God-Confident Kids By Cyndie Claypool De NeveSample

Day One

From Fear to Faith

Scripture: Ephesians 2:10

We’ve all read the statistics about how child and teen depression has been on a steady increase since the birth of social media and smartphones. Bullying is also on the rise, and right behind it is teen suicide. In an era that clamors for authenticity, kids and teens still struggle with the polished images they see online. The result? A confidence crisis in a generation of hurting kids, and confused parents struggling to guide them through an obstacle course of stressors unique to this era. 

It’s tempting to respond to this crisis by telling our kids they’re the “best,” “prettiest,” “smartest,” “strongest,” overstroking their confidence while teetering on creating entitled narcissists. But we set kids up for failure when we teach them to be self-confident, which is solely based on how they feel about their strengths, talents, competence, and looks and is often determined by what others say about them. 

Instead, the secret to helping our children develop a humble, compassionate confidence is by encouraging them to embrace God-confidence. Really, only one opinion should matter—that of the One who created us on purpose “to do good” (Ephesians 2:10). God-confidence might look different than you imagined, depending on how the master Creator designed your children. The key is to embrace their uniqueness: both their strengths and their weaknesses. 

To help our children find their true purpose, passion, and peace, we need to give voice to their authentic self, discovering who God intended them to be—often solidified through frustrating and difficult times like illness and learning struggles. When kids are busy trying to be someone else, that means no one is living out the purpose that God had planned for them. But children with true confidence will embrace who they were created to be with all their unique qualities.  

The beautiful thing with God-confident parenting is that when we stop clinging to our kids and instead cling to our loving, capable heavenly Father, who has a purpose for each of us, we can move from fear-based parenting to faith-filled parenting. We don’t always know all that our kids are going through and the thoughts racing through their minds, but God does, and we can always call on Him for wisdom.

When do you let fear influence how you parent your child or teen? How does Ephesians 2:10 help you choose faith over fear?