct, right, and just. Scripture again is our guide and should always be the first place we look for answering questions.
To do justly is not an option with the believer. The follower of Christ should always look to do what is right in every circumstance, never compromising, never wavering, never being lukewarm.
Next we see that God wants us to love mercy. To truly understand that, we have to realize that it is because of His mercy that we have salvation. We can see throughout scripture times that God chooses to show His mercy to those who least deserved it. For if we all wanted to be honest, no one deserves God’s mercy. But He gives it and we need to as well. That means loving others the way God loves us, not holding bitterness or resentment. Leaving no room for offense, but choosing to love as God loves. If anyone has the right to be offended, it is our righteous God and He chooses not to. Instead He gives mercy, grace, and forgiveness.
Lastly we are to walk humbly with our God. We know through scripture that it is because of pride that Satan fell. We know that it is because of pride that Eve chose to eat the forbidden fruit: she wanted to be like God. We know that throughout man’s history pride has caused people to harm others, to live selfishly, to spread abuse, pain, and injustice. And it is still wreaking havoc on the human race today. But the Bible also tells us that God resists the proud. Humility is truly something we have to work at putting on, because pride came with our sinful natures and we can hardly get away from it. Unless we are purposeful in keeping our hearts humble before God, pride will grow, hiding under a myriad of excuses.
We must realize that we are no better than any other human created, and we are far less than God Himself. Yet, He made each and every one of us in His image, in God’s likeness, and Jesus Christ died and rose again to save our souls. Those two things: being made in God’s image and being bought by the blood of Jesus Christ, makes us more valuable than we can ever imagine. Because of these things we can be humble, as well as thankful, to the Lord Almighty for His great gifts and His endless love.
It is through a truly humbled heart that we can actually find the answer to walking justly and loving mercy. It’s the final key to how we are to follow Christ daily. Surrendering our own wants and desires before Him and choosing to live for those He has placed around us every single day.
As you embark on the next 4 years, which begin right now, I pray that you will live for Jesus Christ and not for yourselves. I pray that you live for Jesus Christ and not for academics or achievements, whether it be in sports or intellectual things or even just enjoying the world that God created. Those things are good and He gave them to us, but they should never be what we live for. I pray that each of you today realizes the importance of the place in life that you are at and that you will choose to surrender each day forward into Jesus’s hands and serve Him as the bond servant that Paul spoke of in the scriptures. One who does not worry about his life, but only concern is in being an excellent servant of the Master. I love you and I thank you for this wonderful opportunity to speak into your lives. Again, I’m sorry I was unable to be there in person, but God knows what is best and I trust Him. I’m sending you each my love. God bless you.
Dear Lord Jesus,
Please bless these young people with wisdom and let their hearts be opened to Your Word. Lord, thank You for allowing me to have an opportunity to reach out to them. Thank You for the blessing of my friends. Lord, You have all things in Your hands and Your ways are perfect. I praise and thank You for all Your wonderous works. May You be glorified throughout the whole Earth. Amen.
patientlyhopeful 