As a children’s pastor, I must admit that I am a little biased. Yes, I do love all of God’s Word, but I am especially drawn to the exciting accounts of young people who demonstrated incredible courage and leadership, especially in challenging times. I mean, kids are supposed to be hesitant.  They are supposed to step back and let older and bigger people lead the way, right? Nope. Actually, the scripture seems to be full of these accounts …

• The shepherd boy (David) who - after first killing a lion and a bear with nothing but his bare hands - bravely faced and defeated a giant in battle;
• The three Hebrew boys (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) who had the courage to stand and NOT bow before the king’s idol, blantantly disobeying the law and basically begging for a fatal trip to the fiery furnace;
• The young queen (Esther) who put her life on the line and whose courage saved her people;
• The young Israelite girl (Naaman’s servant) who, with courage, told her master’s wife about the only way her master could find healing from his leprosy, with a visit to the prophet in Israel;
• The little brother (Joseph) who was betrayed, resisted temptation and was falsely accused, yet trusted God enough to see God’s will prevail and his family spared;
• The best friend (Jonathan) who gave up the throne and risked his own life for the life of his best friend;
• The older sister (Miriam) whose quick thinking not only saved her brother’s life – it saved an entire nation;
• And trust me, we aren’t even scratching the surface …

How in the world did these young people find the courage to make the right decisions, despite great adversity and seemingly insurmountable odds? To be honest, I think there is something in all of us, knowing how these Bible stories “end up”, that I believe causes us to think, that if we were in the same situation, we would somehow respond in the same brave way, because we would simply be a part of a Bible story bigger than ourselves, one that ends in an incredible success!  Well, here’s the catch … I sincerely believe that none of these young people knew for sure how their courage would play out. In other words, they simply knew the right thing to do, and did it, not knowing what the results would be.

Think about it, these were just kids! They were faced with impossible choices. Yet they reached down deep to make some decisions which would put many of their lives in danger. 

Well, I am convinced that it was WHO these young people knew. They DID know a God that was bigger than their circumstances and greater than their challenges. They knew that the real strength to face their adversities came from a personal relationship with the all-powerful God. 

So there you have it. For sure, this is a different time, and young people today face different challenges, but there is one thing that has not changed. If we have placed our faith in God, then we serve the same all-powerful God they did. We can trust Him and He will always be there for us, no matter what the results!