Being A Young Christian

In this article, when I mention ‘Young Christian’, I mean, a Christian who is not just bearing the title of a Christian but also consciously practicing his/her faith.

Before I delve into the difficulties and distractions we face whilst trying to have a deeper relationship and connection with God, let me say that I’m not holier than thou and I also stand to be corrected. This post is to encourage everyone, including myself.

In the past, I believe the standard procedure for children when we were younger was to go to church with our parents every Sunday. If any of our parents even went for midweek services, we might have been dragged along.

That being said, growing up, Christianity wasn’t instilled in us as a relationship with God. It seemed as though we were forced to indulge in it as a result of our lineage or even being born into Christian homes. We were not taught to understand the foundation of Christianity. Things like, why we need to have a relationship with Christ, the effect and the likes. It was more of; we shouldn’t do some things because of the consequence, which may be leading to hell.

Coming from such a place, it’s not a natural thing to yearn for a relationship with God. When young adults like us are liberated (for example, living alone in university), that pressure and procedure of indulgence is off our shoulder. We tend to find ourselves derailing from what we were instilled with, which wasn’t even solid in the early stages.

With such groundwork, you lack resilient personal relationship with God. If in the future, you decide to have a relationship with God, you may stumble on several occasions. Need I mention that, no man is perfect. So, if you find yourself in such a place, it should not discourage you. I’ll touch on a few stumbling blocks.

One is Procrastination. When it’s time to have your quiet time with God or to pray that is when you remember the trillion things you have to do. I believe most people (including myself) have this difficulty. We get easily distracted such times because the devil knows the refreshing, strengthening and powerful time that you’re about to encounter.

Another is Prioritization. The way we are setup these days with school, work, games and others, we don’t have ‘time’ for God. The simple reason is because we have refused to make him a priority. However, if it were to meet a deadline, be somewhere, see someone, have a business meeting or whatsoever, we would do everything in our power to ensure it’s done at the time it’s supposed to be done.

Another stronghold is Social media. You wake up in the morning and the first thing you do is to carry your phones, reply your whatsapp messages, insta dm, tweets and snaps before thanking God for the gift of life and another chance to see a new day. I’m such a victim concerning this because it’s so easy to get fond of it.

Lastly, we have Friends. I’m sure you all know the saying, “birds of the same feather flock together” or “show me your friends and I will tell you who you are?” There are times we find ourselves around people with paths different from us.

Proverbs 27:17 says “As iron sharpens iron, so does one man sharpen another.”

You need to surround yourself with people of the same belief and focus as yourself. If not, peer pressure kicks in. You try to conform or make compromises in order to prevent issues and what have you.

In all of this, discipline plays a significant role. Anything doing is worth doing well. To overcome these distractions, you need to consciously control yourself, prevent your flesh from acting on the things of the world and feed your spirit.

Be realistic. Plan your day. Time yourself. Have a schedule that you can adhere to. I’ve struggled with all these distractions at some point in my life but I had to discipline myself and remind myself that if I need to actually feel the Hand and love of God, I have to fill my mind, body and soul with His word and things that reminds me of my focus. Such things include gospel music, podcasts, bible plans, worship events etc.

There are a couple of things that can help you spiritually, regardless of your location. YouTube isn’t restricted to only one country. It’s easily accessible. Listen to sermons, Christian spoken words and the likes. There are also lots of worship experiences going on. Try to make one or two and I promise you that your life will not remain the same. In Nigeria, there are ones like; The Experience, The Encounter, Nations Will Rise and Sing etc. In England, there’s The Big Church Day Out, Praise Explosion etc.

Find someone who is spiritually strong and be accountable to that person. My advice to people is usually this: whoever you’re accountable to at the beginning stage should be seen as a friend as it will be easier to open up to them. However, if you don’t have such a person in your life, you can equally get in contact with pastors, people of God.

Let me remind you that the journey isn’t always going to be smooth. You’ll face trials and tribulations because the devil is the devil but the Lord is the Supreme Being. It’s not enough to put him at the bottom of the river. If you fall, get right back up and keep striving, as it’s all part of your testimony and proof that God was with you, is in you and is for you.