Dr. Ray Pritchard Christian Blog and Commentary

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God is a Better Parent Than We Are

  • Dr. Ray Pritchard
    Dr. Ray Pritchard is the president of Keep Believing Ministries, an Internet-based ministry serving Christians in 225 countries. He is the author of 29 books, including Stealth Attack, Fire and Rain,… More
  • Published Jun 02, 2006

A few years ago, when we needed some encouragement, the Lord put this thought into my wife's heart: "God is a better parent than we are." No matter how much we love our children, he loves them even more. No matter how much we want the best for them, he wants it even more than we do, and he truly knows what it is best. Not only that, he can see from where they are to where he wants them to be, and no matter where the starting point is, he knows how to lead them from here to there. And he does it infallibly, and with an abundance of wisdom and a generous helping of tender mercy, and he wastes nothing along the way.

Sometimes parents look at their children, especially when they seem to be far from the Lord, and we feel hopeless or guilty or angry or frustrated, or maybe all of the above, and we wonder where God is in the midst of our pain. There are many ways to answer that, but this much is certain. He is not silent or absent or uncaring. Nor is he stumped or surprised by young people who seem to have rejected all they have been taught.

God is a better parent than we are. That's really good news for those times when we've blown it. Because he loves our children far more than we do, he will lead them even when they don't know they are being led. He can bring them back to himself, though the road back may be long and hard and torturous, though it may seem to go in circles or even be going backwards for a season.

At some point we must relinquish our children into his hands and say, "Lord, they belong to you. Always have, always will." They never were ours to start with. It is so hard to yield them to the Lord, but it is made easier if we remember that his love never fails, that he knows what he is doing, and that he is a better parent than we are.

You can reach the author at  ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email sermon.