What does “complacency shaken” look like?
This is what it looks like:
His religious complacency was shattered. There was no great conviction of sin, but he knew there was a gulf between him and God, and a deeper concern for his eternal destiny than for any of the affairs of this life possessed his mind.
The excerpt above is from a book titled “Rees Howells, Intercessor” by Norman Grubbs. There is one particular part that pierced my heart as a mother.
Let me give you a little background first. Rees Howells was a young man from Wales. When he was in his early 20’s, he desired to make money in America. Rees had a cousin in America and there were also boys from his village who migrated to America and who shared how wonderful it was with everyone back in Wales. They also shared about the money they were making – earning more in one day than they could earn in a week in Wales. So off to America he went.
He went to Pittsburgh where his cousin was and he worked in the steel mill. Rees always was a godly man and had an awareness of God in his life. However, one night, his cousin asked him if he had been “born again?” Rees didn’t know how to respond and after repeatedly being asked the same question, he ran. His complacency was shaken.
He moved 100 miles away from his cousin.
But he said the “gracious Hound of Heaven was on his trail…”
You see, Rees lived a “good” life. He never knowingly or willingly sinned. He never joined in debauchery with the others in his village. He made God a priority in his life but he said,
I was outside the Kingdom, which all my good life and religion had never enabled me to enter.
Do you hear those words?
We can be so very very good in this life but if we are not in intimacy with Him, it is all for nothing. For Rees, the day came when he was to meet his risen Lord. He was struck with typhoid fever and he was facing death. He said he found fear for the first time. Then he said something that stabbed me straight in the heart. PARENTS READ THESE WORDS. As Rees was facing death with typhoid fever, he said:
Thank God my parents were not there to take that fear from me.
He had to face eternity alone so that he could meet God.
This is solid truth for each one of us. Rees promised God if He would spare his life, his life would be God’s and He did just that. I encourage everyone to get this book and read it if you want your own complacency shaken!
Do you see those words above that a 22 year old uttered when facing death? He was glad his parents were not there. If his mom and dad would have been there, he may never have met Jesus face-to-face. I can’t get these words out of my head and my heart’s deepest cry is that I will never take that fear from my own children.
It is so easy to want to take all of life’s struggles and darkness from our children. But in doing so, we are robbing them of their own need for a Savior. And if we do not have a Savior, we are not saved.
Here are three truths that I’ve learned as a mother that I’d like to share with anyone who has ears to hear:
Truth #1 – Don’t try to fix your child’s brokenness.
Only God can fix our brokenness. Brokenness is a good thing even though it is so hard. It is where we each need to get to in our journey so that we can see Jesus on the Cross. Seeing Jesus on the Cross is the first step to healing and wholeness. When we can actually see Him suffering and dying a death that was meant for us, it gets real.
Truth #2 – Don’t hide your brokenness from your child.
Our children look up to their parents and often walk in their footsteps. It’s okay to show your children your own brokenness and allow them to see how God put you back together. Unlike Humpty Dumpty, our KING can put us back together again!
Don’t hide the transforming power of God. Just a note, when I say to show and tell with your children, make sure they are of an age where they understand what you are sharing. 🙂
Truth #3 – Don’t create a glass house.
When we create a glass house, we make it impossible for our children to fail. If we’re not careful, we can easily get caught in the comparison trap thinking that everyone else’s life is perfect so ours needs to be as well. This is a negative result of social media. Everyone puts their best face forward on social media. Don’t compare because no one is perfect. Every single life has brokenness. Every. Single. Life. No exceptions.
When we create the “perfect” home and failure comes creeping in, we often don’t know how to handle it. And our children do not know how to handle it if we haven’t taught them. It is a very important part of life and a very important part of our children’s life.
Failure is healthy and further points us to our raw need of a Savior and Healer.
I know for me personally, parenting is one of the toughest jobs I’ve been called to in this life and I am so thankful that God is teaching me along the way. Here’s my prayer for all of us today:
Dear Father,
Thank You for the precious children that You’ve given us to raise. We know that they are Your children first. Help us and guide us day-by-day. Line our hearts up with Your heart. Use our lives to teach our children. Father, we thank You for showing us throughout Your Word how You want us to raise our children. Give each of us a deep desire for more of Your Word.
Surround our children with people who have a heart and deep love for Jesus. Let them witness to our children through their living. Give us parents the discernment to know when to step in and when to step out. Help us to never step in when only You can. We thank You and give You all the praise and glory.
In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen♥
Stay in the Light and Love always,
Eva
