I’ll never forget the first time I realized the power of teaching my children God’s Word. It did not seem like much at the time. It was a very stormy morning and my oldest (my only at the time) was frightened. We were driving to daycare and she was in tears because of the thunder and lightening.

Mommy, I’m afraid. She was in the backseat with her hands over her eyes.

Now, she was only three or four and it was just a rainstorm. I knew, however, that this would not be her last encounter with fear. That ugly beast would rear its ugly head again for sure. So, when we made it safely to the school parking lot, I turned around and taught her the first of many important Scriptures…

1. When I am afraid, I will trust in You (Psalm 56:3.) Notice that the psalmist did not say if I become afraid or on the off chance that something frightens me. He said, “when.” This world is not our home and there will be times when we become afraid. We may fear physical things such as storms or darkness. We may fear life changes such as death or children leaving home. Sometimes, we are afraid of failure or inadequacy or being alone. Whatever this life brings that causes our children’s hearts to fear, we must teach them to trust Him in the midst of it.
2. You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you (Song of Solomon 4:7.) Do not kid yourself into thinking that only girls need to hear these words. Sure, girls need to know that their beauty is not determined by the image in the mirror. There will come a day, however, when even our sons will look in the mirror and not like what they see. At some point, our children will make a mistake. They will do something that, in their minds, renders them ugly and unlovable. They need to be reminded that their heavenly Father finds them altogether beautiful.
3. …For He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5.) As much as we want to promise to always be there, it simply is not feasible. There will come a time when our children are no longer in our home. We are only human and, though we would swear otherwise, we will let our kids down. And, though it is not a pleasant thought, we will one day die and leave them to find their way in this world. Teach them that there is One who will never, under any circumstances, abandon them.
4. I have loved you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3.) Worldly love is such a fickle thing. The word is tossed about so casually. Too often, we love people like we love our lattes and we can lose interest at any time. We need to raise our children with the knowledge that God is passionate about them. They need to know that He is positively smitten with His children. His love is the forever kind.

The world will lie to our children. Our homes need to be places of truth.

Let’s teach our children:

God is their safe place. They are beautiful in His eyes. He will never walk away. He is desperately in love with them.

And that is the truth.