We Got This!

“I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13

It was late. I was tired. She was angry. And suddenly, I was so very grateful we had opted for a savings account over a piggy bank.

What seemed to be a very simple problem, with a very easy answer, was quickly blowing up into a volcano of erupting emotions.

No, she was NOT going to listen to the radio station known for playing raunchy songs with sexually explicit lyrics. Not at 11 years old. And absolutely not in my house. I didn’t care if it played her favorite “Whip and Nay Nay” dance tune. I would find it on another station or buy it for her on iTunes. But her radio station of choice was not going to be the one she’d be listening to it on.

We had gone through this a few days before. After the last fight, I just grabbed the clock radio, pulling the plug from the wall, and took it back to my room, which is where it had originated from anyway.

I thought I had found the solution. A new (well, reclaimed from the guest room) clock radio, with a better tuning dial that clearly showed which station it was set on. That would kill the argument of, “Well, I’m not even sure if it is on that station!”

Nice thought, but it wasn’t working. Tonight the “discussion” had taken a nosedive from “Mom, stop being so old fashioned!” to her defiantly telling me she would just buy another clock radio herself, if I took this one away.

It was in that instant that I was so very, very glad all of my daughter’s money was locked up safe in the bank, and not in her little hands. She might be able to feel defiant, but she couldn’t actually act on it.

I would love to tell this story just from a parent’s point of view, but I can’t. After all, how similar are we to adolescents in our relationship with God? How many times does He try and tell us, from that small whisper in our ear to what feels like being beaten over the head with a stick, “Stop it! That isn’t good for you!” And yet, we continue to do what’s bad for us anyway. Just as my daughter only knows the radio station plays the “Whip and Nay Nay” song, and is largely unaware of the other really bad content on it, we rush headlong into situations in our own lives, blind to the unseen dangers that God is trying to protect us from.

We need to learn to trust Him who sees the bigger picture.

Thankfully, God sometimes does the choosing for us. He holds onto our desires, like money in the bank, until we are ready to use them wisely. The door closes to a job opportunity we wanted … opening the door for the better one around the corner. A relationship breaks up before the wedding … only to be saved a long life of painful strife with the “wrong one.”

Other times, we are left to our own devices. It is there that the well-known saying “Pride comes before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18) rings true. Just like an 11-year-old, we scream and cry, “But everyone is doing it!” and “God, I know what I’m doing!” And just like the prodigal son, when our emotional piggy bank is empty, we find out the hard way that God’s instructions really were meant for our good, and come crawling back to Him on our knees. We find ourselves once again thankful for His grace, mercy and love; thankful for a Parent who will not only take us back into His shelter, without saying “I told you so,” but who will continue to teach us the right way in which to go.

So which way do we go when our children want to go astray? We know the mistakes we’ve made and we know there’s nothing we wouldn’t do to try and keep our kids from experiencing the same pain. Sometimes, in our efforts, in our struggles – as we go toe-to-toe – it’s easy to feel alone. Answers don’t come easily, and sometimes it feels like there’s no one there to back you up. Fortunately, that’s not the case.

Just as our Father guides us as children, He is also there to guide us as parents.

Eight years of single parenting, between my divorce and my current marriage, tells me I can’t do this parenting thing alone. Yes, you heard right. I can’t do it alone. I couldn’t do it then, and I can’t do it now. With or without a spouse, my only hope is in my Heavenly Father. And my only strength is in Christ Jesus.

You see, the Bible says I can do all things through Christ Jesus. Not a few things. Not most things. All things. And yet, in John 15:5, it also says I can do nothing without Him. So, whether it’s in parenting or any other aspect of my life, my ability to succeed is based on one thing alone: complete dependence upon Him.

James 4:2 says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” Are you asking for God’s wisdom? His patience? His love and grace? My experience in life says I must first ask and receive it for myself, before I can give it away. If I want to guide my child into all truth and righteousness, I must find it first. And it’s there, in His Word, and in relationship with Him.

I’m not sure what parenting challenge I will face tonight. But whatever it is, I can go into it confidently, with God leading the way, knowing “We got this!”

What life challenges – parenting or otherwise – are you facing today? Are you trying to tough it out alone or will you let God be your guide? He is with you, wherever you go!

We Got This! originally appeared on Spring Sight blog, by Linda W. Perkins.  Get even more encouragement by following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

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