Surfing. Snow skiing. Mountain climbing. I just saw a
commercial with all three of these activities and I noticed 2 things. One… all
the participants were doing things that the majority of people on the planet could
not be able to do and loving it. Two… my pulse quickened and I actually felt
fear just watching them. Don’t judge me. You have your fears, too. I will take
on your spiders and snakes, just don’t make me scale the side of a mountain.
The good news in all of this is that God is not commanding
me to be courageous and hop onto a surf board or ski lift. He is, however,
interested in MY FEARS and He wants me to trade them for HIS COURAGE. Why?
Because His presence in our lives dispels all fear and He wants nothing more
than to be PRESENT in our lives. In fact, He made the ultimate sacrifice in
order for that to happen.
Have I not commanded you,
“Be strong and courageous.
Do not be terrified and do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
Here is what I want to say to you
today. Courage isn’t just about running into a burning building or crossing Niagara
Falls on a tightrope. Courage is about doing the hard things the right way. Parents,
raising kids is one of those hard things. We may not think of it as something
we “fear” but how else do you explain our inability to hold our ground when we
have said “no” to something that we know isn’t what God wants for our family
and back down when all the other parents are saying “yes.” What is it that
keeps us from following through with our “yes” to what is right when others are
saying “no” to those values? Do we fear that we will be singled out as a
radical? Do we fear that our children will miss out on something if we take a
strong stand? Whatever the case, when we cave in to that fear, our children are
the ones who stand to lose the most. We have demonstrated for them that we
would prefer to put our faith in the wisdom of man rather than allow God to
give us the courage to live life as His Word directs us.
All
this sounds really preachy, I know, but think about it...
…a toddler is brewing up a
meltdown in public and the parents are afraid of the scene he will make so they
give in to the child rather than letting their NO mean NO.
…a teenager wears revealing clothing
that the parents deem inappropriate, but allow because they fear
she won’t fit in
…a little league player misses
church all summer because his parents are afraid he will let the team down if
he doesn’t play on Sunday
…a middle-schooler who doesn’t
want to attend church with his family is allowed to stay home from church
because his parents fear that he will resent them… and God
… a father stops spending time
with his family so he can climb the corporate ladder because he fears
the lack of financial security
… a tired mother allows mayhem in
her home because if she corrects the children’s behavior she fears
she will lose control
It
isn’t hard to find these examples because I have lived some and witnessed
others. The fact is, raising a family is difficult… like surfing and skiing.
But those who ride on top of waves and those who fly down mountains on skinny
pieces of wood have learned to replace their fear from the most exciting and
invigorating experience of their life.
If we are going to be parents who
arrive at the end of our parenting career (does that really ever happen?) with
no regrets, we need to stop fearing what people/society can do and start
realizing that the God of angel armies is on our side when we walk the path He
has laid out for His children. We will never EVER walk that path alone. Now that is what I call exciting and
invigorating!
Parents, be strong and
courageous.
Don’t be terrified of what the
world may throw at you.
Don’t be discouraged when the
course is tremendously challenging.
Remember that He will give you
the courage to stay the course
and lead your children to become
the persons He made them to be.
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