Moments of Crisis

"I sought the LORD, and He answered me; 

He delivered me from all my fears." 

- Psalm 34:4

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One of our daughters has been struggling lately, re-living the death of her Mom, questioning if there's a God, questioning whether there really is a Heaven or not, and if there is- if she can really go there and see her Mom again one day. She's been questioning my relationship with her Dad, our marriage, and our new family.

This has been a really difficult time for us, watching her navigate these feelings, trying to answer her questions and reassure her, and then also having to stand back at times, realizing that so many of these questions she's going to have to answer herself. 

I can't force belief. I can't force faith. 

We all desire for our children to grow in the knowledge and strength of our LORD. We all desire for them to love Jesus, depend on Him, follow Him, and choose Him over all else. We want them to grow in inner beauty, dignity, patience, kindness, love, humility, generosity, and every good thing that God intends for us…

But what do we do as parents, when our children choose another path? What do we do with their questions, their doubt, and their unbelief? What do we do when they hit a crisis of faith? 

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This has been an enormous weight for me to carry, because I so desperately want my children to follow God. We've instructed them, lived out our lives before them, demonstrated faith in action, and my golly, we've also sat them down and drilled it into their heads! Again and again we've talked, and explained, and defended…yet here we are...with a questioning adolescent. 

God's had to heal my heart through this, had to reassure me that it's not a problem I'm causing, and that questions are part of life, and yes, part of growing our faith too. Through this process, I have learned that sometimes it's THROUGH our doubt, that God can answer us more clearly, and reveal His truth to us. 

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Scripture tells us to seek God, to give Him our fears and doubts, and that He will hear us and help us. 

"I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears." - Psalm 34:4

We have a God who is not afraid of our doubt. We do not have a God who is far off. He gently tells His children to come to Him, sit on His lap, talk a while, and pour out our hearts. We can go to Him for all of our needs, and even when we're having a hard time believing, we can limp our way to Him and trust that He will restore our faith. 

These moments need not turn into moments of crisis, when we rest in the truth that our Father God is always near, and always willing to deliver us. God is with my doubting child. He is with her when she's hurting and afraid. He will carry her through this season of grief, and He will restore her! 

And God is with us too, weary parent. He will strengthen our hearts, give us the words we need to say, and He will give us wisdom to know when it's best to say nothing at all. Our job is to help our children, but ultimately it is always God who heals and brings comfort. He is the deliverer of all our fears. 

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As a parent, I need to find my rest in that promise. I need to trust that my Father God is in control, and allow that to bring me peace and relief! We don't need to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, and we don't need to worry. We can encourage our children to go to God with their questions, we can seek Him together as a family, and we can wait for Him to deliver us through every hardship.