“You Can Make a Difference�?BR><BIBLEPASSAGE versestart="4" chapter="2" book="ex" translation="nas" verseend="8">Exodus 2:4-8</BIBLEPASSAGE>

Is it possible for you to make a difference as a young person? Perhaps you’re looking around your school, your community, your home and all you see is despair, disappointment, and disaster.

Let me tell you about Miriam. She was a teen in Egypt, where an out-of-control dictator was forcing families to kill their baby boys. Why? Because he liked his power and was threatened by the rise of the Jewish people. He thought that if he killed all the young Jewish boys, then their nation couldn’t grow. What he didn’t realize was that God had promised Abraham that the children of Israel would endure forever. Pharaoh’s rage was no match for God.

This saga directly affected Miriam’s family, who was Jewish. When Miriam was in her teens, Miriam’s mom gave birth to a son. Their family would not put this little boy to death so they put him in a little basket and set him in the Nile river. They trusted that God would protect little Moses.

Miriam was chosen to stand guard over Moses. Well God brought Pharaoh’s daughter fell in love with the baby in the basket. But it was a quick-thinking Miriam who decided to do something to protect Moses. She appeared from behind a few bulrushes and suggested her mother as a nurse to help raise Moses. What a brilliant idea! Moses own mother could raise him and raise him in the Lord. Moses would eventually be Israel’s deliverer, used by God to lead them out of slavery in Egypt.

Sometimes it’s the teens who have the best ideas. Sometimes it’s the teens who have the patience to stand up. Sometimes it’s the teens who now what to do in a crisis.

I’m impressed by what Christian teens are doing to impact the world today. I think of Zach Hunter, who has shined a spotlight on slavery around the world. I think of Alex and Brett Harris, who have launched the Rebelution movement, challenging teens to impact their world for God.

What can you do in your world? Don’t be afraid to stand up and make a difference.

Think:

• What impact can I have in my school?
• How can I help someone who is less fortunate than me?
• How can I demonstrate God’s love in my community?