heb-12-11-500sq> No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. -Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)

It sure is easy to teach kids about how loving God is when times are good, but how do you teach them He’s still loving and supporting them when times aren’t? Every parent struggles with this, me included. I want to be sure that my child doesn’t think God is absent when the going gets rough.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I think, “How can I teach kids how to live when I’m still figuring it out?!?”

I’ve found that the basics of biblical concepts taught to children are not just a great primer for them, but as a refresher for us! I read a very encouraging article about concepts to teach them, as well as applications for them. The concepts are:

  1. Trials will come…especially because we follow Christ.
  2. God cares about all we endured and we can give them to Him to walk us through.
  3. The trials will shape, strengthen, and refine them into stronger Christians.
  4. God does not abandon us during these trials. He knows pain far more than we, having suffered for us.
  5. God will comfort them and use these trials to make them even more useful to His kingdom.
  6. Donning the full armor of God will help them, and those watching them, in these times.
  7. Learn to be dependent on the Lord’s power, and not be fooled into thinking they are strong enough on their own.
  8. God does reward those who are faithful and persevere in their trials.

Please read the article to see how to apply them. You may be surprised that you could apply some of these to your own life–I know I can!

Most of all, as the children of God who are the earthly guides for His younger children (who may not yet have come to Him as their Lord and savior), we are tasked with modeling Christ-dependent behavior to them. In all we say and do–the outward fruit of the Spirit in us–we are teaching by example how to trust in God.

We are all His children, and sometimes age is irrelevant of where we are in terms of maturity in our walk. Regardless of our age, our walk comes down to simply doing our all to live as Christ did, completely trusting in God for all aspects of our lives, because we know He works through all things for our good (Romans 8:28), and that His plans for us are good (Jeremiah 29:11).