Day 24 — Serve Your Generation

“For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay.”

— Acts 13:36 (BSB)

Paul was preaching about King David, and he summed up David’s whole life in one sentence: “David served God’s purpose in his own generation.”

What a way to be remembered!

David didn’t live in every time and place. He lived in one time and one place, with one set of people around him. And in his time and place, he did what God wanted him to do. He served God’s purpose in his own generation.

You won’t live in every time either. You were born right now, in this generation, in this place, with these people around you. That’s not an accident. God put you here, now, on purpose. There are people only you will meet, and things only you can do.

What does it look like to serve God’s purpose in your generation?

• Know God. You can’t serve His purpose if you don’t know Him.
• Use your gifts. The skills and passions He gave you are tools for His purpose.
• Love the people around you. Your family, friends, neighbors and classmates are your mission field.
• Say yes when God calls. Like Jeremiah, don’t say, “I’m only a kid.”
• Keep going. David served God for his whole life, through good and bad times.

This week, you’ve learned that you’re not too young for God to use, that He gives all kinds of gifts, that work is good, that God calls us to rebuild what’s broken, and that skill is worth building. Now the question is: will you serve God’s purpose in your generation?

A true story: George Liele was born a slave in America, long ago. When he heard that Jesus loved him and died to set him free, his whole life changed, and he began preaching to anyone who would listen. His master set him free to preach. Later, George sailed to the island of Jamaica, and he became one of the very first missionaries ever to go out from America, years before William Carey sailed to India. In Jamaica, he preached to enslaved people whom almost no one else cared about. He was thrown into prison and put in chains, but he wouldn’t stop, and the churches he planted kept growing. George never became famous. But he served God’s purpose in his generation, and showed that no one is too lowly to be sent by God. You can read his whole story in Brave for God.

Think about it: Why do you think God put you in this generation, in this place? Who are the people only you can reach?

Try this: Write down the names of five people in your life you could serve or tell about Jesus. Pray for them this week.

Dear God, thank You for putting me in this time and place, on purpose. Help me serve Your purpose in my generation, like David and George Liele did. Use me to reach the people around me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.