Working with Father

SPIRIT TRAINING: Working with Father

Sweet Anna was a typical middle school student. Making her way through the hormonal minefield of 7th grade was challenging -- for Anna and for her parents. In the fall of that year, Anna won the annual school spelling bee contest. This wasn’t her first win and she knew what was involved for the next level of competition. Probably for a variety of reasons, Anna was struggling. She did not want to be involved. But, she had won, and it was the right thing to do for her to go to the competition and represent the school.

As our children have grown, we’ve encouraged them first of all to be readers. We tried to get each of them reading as early as possible, primarily so that they would be able to begin the habit of daily time with the Lord, themselves. One of my goals, and maybe the most important one is to unveil the Father, to pass to my children the kingdom of God, to enable them to establish their own knowledge of and relationship with the Lord. So, as I was encouraging Anna through this difficulty, I wanted her to know that God was concerned about every detail of life that she deals with.

“Psalm 46 is so good, Anna. It tells us that the Lord is our Refuge. Hide in Him. He is your Help. He is a very present help. He will be with you as you go through this spelling bee. You will not be alone.”

This truth from Scripture is very clear to me because I have had to rely on the Lord so many times in troubling circumstances; and I have found Him to be present, to be with me, to enable me to make it through.

I wanted Anna to know this truth foundationally in her own walk with the Lord.

When the day of the bee arrived, I had so many little ones still at home, I wasn’t able to take her. All I could do was intercede. The spelling bee started; and one by one, the students spelled and either sat down or kept going. The play by play had begun and it was getting closer and closer to Anna’s turn.

She stepped up to the microphone, her palms sweaty. She waited. The announcer spoke. “Your word,” he said, “is REFUGE.”
REFUGE? Are you kidding? Was God sending her a message? Can God speak through a spelling bee announcer?

Anna easily spelled it, but the relief she experienced was not from knowing each letter. Her relief was knowing in a very tangible way that Father Himself was concerned about her, loved her, and would see her through.
As a parent, I saw that God is working in the life of my child using me, using circumstances, using other people. Her confidence in God grew and so did mine. We are workers together with God.
Perhaps this week you might share a comment on how you and Father have worked together in the lives of your kids.