“But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery.” (Ezra 9:8)
The remnant is the key to a secure hold within the holy place. It gave brightness to the eyes, cheered the heart, and revived those who were in slavery. It was critical in maintaining security in the promise of God and encouragement amidst fierce opposition.
As I have been watching, like all of you, the events of this year and the monumental shifts happening in personal lives throughout the world, I have been hearing the Holy Spirit remind me of the remnant. Perplexed by this word, I looked up what it meant. Simply put remnant means “what is left…” (Anchor Bible Dictionary)
If you are a young person or if you know a young person, then this word is for you. Many months ago, I had a dream where young people were volunteering to go behind enemy lines and invade the enemy’s camp. It was a dream about war, but the war did not seem to scare the young men and women, even young children, who were volunteering to fight.
In the dream, I was sitting on the other end of a communication device asking them if they needed reinforcements, but they kept laughing as if it was a game. There were children of all ages, from about 6 years old all the way up to eighteen or nineteen. What struck me most is how they worked together. They hardly ever asked for help and it was like they were being led by some unseen general who was telling them the next moves to make.
I feel like the young people of this generation, who are in Christ Jesus, need to understand that they are a remnant who are being called to rise in this season. You are what is left. You have been given a platform to change the tide of the culture around you. You can no longer afford to sit back and ride on the coattails of your parent’s faith. You can no longer stand back and just continue hoping that things will go back to normal. In fact, I believe this generation is being called to surpass the generations before them in both their understanding of God and how to walk in the fullness of His power.
A remnant is what is left over. I believe that this generation of young people have had to pivot this year in ways they never thought would happen. You are reconciling the world you thought you understood with the world which now lays before you. You are what is left. You are being called to create a new normal in the world around you and bring forward the potent power that has been stirring within you throughout this year.
I keep having a picture of those young people in my dream. Like a chemical element that has been put on a Bunsen burner and forced under incredible heat to be reduced to its most potent form, so is this generation of young people. You have undergone extreme heat and change this year, for such a time as this. As you sit with the Lord at the close of 2020, know that you are the remnant that is rising. You are the remnant who have been shaped by the Lord this year, reduced to your most potent form, to do something NEW upon the earth in this generation.