Youth has never been an easy time in a person's life to get through, especially today. There is a kind of a "good news - bad news" aspect to it. Youth is a time of rapid change, experimentation, searching, and having fun. It is a time of energy, strength, idealism, and life. But for many troubled teenagers, it has become a time for despair, heartaches, and troubles. Teenage suicide has risen dramatically having doubled in the last 10 years and tripled in the last 20 years. Young people are at a time in their lives when they are making decisions that will affect much of the rest of their lives. Indeed, youth is the crossroads of life.

I believe that God can help young people through their youth. He can help them make the right decisions. He can teach them how to truly enjoy their youth and be happy, avoiding despair. God is truly concerned about young people and has given instructions in His Word to help them.

"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word" (Psa. 119:9). The cleansing of the way referred to here involves purity from sin - the pursuit of holiness. How does such come? By listening to God's Word! God's revelation addresses itself to the problems of youth.

I have been asked to write a series of articles under th heading, "How Shall The Young Secure Their Hearts?" I believe that young people need and are deserving of our attention. We may have lost many of them because we have overlooked them in our preaching. More than just a special lesson every few years on young people is needed. Everyday applications in sermons to young people is important. Preaching that is simple and straight- forward is important, rather than preaching over their heads.

The title of these articles comes from a song by Isaac Watts, that is in some of our songbooks.

"How shall the young secure their hearts,

and guard their lives from sin?

Thy word the choicest rules imparts

to keep the conscience clean . . . . "

To secure the heart is to free it from fear, worry and danger. It is to make fast, to be assured and certain; protected. Young people (as well as everybody else) need a heart like this. In the next several months we will deal with different things that we hope will be helpful to young people in accomplishing this. We hope you will watch for these articles and share them with the young people you know.

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 15, p. 458
August 2, 1984