“He said, ‘I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.’” (Ex 3:12)
Last month, 70 youth ages 13-30 attended a two-day Bible conference on our campus in rural Uganda. Many of them showed up the first day wondering, “What good comes out of the village?” Others didn’t show at all, having assumed nothing could. As it is everywhere, people in Uganda expect important things to happen in the city. That’s where the ‘people who matter’ are, where ‘decisions that matter’ are made. Year after year, the city takes the country’s potential (it’s young people!) and uses them to fuel its projects.
Not so that weekend. That weekend, 70 youth worshiped God on this ‘mountain’ at the top of our land, a literal garden in the midst of a wilderness. Seventy youth were taught God’s Word, spending hours in Exodus 1-3, learning the narratives, discussing and discovering this: that they, like Moses, can make themselves available to God to help ‘exodus’ their people from suffering. They learned about the power of personal identity of being wrapped up in God’s presence, not the ‘securities’ of wealth and the city--for when we ask, “Who am I?” God responds, “I will be with you” (Ex 3:11). They were taught by both men and women about the absolute necessity of women for God’s story to continue, paying close attention to each of the women who ensured Moses’ life was spared. And the more they were ‘fed’ (Deut 8:3), the more they hungered for God’s Word.
During a small group discussion after a session on Moses’ calling (Ex 3:1-10), the question was posed, “What is God seeing, hearing, and knowing?” Students started answering, “God sees the people’s misery.” “He hears their cries.” “He knows their sufferings.” All of their answers came from the text they had just studied. Then it was asked, “What does this mean for the work of his servants?” They started in, “It means his servants have to keep crying out because God hears them.” “It means even when it seems like they just keep suffering, they can be comforted that God sees them.” Each of them echoed the same. It was startling to hear them one after another identify with the oppressed. They recognized which side of the equation they live on: the ones in need of lifting up, by God, by someone like Moses.
Then at the conclusion of the seminar, youth got up and testified to their experience. Nearly every one of them were impacted by the importance of making themselves available to God. One young woman’s words in particular stood out: “I’ve learned that if you’re praying and you don’t think God is answering, he hears, sees and knows, and he may be trying to raise you up to change your village.” It was a profound moment for her to have grasped this, that God’s servants can not only cry out, but can also help answer the cries. She and many others experienced a lifting up. God can and will use them.
The final session was on 1 Timothy 4:12, “Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” They were encouraged that they’re not too young to learn God’s Word, that they don’t have to waste their youthful years chasing dreams offered by the city, that God can use them in their youth! We’re looking to offer formal biblical education to some of these area youth in the coming year, and it’s clear that the time is ripe! People are crying out and need a response from among themselves (Deut 18:15) to bring them out and worship God, ‘neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem,’ but ‘in spirit and truth’ (Jn 4:21-23). God’s Word has been awakened in the hearts of these young people. It’s time to lift up!
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