Teach Them
I was under heavy spiritual attack a couple of months back in the middle of the night. Over an hour of coming against the enemy, speaking Scriptures aloud, and declaring them over myself. The Lord led me into a worship song with Him and that must have been what woke my son up. As my son ventured into the living room where I was, he noticed my tear-stained eyes. He asked, “Mommy, are you okay?” I said, “Mommy has had a bit of a rough night. I’m worshipping Jesus and He is helping me.” He asked, “Can I stay with you?” My initial urge was to take him straight to bed so he didn’t have to experience this hard moment. I wanted to protect him and so he would have peace. Instead, I sensed that it was okay. It was okay for him to be in the hard and the messy with me because we were in the safest place there was…in the arms of Jesus.
So my son hopped on the couch and snuggled with me as I continued to worship. He even joined in as it was a song that he knew (Worthy Of It All). This was such a precious time of worship and intimacy—both with Jesus and with my son. Although this particular night began with anguish, Jesus gave me just what I needed in my most desperate moment. In His kindness and in His love, He gave me the gift of my son.
As a mom, I want to protect my son from pain. From seeing pain. From experiencing it. But if I do that, how would my son know what to do when it comes for him? And it will, no matter how much I want to protect him from it. So instead of shielding him from it, I show him that there is pain and trouble in life. Even grown up Mommies & Daddies who struggle with it. The most important thing is to teach him where to go and what to do with the pain. Not to run from it, but to run to God with it.
I’ve used many things in life to help deal with my pain:
- food
- numbing myself through entertainment like tv shows & movies
- impulsively shopping
- isolation
- people-pleasing
- running to the comforts of this world
- anger
I want my son to know there is a better way. His Name is Jesus. I also want him to be aware that there is an enemy on the prowl seeking to bring destruction and calamity to our lives, and his name is Satan. But that we are victorious over the enemy because Jesus has defeated him! That we have authority to come against him because WHO lives in us is greater than he who is in the world.
Let your children see you worship. Let your children see you war against the enemy. Let your children see you pray. They are watching what you do. They are learning from your example of how to be. But also, teach them how to worship. Teach them how to war. Teach them how to pray. We are raising men and women of Christ. We are raising warriors of Jesus. We are raising the next generation of disciples
“Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
~Proverbs 22:6
❤️Anastasia Daniel