Oswald Chambers

God teaches us lessons. He teaches us lesson after lesson after lesson; but we must be willing to receive. Think about the Christians in your life. Do you ask them for advice? God places other Christians here so that we might fellowship with them, and they might fellowship with us.

Oswald Chambers, in his book My Utmost for His Highest says that one must forsake anything that is keeping him from surrendering to God. There are all kinds of things that keep a young person from surrendering to God - sports, fashion, friends, possessions, pride, and in many cases, drugs and alcohol. No matter how harmless or hurtful something may seem, if it keeps us from God, it is of the Devil.
Here is a snippet of Mr. Chambers' devotional book: http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php