Happy November, friends! I’m quite excited about the next couple of months. Our girls will be home from college for Thanksgiving and then Christmas break, and I’m looking forward to the memories we’ll be making together.
The topic of today’s blog post actually fits in here quite nicely. No matter what stage of parenting you’re in – from newborn to adult children – we have opportunities to learn how to trust God with our kids.
Admittedly, we feel like we have more control when they’re younger. The more independent they get, the more opportunities we have to step back and trust God.
Let’s look at five truths we know about trusting God with our children.
1. God loves our children fully and completely.
We love in a limited way. It’s the best that we know how, but we’re not perfect. In spite of loving our children, we still get frustrated and impatient with them at times.
God knows all about our children and loves them just as they are. His love is pure and complete. And He always knows what is best for them. Which leads us right into the next truth.
2. God has a plan for our children’s lives and he will fulfill it.
What’s neat here is that God’s plan is perfect. Ours is not. Perhaps unconsciously we put expectations or demands on our children that spring from our own misguided desires. We may be trying to push our children into our own ideas of what they should be or do.
God’s plan is exactly what our children need. He knows them, how they’re wired, their strengths and weaknesses. Remember what the Lord told Jeremiah? “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” [1:5]
3. God has the power to accomplish his purposes in our children’s lives.
I can plan and scheme for what I want for my children, but I can’t make things happen. God, on the other hand, is all-powerful. He uses people and circumstances that he places in our children’s lives to fulfill his plan.
And as hard as it is for us to watch, he even uses unpleasant situations – a hard teacher, a difficult coach, a disloyal friend – to teach our children lessons they need to learn. Just like with us as parents, it’s often through trials that they experience the most growth.
4. God is a compassionate Father who cares about every detail of our children’s lives.
We’re familiar with the passages from the Bible that remind us of this. The hairs of our head are numbered. God’s eye is on the sparrow. [Matthew 10:29-31] We’re to cast all our cares on him because he cares for us. [1 Peter 5:7]
God knows all about our children’s heartaches, their disappointments, their hurts. Not only does he know, he also cares deeply and is able to offer comfort.
5. I can have peace as I trust God with my children.
I can let go of my fretting and worrying. Trusting God with my children means that I stop trying to work it all out for them…or for me.
My part is to pray and trust. We take our concerns to God and let Him do the rest.
Last week I was burdened about a difficulty one of our girls was facing. I headed to my Bible and my journal and wrote out a prayer for her. When I got up from my chair, I felt peace about the situation, that God was in control and He was right there with her.
Isaiah 26:3 says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Let’s ask God to help us totally trust him with our children. After all, they’re his. He’s blessed us with these lives to steward for him. But they’re His precious creation and we can trust Him to love and care for them always.
Related posts:
- 10 Ways a Wise Woman Parents Her Children
- 10 Ways to Manage All the Hopes and Dreams We Have for Our Children
- 3 Convicting Reasons Why We Don’t Trust God
You have room on your bookcases for things other than books?! Ha! I can only fit books on mine. 🙂
It’s comforting to know that God has a plan for my children: I don’t have to figure everything out for them, nor do they. My oldest is dealing with that right now; she’s only sixteen, but she feels like she needs to get everything figured out now. I keep telling her that she has plenty of time, and even if she picks something, she can change her mind later.
Actually those two bookcases are stuffed pretty full with my husband’s books, so the only room for other items is on the top! I’m putting a picture frame and an hourglass on one and a globe and “fake” plant on the other 🙂
It’s definitely a lot of pressure on our teens to try to decide what they want to do with their lives. Our older daughter changed her college major twice before landing on the degree she’ll be graduating with next May. Our younger daughter has stayed with the same major so far, but still isn’t sure in exactly what career she’ll want to apply it. As parents, we get to pray for God’s leading and guidance in their lives and then trust that He will answer that prayer!
“We love in a limited way. It’s the best we know, but it’s not perfect.” I absolutely love this reminder! It’s so true and so powerful to be reminded that as much as I think I love them the most & know what’s best for them, it’s so inadequate compared to God‘s perspective for them.