It is hard to see your child go through difficult things, and you may want to help them avoid pain. God’s ways are higher than your ways, and he chooses to let us go through things to build our character. Romans 5:3-4 says, We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.”
The next time you are tempted to take a trial away from your child, think again. Is this an opportunity for my child to become more like Jesus? Will this trial strengthen their character and hope in Christ? Come into agreement with God’s word, will and ways with your child. Allow them to go through life lessons that make them more like Him.
A child may think that real love is being given whatever you want. But that is childish… Real love is displayed in Proverbs 3:12 when it says, “For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights” (New Living Translation).
Correction is bringing into proper alignment our relationship with God and others. If you are off balance, out of order, or you just plain missed the mark the most loving thing to do is to show you the right way. You may be tempted as a parent to let things slide, but that keeps your daughter or son from learning the lesson that God designed for her or him.
However, be careful: A father or mother who corrects harshly is rebuked by Paul in Ephesians 6:4 when he says “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord” (NLT). When you discipline, remember you are discipling your child in God’s ways, not your preferences. Your child is only on loan from God. You are stewarding one of the most precious vessels, so be careful to show your daughter or son real love.
Romans 5:4-5 says that “…endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Hope is a confident expectation that God is at work in our lives. It never disappoints because it is anchored in God’s unfailing love. I remember having lunch with a family whose daughter was suffering with leukemia. This little girl amazed me. She talked about heaven as a real place that she was looking forward to. It wasn’t too long after that that this little girl passed away from her family and entered into the presence of Jesus. I can only imagine the pain of this loss, but even death does not destroy our hope in the eternal one that has the power to save us.
Today, anchor your expectation on God Himself, He will fill you with a fullness of hope.
Do you think you need to wait till your circumstances are just right to be full of joy?
Romans 5:3 in the Amplified says, “Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.” I don’t know about you, but this is a challenging word from Scripture. My mind can become so wrapped around my problems that I have trouble seeing God at work in the midst of the difficulty.
When I was having a baby every two years, I didn’t think that there would ever be a time that I wasn’t changing diapers, nursing, or waking up in the middle of the night. But now, rather than having a baby cling to me, I have daughters coming home from college. It was the difficult things that helped build the bond between us. God uses the “stuff” in our lives to produce character. So don’t wait for something to pass, enjoy the moments of your day to the full!
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Psalm 103:4-5 in the Amplified says, that God is the One “Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy; Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle’s [strong, overcoming, soaring]!
Not only does God get you out of the pit, satisfying you with good things, He causes you to soar like an eagle. He makes you strong to overcome. He doesn’t leave you in an undignified position, He dignifies you. He not only cares about your physical needs but your emotional and psychological needs as well.
If you need a fresh start, God is the One who can help you soar.
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“Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases” Psalm 103:2-3 NLT.
Do you sometimes forget all of God’s benefits?
God has made a way for you and for me through the shed blood of His son, so that all of your sins can be completely forgiven and your diseases completely healed. He doesn’t withhold good things from you, they are available to you as you praise Him, believe Him, and receive from Him.
As a Christian, you have a pretty awesome “benefits package.” The key to access your benefits is to remember His goodness. It takes putting faith in God and His word rather than in your symptoms or problems. Nothing will help you get out of the dumps sooner than to praise God for who He is and for what He has done for you.
“Likewise, look at the ships: though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the impulse of the helmsman determines. Even so the tongue is a little member, and it can boast of great things. See how much wood or how great a forest a tiny spark can set ablaze!” James 3:4-5 The Amplified Bible
Do you find yourself blurting things out of your mouth that you don’t really mean?
Your mouth is your rudder on the ship of your life. If you aimlessly sail through life saying anything that is on your mind you are headed for a shipwreck. You will lose friends, and loved ones who are hurt by the carelessness of your tongue. True honesty is not vomiting out emotional words. Honesty is tempered by the integrity of wisdom. Have you ever noticed that if you just allow the dust to settle, what you felt intensely in the moment has dimmed to a more balanced perspective.
Your words will direct your destiny and the destiny of your kids. Do you speak life and hope into your kids? Do you encourage them, affirm them, celebrate them? Do you ask them questions about their day and engage them in life? Your tongue can be edifying to your child or it can be destructive.
There is life and death in the power of your tongue. Choose life.
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Matthew 12:34 says that “… out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (NKJV). What is in your heart? If you want to know where you are in your walk with God, just listen to what you are saying. Your words are an indicator. Especially the words you say when you are stressed or under pressure.
So take a check up today. What is in the abundance of your heart? Do you have an overflow of confidence because you have been meditating on God’s word over your life? Or are you dripping with despair because you have allowed the world to “slime you” with doubt, and discouragement.
If you are not clear on how you are doing, likely those around you like your co-workers or kids know how you are doing. They hear your words, they see the look on your face, and they notice your body gestures. Maybe you need to take stock on what is truly the abundance of your heart by listening to what you say. Remember, life and death is in the power of the tongue – so choose life.
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In Jeremiah 1:7 God speaks straight with the prophet Jeremiah when He says “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you” (NLT). If God were to have a straight conversation with you, what would he say to you… Don’t say, ‘I’m a woman….” Don’t say “I’m too old…”
Whatever the excuse is for you to not to obey God, get rid of the excuse and say to God. “Here I am, send me. I will go anywhere You want me to go… I will do anything You want me to do… I am willing Lord!”
When you take the limits off your life, you will enter into an epic adventure specifically designed for you by your Epic Creator, God.
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If you want to change your life, change your perspective. There were times in the Bible when God’s people didn’t see themselves like God saw them. In Joel 3:10 God challenges the people with “let the weak say, “I am strong.” He was calling them to stand up and fight.
There are times that you need to look in the mirror and say, “Okay, I feel weak right now… but it doesn’t matter how I feel… I am going to put my trust in God. He is the One who is fighting for me, so I am going to join Him in how He sees me. With God, I can o all things, because He is strengthening me!” Now that kind of talk with yourself will help you. It’s good to be able to see things from God’s point of view and then to say it out-loud.
Let your view of your life come from your identity in Christ.
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