Opening the Bible is a helpful thing to do when your worries are keeping you up at night. The minute we hold our child in our arms we vow to love them with our whole being for the rest of our lives. The only problem with this depth of love is that it comes with a huge amount of fear: fear of our children being hurt, getting lost, getting sick, dying, fear of our lack of parenting skills … The list is endless, and these fears continue long after our children have left home.
As is frequently the case with oft-unfounded fears — or worries about things that are beyond our control — they often come to us late at night, filling us with dark thoughts that get worse as the hours pass. So while we might be tempted to open a book to distract us, we recommend turning to the Good Book to help assuage our fears and set us on a path of trust and hope.
In 1 John 4:18, we are reminded to look to our Heavenly Father for comfort. After all, God is love and the strength of His love can cast out fear we may have: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.”
This thought is echoed in the Acts of the Apostles, where Peter points out that through our baptism we are given the great gift of the Holy Spirit and He remains with us always:
“Peter [said] to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:38-39
If we look to Paul’s message in Philippians 4:6-7, he encourages us to let go of our fears by sharing our needs with God and focusing on gratitude in order to find peace:
“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
To surrender our fears about our children, we must continue to go deeper in our own trust and faith in God — who loves our children more than we ever could. Turning to Scripture helps us do that.
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