Rising Up To A Godly Expectation For the Youth

We are in the youth ministry and sometimes I ask myself what it means to be young. Youth is a stage of self discovery. There are so many opportunities to explore and passions to pursue. In the process of growth, sometimes experiences of life may not always be positive but they are all part of God’s training program for us. I celebrate the energy of youths and how far youths can go to discover what God has in store for them.

What does the bible say about being young? In 1 Timothy 4:12, Paul’s instructions to Timothy says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” Being a memory verse during my secondary school days, it has impacted me and my actions. I believe God will always use the youths to influence the adults if they (the youths) believe that they though young can do great things for God... [+]

On the same note, I like to share my joy of seeing one of my guys, Murphy who participated in a Wushu competition, going through this process. The journey of pursuing passion and training is sweeter than the success itself. Below is his reflection and him ‘live’ in action.

“I love Wushu. I love acrobatic stuff. And I love how my hands and legs support my body to flow. I loved my agility as young as 9 years old. In 2007 I joined my first CCA, Wushu and became immensely passionate about it.

During trainings, I would give it my all. I have three trainings a week. And it’s not just some "oh so hard, i must go on" kindda feeling but it's a passion, a love. I trained so hard that I suffered a few injuries.

When the competition came, I was very confident, due much to the encouragements that my teammates and teacher gave me. I really wanted to do my very best and it seemed like one of the top three places was mine to take. However, during the competition, when I did the single leg balance, a sudden spasm of uncontrollable nervousness made my leg wobble. Then after the aerial kick, it wobbled again. There went all my points. After these two setbacks, I got 6th position out of 9 and I was very disappointed. Really very disappointed.

I learned a lesson about true self confidence. It doesn't come from yourself. You can't be confident just because you want to. I believe this confidence I needed comes from elsewhere. Maybe God is the key to this confidence. (He is, Murphy. More than you can imagine - editor's comment.) Anyway, after this experience I have not stopped practicing. It will always be my love.” - Murphy Chia


Amos Ng