Without This, the Next Generation Cannot Put its Hope in God
Psalm 78 is one of the great national hymns of the children of Israel, and it sure would be a hard one to sing. Not just because it lacks a poetic meter, at least in English, but because the entire psalm is a lament about the faithlessness and cowardice of the previous generations. Not exactly the kind of thing that brightens up a worship service. The key to the psalm, though, is in the opening sequence, summarized here: We must...tell a future generation the praises of the Lord...so that a future generation--children yet to be born--might know. They were to rise and tell their children so that they might put their hope in God...then they would not be like their fathers...a generation whose heart was not steadfast.
Implication: the passing the of the baton to the next generation has purpose--to display a steadfast heart so that the next generation can put its hope in God.
The most important time to display a steadfast heart is not when things are easy, but when they are hard.
A couple of years ago my father had a significant decision to make. As he contemplated selling his business and retiring, his industry suddenly shifted to a whole new generation of equipment. His choice: sell the business at the shockingly reduced value of the old equipment, or invest a shockingly large sum of money to upgrade to the new generation of equipment--with no guarantee of return.
After much prayer and consultation, he decided to go for it--make the investment, upgrade the equipment and postpone retirement. God has prospered the business as a result, but that's hindsight--my father could not have known at the time that this would happen.
My father's demonstration of a steadfast heart has had a profound impact on his children--it has given us a renewed sense of courage in our own life missions. Quite literally, my father's steadfast heart reignited our sense of hope in God.
At Passing the Baton International we have been given a mission that is so big it's almost absurd. Even this morning I was thinking, "There's no way." I received a distinct impression, which I believe to be from the heart of God: "You are making your cynicism and doubt into an idol. Let ME decide what can and cannot be done."
So, I am praying for a steadfast heart. I pray the same for you. The next generation needs this from us.
One more thing: it's not just having a steadfast heart, but declaring that God is the source of it: "I am often afraid and doubtful, but this I know: God is faithful. I am pressing forward and am not going to look back. Will you walk with me?"
This is the attitude that inspires the next generation to put its hope in God.
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