God-Confident Kids By Cyndie Claypool De Neveনমুনা

Day Four

Remaining in God’s Love

Scripture: John 15:4–19

A parent’s instinct is to protect and defend our kids. However, our children need to experience struggles while they’re under our roof so we can help them walk through the difficulties and struggles to develop God-confidence. For example, if you see your five-year-old arguing with another kid on the playground, wait and see if they can work it out themselves and use it as a learning opportunity. This helps children develop confidence that they can deal with conflict, without having an adult intervene. If they struggle with a kid at school, give them the words and guidance to work through it, but let it be the child who takes the initiative to address the situation. 

John 15 is a great passage that illustrates how to maintain the true confidence that allows us to exude our purpose, passion, and peace. Being a healthy “branch” allows us to live the life God prepared for us. 

Not everyone will appreciate that, as we see in verses 18 and 19. Imagine if Jesus cared what other people thought of Him or how many “likes” He received! When we worry about what others think of us, we take our eyes off our Creator. Yes, people won’t always like us. But if we’re living a life of love and humility, fully engrafted as a branch in Christ’s vine, then we can trust that God will work the circumstances together for good. Our life is to be determined by an audience of one: our Designer, who handcrafted us for a good purpose. 

How can we “remain in” God’s love as we are told to do in John 15:9? Meditate on the Scriptures; hide them in our heart and mull over them throughout the day. Our phones can help with this. When you find an encouraging or convicting verse, take a picture or screenshot of it and pray it throughout the day. Send it to your child or a friend, letting them know you’re praying for them. Children with true God-confidence will embrace who they were created to be with all their unique qualities as they live out the beauty of remaining in God’s love for them.

What difficult situation is your child facing that they probably need to handle on their own? Why does handling difficult situations independently help build God-confidence?