Practical Words for Encouraging Your SonSample

Day One

“I have great confidence in your future.”

Scripture: Proverbs 22:6; Proverbs 23:18; Philippians 1:6

Our son was busy with his usual morning chore of collecting eggs from the chicken coop, carrying a few dozen into the house, and washing them in the laundry room sink. Maybe it felt special when he first took over “Farm Boy Fresh Eggs,” but such jobs quickly become mundane to a young kid like him. 

On that morning, I watched from a short distance away with a mother’s eye, perceiving things he was blind to in that moment. I spotted big stuff in his little faithfulness. And I told him so. 

“Son, God has great things planned for your future.”

He looked up at me, eyes wide with surprise, nearly cracking an egg in the process. 

From where he stood, he was simply washing dried chicken poop from eggshells. But from where I stood, he was a young man going places, one speckled brown egg at a time. 

Many days in a son’s life involve simply putting one foot in front of the other—being diligent and faithful to finish the job at hand. And it’s times like these when you, as his parent, have the opportunity to instill a vision for his future.

You will often see more than your son has the maturity or capacity to comprehend. Show him how his diligence and faithfulness are connected to the future God already has planned for him. 

You don’t have to wait for a magic moment, a special occasion, or some great challenge to speak words of destiny and hope into your son’s heart. The ordinary, everyday moments are the best times to remind him of what he’ll need to hang on to at some point: God is present, God has a plan, and God has a purpose in everything. 

It’s an important truth to have settled in his mind before life throws him a curveball. God is at work in every aspect of our lives, molding us into the people He wants us to be. 

If you regularly speak this kind of vision into your son’s heart, he will be better equipped to handle the highs and lows he will be sure to encounter. 

Lord, thank you for being at work in [name’s] heart, mind, and spirit. Remind me to speak words of truth and hope into his life. You will complete the good work You have begun in him! Amen.