Experiencing God at Home (12 page)

5. Which role do you most depend on God to play in your life today?

6. What is one parenting role that you need to overhaul and update? Make specific plans to begin doing that this week.

Chapter 8

God Is Always at Work around Us

Kids, Games, and the Work of God

When we were children, the two of us could play for hours. At one point we could be exploring a prehistoric jungle while trying to avoid child-eating dinosaurs. The next minute we and our merry band of GI Joes would be fighting bad guys. Then we’d be desperados frantically trying to make it to the Mexico border before our mother cornered us and exiled us to our afternoon nap. But invariably, our favorite game to play was Church.

We went to church every Sunday and watched our revered father preaching from the pulpit and ministering to the people. Inspired by his example, we would conduct our own services in our tiny bedroom. We would transform our bunk bed into a platform and pulpit. Tom would be the worship leader, and Richard would be the preacher. Our mother would be the hardened sinner. Since we only had enough floor space for one chair, our congregation was quite meager. But, seeing as our mother was generally the only person available, and in light of the fact we knew she desperately needed a fresh encounter with God, we always enlisted her as our congregant.

Tom would lead the congregation in singing. Our mother would faithfully bellow out the lyrics, and we would enjoy a moving song service. Once that was done, Tom would announce, “And now our pastor is going to come and preach God’s Word to us today.” Richard would mount the pulpit and pull out his Children’s Picture Bible. Because Richard was illiterate at the time, his sermons were not exactly complex. He would invariably preach the same sermon in every service regardless of how many times our tiny congregation met. However, he always preached with passion and a sense of urgency. The title of his message was “The Sin of Spanking Your Children.” As Richard warmed to his theme, he would solemnly declare, “There may be some of you here today who have committed this horrible sin, and now God is convicting you to repent of your evil deeds and return to God!” We’d always feel compelled to extend an altar call so any sinners present could immediately find peace with God. When no one “walked the aisle” during the first two verses, Richard would pause the singing and declare: “Now folks, we’re not in any hurry today. We’re going to continue to sing until
everyone
has been made right with God!” Finally, to bring closure to the ordeal, our mother would dutifully make a public decision, committing herself afresh to be a better mother in the future. We’d then close the service, rejoicing in God’s goodness that day.

While this was all a lot of fun while we were kids, an interesting thing happened. Over twenty years later, Richard became the pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Winnipeg, Canada. Guess who he called a year later to be the worship and education pastor? Tom. The first time our mother attended church where her two oldest children were serving, Richard was sorely tempted to preach on how parents ought to treat their children! But he refrained. Since then, we have both moved on to work at Blackaby Ministries International, where we speak and write together today.

Could our mother have had any idea as she watched her two oldest children playing church that she was being given a glimpse into the future? Even as she might well have wondered what her children would grow up to become, she was unknowingly being given a sneak preview. God was already stirring in our hearts in ways none of us understood. Does this mean that every childhood game is a foretaste of the future? Well, depending on what your kids are currently playing, we certainly hope not! What is true is that God is always at work in and around our children’s lives. But there is a crucial issue: Is it possible for God to be working in our children’s lives and yet for us to miss it? Unfortunately, it is.

Jesus and Children

Of the Seven Realities popularized by
Experiencing God,
undoubtedly the most revolutionary truth is this:
God is always at work around you.
The reason some people struggle with this reality is because there are times in our lives when we do not see anything happening around us bearing any resemblance to the divine. Since we don’t notice God doing anything around us, we assume He must be working at a different address than ours. But the truth is that God
is
at work. We need the Holy Spirit to open our spiritual eyes so we can see what He is doing (Mark 8:17–18).

During a busy time in Jesus’ ministry, a group of children kept swarming around Jesus, wanting to be near Him. How annoying! Everyone was excitedly watching to see if Jesus would perform a miracle, or say something profound, or pass out baskets of food once again. Instead, Jesus seemed preoccupied with the pesky children who wouldn’t leave Him alone. Jesus’ disciples felt responsible for crowd control during these public events. They assumed He needed to focus on the influential people of that city or to prepare His next message. In the Middle Eastern culture of that day, children were to be kept at a respectful distance from the men. So the disciples attempted to shoo the irritating gadflies away from their Rabbi. Jesus, however, instead of rebuking the uninhibited children, chastised His disciples. Scripture says Jesus was “greatly displeased” at the Twelve for preventing the youngsters from coming to Him (Mark 10:13–16; Matt. 19:13–15; Luke 18:15–17). Apparently Jesus perceived something His associates did not. The disciples saw annoying children bothering the adults. Jesus recognized God’s hand at work in the youngest generation, drawing them to the Savior.

God
is
at work in your home. It is imperative that you not miss what He is doing. There are at least four ways God works in your children’s lives. Let’s look at each one.

1. God Works in Your Child

Every human being has a divine purpose. No life is an accident, nor is any person redundant. The Bible teaches that God knew us long before we were born (Ps. 139:15–16). While we were still in our mother’s womb, God understood our full potential (Jer. 1:5). Which raises an extremely important point: How much potential is there in one person God chooses to put on the planet? You might see a normal-looking baby, sleeping in her mother’s arms. But what does God see? What could God do through the life of one person? What victories could God achieve over the enemies of humanity through that individual? What medical cures could God lead someone to discover? What invention could that person create that would alleviate suffering for millions of lives around the world? God knows.

Some children, such as Moses, Samuel, John the Baptist, and Jesus, were answers to people’s prayers. Parents rejoiced at their coming because they offered hope for the future. Other children arrived into the world to parents who had no clue what their child could or would become.

Abraham Lincoln’s father apparently looked upon his big, strapping son as cheap labor. He worked his son almost to death on his farm and then rented him out like a mule to other farmers in an effort to pay off his debts. Abraham so resented his father for the way he treated him that he didn’t invite him to his wedding, nor did he attend his father’s funeral. Abraham’s father never saw the brilliance or statesmanship qualities in his son that would one day make him one of his nation’s greatest presidents.

George Washington’s mother believed her son was forever indebted to her. She continually harassed him about visiting her and taking care of her. Consequently, George did everything within his power to avoid her, even when she lived on his property. His mother clearly did not see in her son the general of the revolutionary forces, her nation’s first president, and an outstanding leader.

The Duke of Wellington was pulled from school when his parents’ finances grew lean. They kept his two brothers in school but withdrew Wellington because he showed so little promise. His parents could never have imagined their unpromising child winning his nation’s greatest battle and becoming its prime minister.

Winston Churchill’s parents regularly ignored him. They saw little promise for his future and rarely spent time with him.

King George VI’s father continually ridiculed him because he stuttered, was bowlegged, and left-handed. His father would have been astonished at how his son led Great Britain through the most gruelling war in its history.

In contrast, Tim Tebow’s mother was encouraged to abort him. While pregnant, she suffered severe health issues that caused the fetus to experience a severe placental abruption. Doctors believed the child would be stillborn and urged the mother to have an abortion to preserve her own life. But, believing God had a purpose for her unborn child, she refused, even though it placed her own life in grave danger. She could not have known that twenty years later, as a professional football player, he would impact millions of people through his Christian witness. But God knew.

As children grow up, God is active in their lives, working out His divine purposes. For young children it might be as simple as the Holy Spirit’s developing in your child a tender heart toward God and His Word. Perhaps as a parent, you notice how carefully your child listens during the pastor’s sermons. Or perhaps your child begins talking about spiritual matters with you and you detect God gently working in his or her life.

God at Work in Richard’s Daughter (A Story from Richard)

Three years ago our ministry held a conference on revival in Atlanta. We had three generations of Blackabys speaking. We also had two generations from Billy Graham’s family: Anne Graham Lotz and Will Graham. It was a great meeting, and we received plenty of positive feedback. My daughter Carrie, who was a second-year university student, attended. She doesn’t often get to be with me in such meetings, so it was a special treat. However, because our ministry was hosting the event, I carried a lot of responsibility and was greatly distracted.

Upon our return home after the conference, I went to my office at home to catch up on e-mails. Carrie stuck her head in the door, wanting to visit. She asked how I thought the meetings had gone. Thinking she might be curious to get the “inside scoop,” I began explaining my observations on the plenary sessions, relating some of the comments we received on evaluation forms. Suddenly, I sensed I was totally “missing it.” The look on Carrie’s face suggested that she did not care much about what the enrollment or book sales amounted to. So, I stopped my analysis and asked her what
she
thought of the meetings.

After offering the obligatory comments about how good it was, she said, “Dad, this weekend I realized that God is calling
me
into some form of ministry too.” I was caught by surprise. Carrie’s two older brothers had already felt God calling them into some form of ministry, but Carrie had always shown a greater proclivity for
shopping
than for church work! (After all, shopping appeared to be her area of spiritual giftedness!) But at that moment I realized that in the commotion of a hectic conference schedule, while I worried about logistics and my own presentations, God was quietly dealing with my daughter. A lot of great things resulted from those meetings, but what I treasure most is what God did in my daughter’s heart.

Of course we can’t peer into our children’s minds to see what God is doing there, so parents must watch for clues that a divine work is occurring. We do this by observing their behavior, carefully listening to what they say, praying with and for them, and being sensitive to what the Holy Spirit alerts us about them.

2. God Is at Work around Your Children

Not only will God work in the heart of your child, but He will also seek to involve them in His activity. There are numerous stories in the Bible describing how God invited children and youth to join His activity. Perhaps Moses’ parents wondered what God was doing when the daughter of Pharaoh plucked their child out of the bulrushes and adopted him as her own (Exod. 2:1–10). One wonders what Jesse mused when his youngest son killed a lion and a bear while defending the flock (1 Sam. 17:34–35), or when he learned that his young son had killed the fearsome giant Goliath (1 Sam. 17:49). We can’t help but speculate what the boy’s mother told him upon learning he had taken the lunch of fishes and loaves she had packed for him and surrendered it to the Rabbi Jesus who wanted to feed the multitude (John 6:8–9). In hindsight, it’s clear that God had a special purpose for these children. Unfortunately there are times when God is working through the lives of young people, but the adults are oblivious to what is happening.

Missing the Work of God

Our father was once speaking at a church during its Sunday morning and evening services. At the close of the morning service, he extended an altar call. An elementary-aged girl came to the front of the auditorium, kneeled at the stage, and began praying. Our father felt impressed to go up and pray with the young girl. She was asking God to help her best friend become a Christian. At the close of the evening service, that same girl walked down the aisle with another young girl in tow. It was her friend she had prayed for that morning. The friend was coming to ask Christ to be her Lord and Savior. At the close of the service, the pastor dutifully introduced the young convert to the people and began to go through the normal protocol of having the church vote to receive her as a new member. Our father called out to the pastor, “You’re hiding the activity of God!” He then explained to the congregation what had happened that morning. God had been working in that young girl’s life, giving her a burden for the salvation of her friend. God answered her prayer, and that evening that friend prayed to become a Christian. The adults in the service were merely going through the formality of inducting a new church member onto the church roll, but none of them had recognized the wonderful work God had done that day. The pastor and the congregation, ultimately repented of their spiritual carelessness and pledged to be more alert to what God was doing in their midst. Unfortunately, this happens all the time. God is often at work in the lives of young people, but we do not recognize what is happening.