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ENCOURAGEMENT FOR
PARENTS
Habakkuk Repelling the Night Wolves
1:5-8
A message preached at Lauderdale
Community Church by Rev. Jerry Williams was inspired by a devotion in Morning
and Evening by Charles Spurgeon.
“Evening wolves” described in
Habakkuk 1:8, are angry from being hungry all day, and in the diminishing light
it is much harder to see their prey, causing them to be more fierce than during
the day. In areas where sheep are
raised, evening wolves were a very real threat and shepherds had to be
ever-vigilant.
I would have you liken those “evening
Wolves” to the recurring, nagging thoughts and fears that assail you about your
children. Many of them face severe
temptations and go through bouts of rebellion, making poor choices, all in
their quest for independence.
Being parents ourselves (we had three
girls in their teens at the same time), we know first hand how difficult it is
to raise children for the Lord in today’s world. We continue to seek God’s help, and over the years, and He has
not failed to give us what we need:
wisdom from His Word, the assurance of His unconditional love,
forgiveness, and a belief in the promise found in Hebrews 13:5, “…for He
Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you’”.
As for those “night wolves” gnashing
their teeth at you, snarling: “you
should have done things differently”, “how can you call yourself a godly person
and get so angry?”, “You’re the only parent going through this, everyone else
in your church has wonderful, godly, happy children, what happened to you?”,
“you don’t want your children to be different, everyone will talk about them
and question your parenting skills”.
The list goes on and on, and I’m sure you can add many more. So what can you do to quiet these nagging
thoughts? Most importantly, you can
meet with god in prayer and in His Word.
A spiritual journal is a wonderful way to jot down the things God has to
say to you and your situation. It
doesn’t have to be long, profound, or even mean anything to anyone else since
it’s between you and God. As one who
kept this kind of journal over a period of years, I can highly recommend its
value. God speaks to our areas of need,
shows us our own failures and sins, but also reminds us of who He is and what
He is capable of doing. Remember how
job said it in chapter 42:2, “I know that you can do all things; no plan of
yours can be thwarted.” That’s a verse
that I continue to live on today.
In a practical sense, when things
“heat” up, don’t panic and don’t overreact!
Take time to think over the situation and pray for the course you should
take. Children need to know that they
are loved unconditionally, yet there are consequences for their actions and
inappropriate behavior. Think back to
your own teen years and remember that we’ve all made mistakes and they will
make theirs too. While weapons and
drugs need to be removed swiftly, other things like hairstyle and color,
clothing choices, or body piercing can be irritating but not necessarily
life-threatening. Choose your battles
carefully or you will end up fighting over everything on a daily basis, which
is not good for you or your kids. Seek
help from a trusted person knowledgeable with youth. Pray for God to work the changes in you that He desires, as well
as your children.
And now for a parting word, which is
also our prayer for you in your personal circumstances, from 2 Thessalonians
3:16, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every
circumstance.”
Jerry and Susan Williams
