Want to Trust God in Greater Ways with Your Kids
Inside: Is it hard for you to trust God with your kids? Through Bible stories about trust, we can see how God can be trusted! God has good plans for us and our kids!
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I have an issue with trust! There I said it.
However, I really didn’t notice it until I had kids.
I don’t know what happened, but I didn’t just bring my baby home from the hospital; I brought with her a new sidekick of worry and anxiety.
For the most part, I spent my day keeping her safe, figuring out how I could protect against any “what-ifs,” and planning out everything that would affect her to a “T.”
In all of this strategizing, I lost sleep, became a bundle of nerves and anxiety, and walked away from the only One who could keep me at peace.
Have you been there, friend?
Fear of Surrendering
As moms, don’t we all have this inner fear that if we don’t do everything something might happen to our kids?
We forget that God has chosen our kids for us and somehow we overlook this.
Maybe it’s just me, but I think God doesn’t love my kids as much as I do (which is a false belief by the way).
Or He will ask me to give up my child, and it will hurt so badly.
Perhaps that deep down I might question His goodness to me.
Trusting God Versus Taking Over Myself
Can I be honest? I found myself in this place over the past summer.
One of my kids told me that they were feeling depressed.
As soon as those words were out of their mouths, I felt the intensity to try and control the situation.
For instance, I called a few therapists and wanted to not let that child out of my presence.
In reality, it was a blessing that the child felt comfortable to bring it to my attention.
However, my reaction to this situation caused me to lose sleep and become a bundle of stress and tension.
The truth is: I wasn’t trusting God and submitting to what He had planned.
Why Am I Afraid to Trust and Surrender to God?
When I think of the root reason why I’m so fearful to trust God with my kids, it’s the word surrender.
The definition of this word is to lay down arms and submit them.
It’s believing without a doubt that God loves me and my kids and has the best in mind for all of us.
Trusting God means that we acknowledge His power, submit to His plans, and trust Him for His good plans for us (to prosper us and not harm us to give us hope and a future.)
Friend, if you’re still afraid to submit your kids to the Lord, keep reading!
A Bible Story of Trust
Many stories abound in the Bible that can show us not only how to trust, but why God can be trusted.
We’ve all read and heard the story of Noah in the Bible, and if you’re like me, I gloss over it, and I don’t really pay attention to it because I know the story so well.
However, the last week, I picked up a children’s book to read about Noah.
I noticed something I have never noticed before.
Noah’s Surrender and Submission to God
After Noah built the ark and God told him to climb aboard, Noah, his wife, and their three sons and their wives stepped inside the ark.
You see, the animals were already loaded into their respective spots, so God shut the door to the Ark.
(Genesis 7:16, NLT).16 A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.
Those eight short words stuck out to me.
Then the Lord closed the door behind them.
Let’s visualize this story a little.
God directed Noah and his family to get aboard the ark, so everyone Noah loved was on this boat.
Never before had Noah experienced rain and flooding.
It’s also noteworthy to point out that Noah had never encountered a situation where friends, family, and neighbors would be killed.
Can you feel the tension inside Noah?
I’m sure fear bubbled up within Noah.
But God shut the door to the Ark.
The reality is: God had Noah and his family.
The Lord knew what He was doing, and He had a plan.
Being a human being, I’m sure Noah prayed/converses with God, but God settled his nervous stomach and tension.
Can you imagine his thoughts?
How will I know what is best for my family? What if I have to open the door? What if I open the door and we fall out?
Noah proved to us in the story what trust means. Whether he struggled with these thoughts or not, his actions showed he submitted to God
Noah surrendered to God even before he got on the ark because He realized God was trustworthy.
Noah didn’t have to worry about what was coming next or even stress about the situation. God shut the door, and He would open the door also.
It’s the same for us, friend!
God is Trustworthy; We Can Trust Him
(Find the Bible stories about trust!)
Indeed, God has us and our kids. He is carrying us all in the palm of His hand. Moreover, God knows what He’s doing.
As a result of this, we can surrender to Him and trust Him.
This doesn’t mean we won’t find fear bubbling up, but when we feel the first effects of fear, we can go to God and ask Him to help us trust more and surrender to Him.
Four Tips to Help Us Trust God with Our Kids
- Pray for our kids.
- Better yet, pray with our kids to enable greater trust in all of us.
- Request that God helps us keep our kids safe.
- Help us prepare our kids to learn to trust God and surrender their own lives to Him.
- Read the Bible stories showing trust with our kids!
Being a parent is full of stress and tension, but we have Someone who promises to be with us and help us.
Therefore, we can look back through the pages of the Bible and see that God is trustworthy and steadfast.
Hence, we can trust Him with our kids because ultimately He has the best in mind for all of us.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
A very timely post! Thank you!! I was just sharing with a friend that I need to hand over my daughter to God (again!) as we prepare for her to go on a school trip far, far away from home. As you said, God is trustworthy. And I’m so thankful!! Blessings to you!!
Joey- trust and surrender are hard! It was so much easier when they fit in our arms, wasn’t it?
BUT- I’m supposed to fix my kids, right!!!???
I struggle with this ALL the time. But they’re not really my kids; they are Gods and He has just entrusted them to me for a while. He knows so much better than I do what they need.
Wow, this is a message I speak to myself over and over. As a parent, I feel so responsible for everything about my kids. But I am not perfect. And most importantly, I am not God! I am slowly learning to leave them in His hands. Great post!
Melissa- I’m not perfect either..far from it! I desire to be better in everything!
Great application of Scripture. Thanks.
David- thank you!
I had tremendous trust issues when I had my first child. It revealed so much about my trust issues with everyone in the world. I’ve learned so much since then and I am grateful God has opened my eyes. Now I put my trust in God and give over my fears to him. It can be hard, but He’s the only one in control… NOT me.
I remember once very cavalierly telling God I gave Him my kids. A still voice asked back: “Do you really?”
I said yes, but the moment felt real. Profound.
About an hour later my son called to say his army orders had changed. It would be going, not to a country that sounded like a peaceful haven, but to a place full of conflict.
God had been there in the moment for me–to get me ready.
What an awesome God He is!
PS Son is home safe after that deployment and another!
I’ve been there, too, Nancy. My son was deployed to Iraq on the first day of the war. I was glued to the television, watching the same news stories over and over. Then I realized–God had this. I had given Him my son, and I meant it. After three days, I could sleep.
Trust can begin with prayer. What a great message!
I had never even considered that a God loved my kids more than I do. Like ever. This whole article is so refreshing to me. Love it ????
This was so encouraging to read. I don’t have kids yet, but my husband teases me that when we do, it will be hard for me to let go of control. So thank you for this encouragement to be praying about this ahead of time!
Wow! Great insight on God shutting the door on the Ark. It’s so cool how you can read the Bible a bunch of times, and something new sticks out that you didn’t notice before. God shutting the door on the flood waters of destruction…. hmmm, I am feeling a sermon coming on! LOL
Thanks for an honest and thought-provoking post!
This is a great post and reminder. When someone depends on us, it’s easy to think we should have control over the whole situation. But what a blessing to know that we’re not in it alone.
Not only that, I think it is a beautiful gift you give your children when they see you entrust them to God’s care.
So hard! And now that my daughter is an adult: it’s still hard! Harder even. Thank you for the reminder to pray and to surrender.
Peggy- it’s hard and I am a work-in-progress! I get it wrong more than right;)
Good reminder that God is in control, always. Our youngest child died when he was just 9 days old from birth defects. I learned how little control I have because it is all in God’s hands and He can do a much better job than I can.
Great reminders – especially since my One Word for 2019 is TRUST!
Ava- yay! Glad it reminded you and dealt with your word for the year! Mine is surrender so it deals with my word too!
Wow! Seems like a theme that I keep stumbling on. I love your words, “The definition of this word is to lay down arms and submit. It’s believing without a doubt that God loves me and my kids and has the best in mind for all of us.” To lay down arms and submit – to TRUST that God has the best in mind for me. Truly surrender is a gift of trusting a good, good, Father. Thank you for sharing, Yvonne!
Lisa- yes! It’s trusting and allowing God to do the best for my kids and me!
Such an important reminder. We must surrender our kids to God. Completely. Just as Noah surrendered himself and his family to God when he closed the door of the ark. Prayer is key for me! Great post!
Melissa- Yes, prayer and a lot of trust in God! I pray I get better about this!