Family Defense

“My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.” (Pr 27:11 AV)

It is a wonderful thing that your family is your defense against the accusations of others.  When those who criticize are put to silence when you point out the success of your children, it is a pleasure beyond words.  The real blessing comes when the words of the adversary are true words.  He may accuse you of a failure or two.  In response, you can point to the godly family God has provided as an adequate defense.  We may not be perfect.  But our children love the LORD and serve Him faithfully.  The adversary may be able to hurl his fiery darts, but they cannot stick within a shield of God’s blessing.  Our kids are not perfect.  They have their own issues.  Sin is a struggle with them, as well.  What the adversary cannot defeat is a family that has a pattern of loving God.  What a blessing!

The LORD has blessed me with three sons, three amazing daughters-in-law, and six wonderful grandchildren.  They serve the LORD faithfully in the church to which God called them.  Again, they are not perfect.  No one is.  I am sure they have made their fair share of mistakes.  They have probably fallen their fair share of times.  But there they are.  They bounce back and continue on.  Through my dark times, it was always my sons who shined the brightest.  When I am passed over for preacher fellowships because I am not from the right school, it is my sons who are my pleasure and joy.  When I am looked down on because I don’t pastor a prominent church, it is my sons and their families who shine the brightest.  When no one knows my name and is not aware of the sacrifices my wife and I have made, it is the testimony and service of my extended family that speaks louder than I ever could.

To say that preachers get discouraged is an understatement.  The adversary wants to take every failure we have ever done and magnify it to the point we become too ashamed to do anything for God.  Like Joshua the priest of Zechariah, Satan loves to point out our faults and make them so big that even God cannot overcome them.  His desire is to neutralize us.  He wants us to feel so ashamed of what we are or what we have done that, in our own eyes, we are incapable of bringing glory to God no matter what God does.  It is at these low times I can point to my family.  The devil may think I am a failure, and I might agree with him, but at least I did something right.  That is the blessing of a godly family.

As a child, you may not think your life has as much of an impact.  But to your father, it means all the world.  Your humility and faith are his defense against a merciless enemy that wants to destroy him.  No, you are not perfect.  You never will be on this side of glory.  But how you choose to live your life before the LORD could save your father from a bottomless pit of disappointment and self-loathing.  As Paul said of his spiritual children, “For what [is] our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? [Are] not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?” (1Th 2:19 AV)  So, thank you Nathan, Zack, and Joshua!  Thank you, Rebecca, Stephanie, and Emily.  Thank you, Kaitlyn, Titus, Remington, Chloe, Jude, and Kaymarie! You are my defense against the attacks of someone who seeks my downfall. Thank you!