Dr. Dobson's Parenting Devotional - Dec. 12

Up Against the Wall

“Keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God.”
Acts 27:25

A few years ago, one of our Focus on the Family staff members visited Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona, a magnificent canyon lake about 185 miles long. She was especially impressed by its massive rock “sideboards” that extend hundreds of feet in the air. That night she approached one of these gigantic structures, a wall that rose at least five hundred feet above the campsite, and placed her hand on the warm rock. A thousand tiny pieces of this seemingly solid fortress crumbled in her hand. Incredible! she thought. These immovable canyon walls can be stripped away by a person’s fingers!

Sometimes the barriers and obstacles that present themselves to us are like those porous walls. From a distance, they seem impenetrable and massive, but when we dare to confront them, they crumble in our hands. People like Helen Keller and Franklin Roosevelt have overcome seemingly insurmountable physical barriers. Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, paralyzed by Lou Gehrig’s disease, dictates complex mathematical computations on a computer by moving just the tips of his fingers.

When the apostle Paul’s life was in danger, the Lord Himself exhorted him to “Take courage!” (Acts 23:11). If we encourage our children to do the same when they’re “against the wall,” they may see those walls come tumbling down.

Before you say good night…

• What are the “insurmountable” obstacles facing your family today?
• Have you confronted them directly?
• Do you lean on the Lord’s strength when you tackle challenges?

Father, be with our children as they confront the daily obstacles and walls in their lives. Surround them with Your unfailing love, and show them Your power to move those things that in their eyes seem to be mountains. Amen.

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This devotional is taken from Night Light for Parents. Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.