It
is no wonder that many a parent becomes overwhelmed
and wonders how they can bring their children
from the start to finish line. To add to the
already mountainous job, some parents also have
to deal with their children’s behavioural
problems, rebellion and such other manifestations
of attempts to fulfil the emptiness their children
may be experiencing.
Parents,
who are the vessels caring for these children,
can become cracked, dry and parched in the process
of bringing up their kids and this is further
fuelled by their own struggles with their faith
in God. Though believers in what God has done
for them through Christ, they still harbour
unbelief regarding Jesus’ promises and
His ability to heal as well as deliver them
from the difficult tasks that lie ahead.
Our
Hope and Inheritance
In
all that we do, and this includes parenting,
we need to learn to keep our eyes on God. We
can draw our strength from Him by committing
our children and ourselves to Him (2 Chronicles
16:9). In order for us to be delivered from
our situations, we need to rely on God instead
of our own ways and worldly resources (2 Chronicles
16:7-8).
Psalms
91 promises rest for those of us who dwell in
the shelter of the Most High (Psalm 91:1), as
well as His protection for those who love Him
(Psalm 91:14). We must go to God in prayer with
our concerns to ask for His response as regards
His plans for our children. He will answer us
as written in Psalm 91:15. When God speaks,
He will help us to see our children in a different
light from that of a successful and a purposefully-lived
life as defined by the social and cultural norms
of the world. This will enable us to harness
their strengths so that His plans for them may
come to fruition.
We
also need to learn how to let go of our children.
This means releasing them to God so that they
may perform to their full potential and sphere
of influence that has been intended by Him.
We also need to act upon what He reveals to
us as we seek Him. This is done through our
efforts in building up our children’s
strengths and talents as God reveals them. We
should do this even if their strengths and talents
are not valued by the world because they do
not contribute to worldly success. God will
multiply the effects of their gifts and talents
in wonderful ways because they serve His purposes.
Parents
can motivate their children through their own
day-to-day living. For example, when they open
their lives up to their children, and allow
them to witness their struggles and how they
rely upon God in their responses to Him, they
are facilitating God-encounters in their children’s
lives. The lessons learnt are powerful when
the children see how God responds to their parents’
reliance on Him. This builds the faith of the
parents and children.
Psalm
16:5-6 tells us that God has assigned each of
us our lot in life and He has made our lot secure.
God controls everything, with the exception
of our wills, including plans for our children.
Therefore, when we feel down, we must will ourselves
to look up to Him. God is an active agent. By
faith we believe that He will work through us
in a mighty way, to mould and build our children’s
lives, as we commit everything to Him.
Conclusion
We
must seek God’s plans for our children
because our wisdom, contrary to His, is finite.
God has the master plan and knows how our children’s
lives can fit into that plan. Moreover, God
thoroughly knows (Psalm 139:1-7) and loves our
children more than we, their earthly parents,
ever will. Just as He made the heavens and the
earth, He is also the one who shaped their hearts
long before their births. As His appointed vessels
caring for these young lives, we must release
them to Him for His purposes. For He is “all-seeing”
and “all-knowing” – He is
El Roi. Our hope in Him and inheritance accorded
by Him is eternal and cannot perish.
Prayer
Response:
Dear
Lord, forgive us if we have not kept our eyes
on You and Your purposes. We have not relied
on You nor sought Your plans for our children.
Lord, we pray for wisdom to harness their strengths
and talents for Your purposes. Remind us, Lord,
when we are in doubt, that Your ways are not
the ways of the world and that You are El Roi,
in whom we have hope and from whom we receive
our eternal inheritance. Amen.
Devotional
based on a sermon by Mrs. Susan Chan, BMC Local
Preacher and Sunday School Teacher