Some of the greatest heartache in the world - I believe - belongs to the parent whose child is in rebellion. I'm not just talking about a little disrespect every now and then. I'm talking about "flat-out" rebellion, where the child despises the teachings of his/her mother and father. That's incredibly sad for me to think about, and yet, in many parent's lives, it is a reality beyond anything I can imagine at this stage of my life.
Maybe you have been affected by this type of "rebellion." Maybe your children have broken your heart many, many, many times over. If so, I pray for you right now to have wisdom in your dealings with your child. I pray that God would grant you peace, in knowing that He cares for your child more than you will ever know, this side of heaven. I pray that God will enable you to have an open line of communication with your child and that your relationship will be restored. I pray that your heart would be pure before your child and before Almighty God. I pray for your tears to cease, and your joy to be restored.
I guess I can't help but write about this, because it's been on my mind lately. I was never really a "rebellious" kid. I did sow some wild oats in my day - 'nuf' said - but I really didn't lash out at my parents in disgust or disrespect. You just didn't do that in my house. You didn't turn away while my parents were talking with you, and you sure didn't roll your eyes when they suggested something that made your heart say, "Really?"
I am so thankful for that teaching. I am so thankful that they ingrained that type of behavior in us when we were younger, because now that I'm older and have kids of my own, I see the bigger picture. I see how rebellion can hurt. I see how a rolling of the eyes and a turning away of the face can damage the parent/child relationship. Sadly, it is the first sign of a rebellious heart. It's a sign that your child's heart is becoming hard...a sign a parent never wants to see.
I have yet to experience that type of total rebellion in my own family. Right now, I have a great relationship with my kids. But I know Someone who has experienced it. I know Someone who has lived life as a parent, only to be rejected, and you do, too: God.
As a parent, He wooed Israel over and over again, back into His arms...back into His safe covering for them. You would think they would have been grateful, and yet, they weren't. You would think that they would hang on His every word, and yet, in Jeremiah 2:27, God says that His children - His beloved - His precious sons and daughters - rebelled. He said, they "say to a tree 'You are my father," and to a stone, "You gave birth to me,' for they have turned their back to Me, and not their face."
Again in Jeremiah, you hear the very hurtful heart of God, the parent, as He makes this statement: "And they have turned to Me the back and not the face; Though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction" (Jer. 32:33).
As a parent, that just makes my heart hurt. The God of creation...the God Who loves passionately and doesn't know how to do it any other way...was rejected by His children. His teachings were scorned. His love was rejected. His passion for them and cries to them, fell on deaf ears. They chose to turn their backs to Him and not their faces. Pretty sad, huh?
But despite the sadness and hurt of being their parent, God didn't give up on His kids. Yes, He disciplined them, but He never gave up on them. He could have wiped them off the face of the earth and started over again, but He didn't. He could have left them completely alone in their misery, but He didn't. He could have disowned and rejected them as His own, but He didn't. Instead, God told them that after their discipline had been completed, He would "gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury and in great wrath. I WILL bring them back to this place, and I WILL cause them to dwell safely. They shall be MY people, and I WILL be their God, then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever; for the good of them and their children after them. And I WILL make an everlasting covenant with them, that I WILL not turn away from doing them good; but I WILL put MY fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. Yes, I WILL rejoice over them to do them good, and I WILL assuredly plant them in this land, WITH ALL MY HEART AND WITH ALL MY SOUL" (Jer. 32:37-41).
He never gave up on them in their rebellion.
He never gave up on me in my rebellion...and He doesn't give up on me today. Praise be to His Name!
My encouragement today is for you to not give up on your son or daughter in their rebellion. Instead, be passionate about their discipline (designed to restore their relationship with you), but even more passionate about their restoration to God. Pray for them continually. Love them, even in their anger and rejection of you. Be an example of Christ to them. Believe that God will AND CAN change them into who He wants them to be. After all, He says, "I am the Lord, the God of all flesh, is there anything too hard for Me?" (Jer. 32:29).
God wants to do a miracle in your family. He hasn't forgotten you. He wants to show you and others His glory, and while He works, you wait and pray...and wait and pray some more, believing that He hasn't given up on your child...just like He never gives up on you. : )
Father God, help me be a good parent today. Teach me how to pray for my kids...how to love them, as You love them. Help me to know when to open my mouth and when to keep it shut. You, Lord God, are my Creator. You are my Sustainer. You are my Rock and my Shelter. Help me to hide in You today, as I wait to see Your miraculous works in my child's life. I praise You, Jesus. I praise You.
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