Theme: What every parent needs
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Run - Hillsong, All Because of Jesus - Fee, Lead Me To The Cross - Hillsong, Arms Open Wide - Hillsong
Read: Matthew 8:23-27
Think: Remember when your children first started walking? Playing in the back yard without direct supervision? How about the first day of kindergarten? The first solo drive in the car? Now that little one is grown up or growing up!
I remember fondly my parents’ weekly phone calls during my freshman year. I know that they wanted to keep informed about my studies, but I also know my mom well enough to know that she was just worried about me. Several years later, I know that she still worries about me.
A friend’s daughter recently had a serious health crisis, one that caused my friend to contact me to ask for my family to pray for her family. In our email exchange, I mentioned that I’ve come to think that “fear” is a synonym for “parenting.” She quickly agreed and added, “I also think that parenting drives you to your knees faster than any other activity.”
When Jesus was on the Sea of Galilee, he soothed the disciples and calmed the storm. The disciples were completely terrorized by their circumstance, and rightly so. The storm was real and the danger imminent. The words that He shared with the disciples, however, are instructive: “Why are you so afraid?” Another way to translate the phrase is, “Why do you keep being so scared?”
As parents our lives are filled with storms. Some are predictable and some are random, like accidents and illnesses. No matter what, we should know that just as Jesus was in control of that stormy sea, God has control over the world. He offers a double antidote to our anxieties: His presence in our lives and His peace in our hearts.
Do: If your son/daughter is in transition to adulthood or already an adult. Let them solve their own problem the next time they come to you with an issue (of course, use discretion)
Pray: God, help me to rely on you and trust you with my son/daughter
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.