Marriner’s Moment: Gen Y Stronger Bolder Wiser – Part 3

By Pastor Melvin O. Marriner
Grove Church

Generation Y is our future. At some point, we will pass the mantel onto them. As parents, protectors and mentors, we must find ways to encourage them to pursue the myriad of dreams and opportunities before them. As importantly, we can lead by example. Listen and learn, as we continue to pray for them, our leaders and our country.
I urge Millennials to continue to be stronger, bolder and wiser than we were and, in the process, keep these things in mind:

Never lose sight of your objective
Don’t get lost in the problems. Don’t become ‘stuck’ in places God just meant for you to travel through. Find ways to get up, get out and get through, knowing that God sometimes puts us through some ‘stuff’. This does not mean that He has forsaken us. He is with us in the ‘stuff.’ I promise you that you will come out on the other side, even stronger, bolder and wiser.

Be ready to roll with the punches
Don’t put God in a box. There is more than one way to get to a result. Be flexible with God. Just because you can’t see the HOW and WHY, does not mean that it is impossible. God always answers prayer: And guess what? Sometimes His answer is “NO.” God is not a genie – there to grant our every wish. He knows what is best for us. We must let God be God in our life – to do different things in different ways.

Be ready to stretch
God’s plan is always bigger (and better) than our own. The only way we can mature in our faith, is to stretch. In other words, we can’t stay in the same place and grow. When we go through and get through life’s challenges, it stretches our faith. Author Steve Reser said, “God doesn’t give us challenges to match our strength; He gives us strength to match our challenges.”
Peace and power.

© Dr. Melvin O. Marriner,
July 2016

We invite you to join us at Grove Church, 5910 West Norfolk Road, Portsmouth, Virginia, Sundays at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., Tuesdays at noon and Wednesdays at 7 p.m.