Encouragement for Today - Jan. 8, 2007
Encouragement for Today
“Trusting To a Fault”
Tracie Miles, Proverbs 31 Ministries Speaker
Key Verse:
Proverbs 22:6, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.” (NIV)
Devotion:
My children are so perfect. Since they have been raised in a loving, Christian home, they are grounded in their faith and are always able to stand up for what’s right. They steer away from anything that is against their morals and I know they will always make good choices. NOT! Just as we are far from perfect, so are our children, despite our best efforts to instill strong Christian values in them.
My precious twelve-year-old daughter does very well at school and has lots of friends. She is very involved with her youth group and Bible studies, and overall is just a great kid. Even so, that’s no guarantee that she’ll always use her best judgment as I recently discovered.
One afternoon, while I was getting ready to go to an appointment, the thought suddenly popped into my mind to check the website history on the family computer. This was such a bizarre thought, for I had never feel the need to do this before. But since the thought came from out of nowhere (obviously planted by God), I took a moment to check. I was stunned and shocked at the sight of a couple websites that had been visited several times, which contained inappropriate content for children. I confronted my daughter about this, and after a few minutes of denial, she confessed to the crime of visiting one of the sites. I was very upset that she had violated my trust, and that she did not own up to visiting the other sites. So I left for my appointment with the situation unresolved.
Driving to the appointment, I was consumed with despair and sickened at the images that were now in her innocent mind. I was so mad at Satan for entering my daughter’s life and tempting her into sin. I have always heard that the power of the spoken word is powerful, so in my solace in the car, I yelled out in a loud voice: “Satan, get away from my family and my daughter! You will not gain control over us, in the Name of Jesus.” Within three seconds, with my spoken words still hovering in the air and my tears streaming, my cell phone rang and it was my daughter. She was sobbing, admitted to her actions, admitted to knowing it was wrong, and begged forgiveness.
This was a great lesson for us both. For her, it was a lesson on standing up for what she knows is right. She had apparently been pressured into visiting certain sites by peers who did not have her best interest at heart. She stood up to those peers the following day. For me, it was a lesson to not put so much faith in my own parenting skills, that I forget that Satan is right around the corner trying to tempt our children at every turn. As we teach our children values and morals, we must also accept the fact that they may not always take the right path.
The following Sunday after this situation occurred, my daughter came out of her Sunday school class with tears in her eyes. She shared with me that the topic for the day, was standing up for your faith. She was shocked at how God had actively intervened in her life and amazed that He loved her enough to arrange a special message just for her.
When we give God control in our lives and our children’s lives, He will always triumph. He is always there to comfort us and give us exactly what we need in times of trouble. In the midst of His will being played out in our lives, we gain wisdom to be better parents. We receive His mercy so that we can show our children that same mercy when the time comes.
Prayer for Today:
Dear Lord, fill my children with a conscious that will help them to make the right decisions. Please give them enough strength and courage to stand up for their beliefs when peers are pressuring them to do things against their better judgment. Grant me the wisdom and grace to be the best parent I can be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Additional Resources:
10 Ways to Keep the Lines of Communication Open With Your Kids, ETC Corner
Preparing Your Daughter for Every Woman’s Battle by Shannon Ethridge
Taming the TV: Guarding Kid’s Hearts, ETC Corner
Application Steps:
Keep an eye on the family computer and monitor the sights that your children are visiting, no matter what age they are, or how much you trust them.
Make a point to remind your children how to deal with the pressures of today’s worlds and how to stand up for their beliefs.
Reflection Points:
Am I too trusting, at times, of my children?
Do I assume that since I am a Christian and my family goes to church that my children will always do the right thing?
Can I do more to help my children understand how to deal with peer pressure?
Power Verses:
1 Corinthians 16:13, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.”
1 Peter 5:9, “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
