One of my desires for my daughter Alexa is for her to grow up fearless and to pursue the things of God no matter what challenges she may face. As nice as that may sound, it's often much easier said than done.
In actuality, things won't always go well for our kids, and we won't always be there to protect and guard them when times get tough. They'll face bullies, they'll fail and they'll experience a difficult situation every now and then. Just as adults would many times, kids might choose to flee instead of fight.
The number one thing that kids must learn to build confidence and courage is to build in them hope. Hope is comprised of the substance of faith (Hebrews 11:1) and is what keeps us persistent when times get tough. As a parent, how can we build our children's faith in a way that gives them hope? Here are four ways that we can do that.
1. Pray With Them
The importance of praying with kids is often overemphasised. How many parents truly take the time to pray with their kids? Building in our children a strong habit of spiritual discipline allows them to flex their faith muscles. When faith arises in our children, we build them in the eternal hope that is found not in this world but in Christ. Our children need to live our 1 Thessalonians 5:17 which says, "pray without ceasing," and praying unceasingly with them helps them do that.
2. Teach Them to Trust God
During the early years of our children, they will depend and rely on us for everything—provision, education, protection and even identity. But as they grow older, the goal for parents should be to shift that faith and trust from us now to God. We may fail our children, and the time will come when we will no longer be there for them the way we used to. But God will always be there for them. We need to teach them to rely on God more than they rely on us.
3. Encourage Them to Step Out in Faith
Giving our children opportunities to step out in faith and believe in God for things to happen is one way that we build hope in them. When we are too quick to give them what they want and need, we deprive them of the opportunity to experience firsthand the move of God in their lives.
4. Don't Rescue Them Too Early
I know the pain of watching kids struggle. It's never easy, but it's necessary. Romans 5:3-4 tells us, "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope."
Our children will face challenges, but in those challenges their hope will be built up.
