Sometimes God will deliver us from Scary Situations. He’ll stand with us in the fiery furnace and hold us so close our clothes won’t even smell like smoke. But other times, God will use trials to accomplish a purpose only He understands. And even though He doesn’t remove us from the scary situation, our heavenly Father is with us, holding us in His righteous right hand.
Among some of the very first Christians in the early church was a man named Stephen. In Acts 6, the Bible tells us he was full of faith, the Holy Spirit, grace and power. The day Stephen was chosen for leadership in the early church, he was surrounded by people who loved him and loved the God he served. The day Stephen died, he was surrounded by men who hated him and hated the God he served. But Stephen’s character didn’t change; He was still filled with faith and the Holy Spirit.
The thought of my children facing Scary Situations without me there to protect them breaks my heart. But, if they have accepted Jesus as their Savior, the same Holy Spirit that emboldened Stephen lives within them. This week, let’s encourage our children that nothing, not even death, can separate us from God’s love. When they keep their eyes fixed on Jesus, He will give them the same faith, strength and peace that Stephen had.
The fear of being left out or made fun of, worrying about missed assignments or bad grades, and even uncertainty of what comes next, can be crippling for our children. It’s hard to understand how to help them fight battles we can’t see. Thankfully we can rest assured that the God who created them, and knows every hair on their head and thought in their mind and will hold them in His righteous right hand. As good as our plans are for our children, we can trust God’s are better.
