Written for Me

Olivia hurriedly read through her devotions for the morning: Psalm 121. ‘“The LORD will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore,’” she finished. She had read it before. In fact, Olivia had read the Bible a lot and heard much about it, but she didn’t see the point of reading it. It doesn’t have much to do with my life, she thought to herself. Sure, pastors and parents and teachers can get something from it, but it wasn’t written for me.

Later that day, as Olivia and her family were out shopping at the mall, Olivia thought about school and her friends. She had already forgotten about her morning Bible reading. “Cool!” Olivia’s younger brother Kyle exclaimed. “The video store!” Excited, Olivia and Kyle hurried ahead of their parents, who were entering a clothing store nearby. Olivia and Kyle enjoyed their time browsing different aisles, occasionally showing each other their favorite. “I know,” Olivia said to Kyle. “Let’s go ask Mom and Dad if we can each buy a movie!” Kyle quickly agreed, and the two of them hurried to their parents’ favorite section of the movie store. But their parents weren’t there. At first they were confused, but then Olivia remembered that their parents had been looking at the clothing store and she realized that they were probably in there. A little worried, Olivia and Kyle rushed to the clothing store nearby. “I don’t see Mom and Dad, Olivia,” Kyle told his sister with nervous fear in his voice. “Oh, they’re around here somewhere,” Olivia assured him, although she wasn’t quite persuaded about it herself. But as hard as they looked (and they looked as hard as they could), Olivia and Kyle couldn’t find their parents anywhere. “Where could they be, Olivia?!” Kyle was frantic now. Olivia was hardly any calmer herself. What if we never find them? she wondered. What if they forget about us and go home without us? She didn’t dare tell Kyle her thoughts. Just as Olivia was ready to break down into tears, she remembered something. “‘The LORD will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore’” (Ps. 121:7-8). “It’s okay, Kyle,” she told her scared little brother. “God will take care of us – He promised that He would.” “He did?” her brother didn’t sound so sure. “Sure He did,” Olivia assured him and repeated the verses that God had brought to her mind. “Why don’t we pray that God will help us find Mom and Dad?” she suggested to her brother. In the middle of the busy mall, Kyle and Olivia held hands while Olivia prayed. “Dear Jesus, please help us to find Mom and Dad. We’re worried right now because we’re lost, but we know that You always take care of us. Amen.” “Amen,” Kyle sniffled an echo. As they looked up, both were surprised to see their parents hurrying toward them. “Mom! Dad!” Kyle shouted as he ran in their direction. Olivia followed right behind him, relieved that everything was alright and convinced that God had helped them.

As the four of them rode home, Olivia thought about her day. She thought about how scared she was at the mall when her parents were nowhere in sight. She remembered how comforted she felt when God brought Psalm 121:7-8 to her mind. Maybe the Bible does speak to my life, she thought. She smiled as she realized that the Bible was written for her.

It’s easy for us to think that the Bible was written only for adults. After all, the Bible can be hard to understand sometimes. But we must not forget that Jesus, during His time on earth, was especially interested in children (Matt. 19:13-15). Amazingly, Jesus spoke of things that were hidden from ‘“the wise and learned’” being revealed to children (Matt. 11:25). The Bible is for kids just as much as it is for adults. God wrote the Bible to His children, including the youngest ones. May we always make reading His Word our highest priority, for His Words make us wise and give us joy (Ps. 19:7-11). We will never be too young (or old!) for that.