A Word With You – Your Relationships |
by RON HUTCHCRAFTDownload MP3 (right click to save) Our daughter was just eight years old when we left her at a summer camp for the first time. That’s kind of a milestone for the child and the parent. But our daughter was really excited. I guess it’s the parents that have a little harder time letting go. But a beautiful island, Camp Tapawingo, is on an island in the middle of an Adirondack lake only accessible by boat. So as this boat pulls away, it really underscores the reality that you are leaving this girl. But to be honest with you, it wasn’t all that tough. At that time, there was a woman who had run the place for years; a tremendous Christian educator with a lot of wisdom, a lot of love, a lot of experience. And they took us on a tour of the camp. We loved the facilities and they had this very well-conceived program that they planned for the week. So we knew we’d miss our little girl for the week, but we felt really good about where she was. She wasn’t going to be with us, but we could relax. She was in good hands. I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Morning Turnover.” Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Job chapter 1. When you think of Job, you probably think of suffering, right? But he’s also a great example of parenting. “There lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” Verse 3, “He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.” Now the life of Job goes on to tell that he had 10 children – seven sons, three daughters – and it says of them after they were grown, his sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. The Bible says, “When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, ‘Perhaps my children have sinned or cursed God in their hearts.’ This was Job’s regular custom.” Later on, God and Satan are actually discussing Job’s life and his righteousness in this incredible scene in heaven. And apparently the Devil is pretty frustrated, because he says to God, “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?” Well, here’s Job, like us in a lot of ways, worried about his children. They’re obviously not in his hands anymore. But each morning (Did you get this?) he would meet with the Lord on their behalf. If you’re a mom or dad, that’s the most powerful life-shaping weapon you have in your parenting arsenal. We all know the feeling that my wife and I faced as we left our daughter; the concerns of a child who’s going to be totally beyond your control, or your protection, your oversight, your influence. We had her exclusively for only a very few short years, and then like all the others, she started school, began having friends we didn’t pick. And they have ideas that are different from our own that are coming at them from every direction. And their time with us steadily decreases. And the influence of many other people and other forces steadily increases, and we start to worry. And then sometimes there’s a panic. We want to nag, or we’ve got to interrogate or pressure them, maybe even accuse or preach. And in the process of trying to protect them from mistakes, we sometimes end up driving them into mistakes unless we understand the power of the morning turnover when we surrender that child to the care and keeping of the living God. Who, by the way, goes all the places with your child you cannot go. Now, one prayer is for that hedge; that God protection of your son or daughter from Satan, from sin, from themselves. Each of our children when they were infants, you know what? We’d dedicated them to the Lord at our church in some way. Now we couldn’t carry them in our arms any more; they’re a little big for that maybe. But all of us need to repeat that process daily; holding each child up to the Lord, committing them to the Lord, turning them over to Him again in serious intercession for them. Remember, I said that my wife and I had peace when we left our daughter without us on that island that day and it was because we knew we were leaving her in such great hands? All of us parents can have that same peace if we’ll leave our sons and daughters in God’s strong hands each day. However far they may seem from you or from God, in the words of Isaiah 40:11 , “He gathers the lambs in His arms and He carries them close to His heart.” |
Archives
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
Blog Stats
- 1,275,793 hits
Top Posts
- What is the meaning behind the song 'To Sir With Love' by Lulu?
- Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory
- Past Tense/Perfect Tense Cloze Links
- Spanish, Arabic, & Urdu Cognates
- Teacher Hiring Scams in the United Arab Emirates Grows--BEWARE!
- First Day (or First Week) Activities, Icebreakers, or Introductory Activities for ESL Classes
- THE SIMIAN LINE from FYI
- Why is Dodge City (KS) becoming the Teen Suicide Capital of the USA in 2018?
- A Creed For Those Who Have Suffered
- Endless Escape and Settlments--and me