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Our behavior is heart driven. Therefore, correction, discipline and training, every aspect of parenting, must be addressed to the heart. The fundamental task of parenting is shepherding the hearts of your children. Author Tedd Tripp says it best:
“…parenting is concerned with shepherding the heart. You must learn to work back from the behavior you see to the heart, exposing heart issues for your children. In short, you must learn to engage them, not just reprove them. Help them see the ways that they are trying to slake [satisfy] their soul’s thirst with that which cannot satisfy. You must help your kids gain a clear focus on the cross of Christ.”
Our children are blessings given to us by God and their hearts are your stewardship from God. He expects you to do your part in raising them to know and love Him. The good news is He has given you all you need in Him to accomplish his purposes. The heart is the best place to start!
The prophet Samuel spoke for God when he rebuked Saul for failing to obey God’s specific instructions (1 Samuel 13). Over and over again as reported in 1 Samuel, Saul overstepped the bounds God set for him. On several occasions he specifically disobeyed God. Although he was very careful to offer prescribed sacrifices to Him, Saul failed to offer God the ultimate sacrifice—obedience from a heart wholly devoted to Him (1 Samuel 15:22).
Finally, after one extremely serious act of disobedience, God sent Samuel to Saul with a twofold message: “Your kingdom shall not continue” and “The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).
God was communicating something along this order—”Saul, you’re through as king. I’ve put up with your rebellious, unresponsive heart long enough, and now I’ve found just the right man to serve Me. This man who will take your place is a man with a responsive heart, a man with a heart of obedience, a man who will follow all My commands, fulfill all My desires, and do all My will.”
This is where we witness two very different kinds of hearts—the heart of David and the heart of Saul.
David was a man’s man, well-known for his physical prowess and might as a warrior. Still, he was humbly dependent upon God, trusting in Him and repeatedly acknowledging, “The Lord is the strength of my life” (Psalm 27:1). Saul, on the other hand, was proud. He relied on his own skill, his own wisdom and judgment, and his arm of flesh.
God gave both of these kings opportunities to lead Israel, but in the end they walked down different paths—Saul away from God and David toward Him.
How’s your heart? The heart God delights in is compliant, cooperative, and responsive to Him and His commands.
When you train your children, be sure to look to their heart for insight into the behavior. Pray and ask God to reveal their hearts to you so that you can parent them better. And don’t forget that being a good role model is Godly parenting at its finest.
Jesus, I love you with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength. Write your commandments upon my heart and the hearts of my children. Impress them on my family. Remind me to talk about them when I sit at home and when I walk along the road, when I lie down and when I get up. Amen.
In One Minute With the Men of the Bible by Jim George, you can start or end your day with powerful one-minute reminders of how God can work in your life—as seen through and in the lives of men in the Bible. You'll find encouragement for your own faith journey as you meet Abraham, Jonathan, David, and many others. Through these examples and more, you'll learn how God will stand with, help, and provide for you—and you'll grow more and more aware of His amazing love for you.
How’s your heart? The heart God delights in is compliant, cooperative, and responsive to Him and His commands.
God gave both of these kings opportunities to lead Israel, but in the end they walked down different paths—Saul away from God and David toward Him.
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Jim and Elizabeth George are bestselling authors and national speakers dedicated to helping people live a life after God’s own heart. Together, they have written over 150 books with more than 14 million copies sold around the world. For over 35 years, the teachings and steadfast example of Elizabeth and Jim have helped countless men and women:
Jim and Elizabeth George are bestselling authors and national speakers dedicated to helping people live a life after God’s own heart. Together, they have written over 150 books with more than 14 million copies sold around the world. For over 35 years, the teachings and steadfast example of Elizabeth and Jim have helped countless men and women:
When something difficult happens in your life, are you ever tempted to ask, “What good could come out of this?” The event looks like a disaster. It feels like a disaster. Therefore, we quickly conclude, it is a disaster! But God did not forget His people who were suffering in Babylon. And, my friend, He won’t forget you!
Too many times in the past I’ve told others “I’m fine” in order to hide my pain and sorrows from them. The truth is, my thoughts pulled me down so far that, in private, tears regularly streamed down my face. Are you constantly thinking negative thoughts? Being a woman after God’s own heart is all about “minding your mind.”
As a young mother, I endeavored to “train a child in the way he should go,” so that “when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). A decade later, however, I wasn’t reaping the results I had expected. Angrily, I said to God, “But this isn’t the way it was supposed to be! This isn’t the way it went for this family here or that family over there. And this isn’t the way it was supposed to be for my family!”