We just returned from the children’s hospital after yet another disappointing appointment with the ‘specialist’. We were feeling discouraged and hopeless…again. No answers. The only response was: ‘keep up the treatment but give her more’. Really?!?! I looked at my little girl and a question came to mind. I had to ask her. “Emily, do you think that this difficult situation is God preparing you for something He will ask you to do for Him later on that will be much harder?” She didn’t even hesitate in her response. “YES”. And she went back to what she was doing while relief washed over my hopeless spirit. She understood exactly what I meant. Her heart knew the truth. She was barely 9 years old.

4 Reasons To Challenge Our Kids With Spiritual Truths

 

Often, we don’t give our kids enough credit. We don’t think they will understand spiritual truths, so we don’t bother discussing the most challenging topics. However, I think that when we get stuck in this mindset, we are cheating them of something great and wonderful.

When We Are Brave Enough…

When we risk discussing deep spiritual truths with our children, we open up the opportunity for them to draw closer to God. They will be able to apply His truth to their own lives easier when we are open to talking about them. They begin to see how God is working in their lives – even when they are young.

 

When we introduce the unfathomable certainties about God, we invite our children to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to them. When they can hear His voice themselves, they are more likely to obey Him. Their relationship with God becomes real. They start to ‘own’ it.

When we are brave enough to talk to our kids about the more challenging scripture verses, we strengthen our relationship with them, too. They can see us struggling to understand such profound ideas. This helps them to relate to us better. And then there are those moments when our kids speak truth into our lives!

When we present His Word to our kids, they will ‘get’ something. God says that His word does return void. This means that when we attempt to teach our children God’s word and His mysterious ways, they will get something from it. It means a seed has been planted within their hearts and the Holy Spirit will nurture it.

Faith-Building Resources

Kim Sorgius has several resources available to help parents teach children vital spiritual truths. She is not afraid to encourage kids to dig deep in understanding. Some of my favourites are Foundations of Faith, Finding Him Faithful (for those painful moments in life – kids have them, too), A Content Heart and Developing A Quiet Time. Please note: these are affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy on my site.

What Would Have Been Missed If…

My youngest had been struggling through a medical issue for several years now – encopresis and enuresis…if your child has this problem, then you know how challenging and discouraging it can be. She couldn’t go without me anywhere just in case she had an accident. Swimming in pools caused a lot of anxiety for us as she could mess at any moment – and she did. She had to wear pull-ups when other kids her age didn’t need to. The list goes on and doctors continued to fail to provide an adequate answer and treatment for us.

 

But, what if I hadn’t asked her that question because I didn’t think she’d understand? We both would have missed out on His peace and hope that comforted our souls. I would have missed the blessing of witnessing my daughter deepen her faith. She would’ve missed that story becoming a part of her bigger story. We would’ve missed an opportunity to trust God with this entire situation. A situation He has been so faithful in taking care of, healing my little girl and enabling her to not have the shame of accidents anymore.

We may have missed the chance to see a miracle.

 

For more encouragement on strengthening the family and growing together in faith, take The Strong Family Project Challenge!

Grab this free printable pack here to help you foster your relationships and make memories together

 

Aimee is a home educating support teacher who lives in the sunny Okanagan, BC. Aimee has been blissfully married since 1998 and still swoons at the sight of her tall, dark and handsome husband, Marcus. When she isn’t home educating her 3 kids, she enjoys sewing, quilting, scrapbooking and hanging out with her family. She blogs over at A Work of Grace. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.