I'd Seen the Light

There was a small period in my life where I just wanted to be like everyone else.  Basically, I would have preferred to be of the world, instead of just in it.  That was a rough time, but I came out of it completely unscathed, and this is only because God's mercy.

Being a teenager is hard, and now I've seen what's on the other side of the spectrum.  In my own life, problems are resolved with Scripture, prayer, and wise advice from family and true friends.  But, I have seen how "everyone else" deals with their problems.

During that time, I would tell a person about my problems, and they'd give me some celebrity quote or a movie/play quote, they'd tell me to do what "feels" right, or they'd hug me and tell me it would get better eventually.  Because to them, that's the only hope they really have... that it will probably get better.

Every time anyone would give me one of these culture-postulates, I would generally smile and nod, and a few times I would try to follow, but it all seemed so empty.  There was something that I couldn't understand; it seemed somehow cheesy.  It was like they were grasping at straws, and everything came out touchy-feely and... lacking.

So why didn't I follow the advice?  Why didn't their little maxims warm my heart and make me feel better about the things I wanted to do or was having trouble attaining?

Because I'd seen the light.

I was a Christian before this time in my life.  I believed in Christ as my Savior, but I wasn't living it because it was really hard.  I will stress again: being a teenager is hard.


People may say that they'd love to be a teenager again for the ease, or that teenagers don't know what pain really is.  But we do.

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.

1 Timothy 4:12 NIV

Just because I am young doesn't mean I don't "get it."  Being a teenager is very difficult, especially because there is so much pressure to believe in something so opposite of what God would want me to believe.


Let's face it, the little aphorisms that today's culture so willingly hands out don't exactly cut the mustard.  In fact, I never found them to even bring little "insta-reliefs."  I just felt unrest, because I'd seen the light.  


I knew what peace that Christ's love had to offer, and I knew exactly that everything I was trying to reach in this world was not getting many any more happiness than I already had.  


I thank God for showing me all this.  Now, seeing what I see now, it's unbelievable to fathom how amazing it is that the Lord saves non-believers.  If I hadn't seen the light before, I can't imagine the kinds of trouble into which I would have gotten!  When one has the scope of Christianity's promises on their side, all of the other junk that the culture promotes becomes even more worthless.  

28 He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light.'

Job 33:28

All in all, I just wanted to share what was on my heart today.  Think about the matchless mercy that this proves!  Think about how great that makes God.  He pulls us out from that sad, empty continual grasping for hope, and plops it right into our laps.  No longer having to struggle to make up little sayings and bywords, we see the light.  Every possible adage we could ever need is written directly into Scripture.

I'd say that's pretty amazing.