Maranatha Messenger

Maranatha Messenger
WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT?

First of all, parents don’t give in. Depending on the personality of your daughter, she may try to wear your patience thin. Should she possess a strong willed personality, she may very well attempt to wear you down. Don’t be surprised if she challenges you. Deep down in the recesses of her heart she is hoping you will give in. But keep in mind, the very future of your daughter is at stake. Hold your ground! Trust in God’s infallible counsel! Don’t give up on the Bible!

Secondly, don’t doubt. Your daughter may interpret your doubt as a sign of you giving in. The slightest amount of doubt will bring confusion to this situation. James tells us,

“If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith,
nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any
thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:5-8).

The Greek word diakrino {wavering, wavereth} is also translated “doubt” five times. This dipsuchos{double minded} man or more literally “the doubting man” will be dominated by instability and confusion. James tells us this individual “will not receive any thing from the Lord.” In other words, God will not answer his prayer. Be firm in your faith! Daddy, you know that your position is right. Don’t you dare second guess yourself. Furthermore, don’t you dare disbelief God’s perfect counsel.

Thirdly, don’t give up. If it appears that you are not getting through to your daughter youmay be tempted to get discouraged and give up. This is probably the worst thing you could do! To accept defeat and give up is like handing your daughter over to Satan. While you may not be able to control your child’s actions you can control your faith. Your can control your belief in God’s infallible Word. Do your part and put the rest in God’s omnipotent hands. By all means, don’t give up!

Fourthly, don’t over react. If you lose control, you will lose your daughter. At this point your choices are going to be limited. You can choose to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) or you can choose to be filled with anger (Luke 4:28). The question is, “who is going to control you?” Will you be controlled by the Holy Spirit or will you be controlled by anger? The choice is yours! By the way, I understand you didn’t choose this situation that has come into your life. However, you do choose how you will handle this situation in your life. You choose how you will respond! How you respond will
make all the difference in the world. Don’t over react!

Fifthly, attempt to spend more time with your daughter. Arrange what I call “special connection sessions.” A connection session is an event planned by the parent in order to get closer to the child. For instance, a shopping trip would be a wonderful connection session for a mother and daughter. Perhaps a lunch date or even a movie would be an example of a connection session for daddy and daughter. By the way, I recommend only one parent for these bonding sessions. The purpose of the connection session is to tie a string from your heart to your daughter’s. You must get close enough to strike a cord or
make a tender connection with your daughter’s heart. If both parents go, your child might feel like she’s being ganged up on. The goal is heart to heart, to make a connection, to tie the proverbial string from the parent’s heart to the daughter’s heart.

Without a doubt, the next few weeks are going to be very important. Your daughter’s future literally hangs in the balance. May God grant to you His wisdom and the ability to communicate His Word in a logical matter to your daughter.

What do you do when you don’t know what to do? Embrace the scriptures! They are God’s guidebook for life. Always remember “the entrance of God’s word gives light; it gives understanding unto the simple” (Psalm 119:130). The Hebrew word pethach {entrance} means to open or to unfold. In other words, the opening of God’s Word sheds light on any subject. Open your Bibles! Unfold you Bibles! God’s Word always gives direction! Furthermore, it gives biyn {understanding} wisdom to the pthiy {simple} or naïve. This phrase simply means, the Word of God gives direction to those who don’t know what to do! So if you don’t know what to do, remember, God has written a how to do book! It’s called the Bible! Read it!


Class Exercise

1. Parents, what are some ways you can communicate love to your daughter?
2. Your daughter must be convinced that you have her best interest at heart. As a parent how can you show her this?
3. Do you personally believe prayer will help this situation? How should you pray?
4. What is a special connection session? What activities would you recommend?
5. Why is time so important in this situation?