too old. too young.
Genesis 17:17
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
1 Samuel 17:42
And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.
As I’m writing this in 2021 I am 22 years old. In my time so far on earth I have heard the phrase “You are just too young” way too often. I’m not talking about being too young to drink a beer or not old enough to drive. Those restrictions are in place for understandable reasons. I’m referring to the times people have claimed that I’m not old enough to lead worship, be a pastor or understand God’s calling in various situations. Currently I only understand what it is like to be too young, but I know people who are in the similar season of being too old.
As I get older I like to look back on previous seasons of my life. I remember my first day of middle school like it was yesterday. My mom dropped me off at the front door of the school and I entered into a new season of life. This is the season where I had a locker and moved around to different classes with different teachers. It was also the season where I first picked up a guitar and started to lead worship. There are two pictures below. One is from one of the first times that I led worship and the other is from me leading a couple weeks ago. I was an incredibly shy kid, but I was very aware of God’s voice. I went to a Christian school where we had weekly chapels. I felt God calling me to lead worship and to get others involved as well. I felt the enemy telling me that I was too young to do this. Everyone would laugh at me and I would never be able to get in front of my peers. By looking at the photo you can see that I did it. If you look closer you will see my principle holding the mic because the stand broke. I’m sure a few people had a laugh, but that doesn’t really matter because I learned some valuable lessons. First, I will always bring my own mic stand with me. Second, God didn’t call me because of my abilities—he gave me my abilities because of my calling. And third, I will never forget to look back at what God has brought me through.
Similarly, look at Abraham and David from the Bible. God told Abraham, a 99-year-old man, that he was going to be the father of many nations and literally have children. Abraham and his wife literally laughed at God while telling him that that was impossible, but God still followed through. Abraham was humbled and his faith was renewed. God sent David, a young boy to defeat Goliath, a giant that seemed immovable. David, just a young boy, was not intimidated by Goliath. He had zero doubt that God would give him the ability to defeat this giant. And he did. David did not defeat the giant because he was the mightiest warrior in King Saul’s army. He was just a shepherd. He defeated the giant because he knew that God would give him what he needed to defeat Goliath.
We all have a Goliath. We all have something that seems immovable. I’m not going to say that with God’s help you will be able to get an A in all your classes without studying or that you will be able to accomplish anything even if you do not have the ability to do so. I am here to tell you that you should have a childlike obedience to God when you feel his calling. Don’t worry if people say that you are too old or too young. Don’t worry if you are too shy, too busy, too broke, too untalented or too dumb. Listen to God. If there is one thing I have learned in my life so far it is this. God rarely calls you to something that makes sense, but he will always get you through whatever he calls you to.
