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Psalm 119:105

Reflect

What do you do when you’re not sure what to do? Of course, our children (at a young age at least) think we know everything. They can’t imagine that we may not know all the answers to all the maths questions in their textbooks, or that we can’t speak another language fluently!

But what do we do when we’re stood at a crossroads needing to make a decision that could have a significant impact on our kids’ lives? The truth is, these decisions come up more regularly than we’d like.

Which school should we send our children to? Will that get them into our preferred secondary school? Where shall we live? Close to family, close to school or church? Which after school activity can we afford to send our child to? Which church would be a good fit for our children’s spiritual growth?

There are so many decisions to make in family life, and those are just a small selection.

Psalm 119:105 is a brilliant verse in the Bible to meditate on this week. The psalmist makes this declaration, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet, a light for my path.” We’ve been given everything we need to gain access to the knowledge and wisdom of heaven, through the words of scripture.

Have you ever gone for a walk and it has become dark quicker than you thought it would? Most of us would immediately seek out our phone and shine that trusted light on the floor in front of our feet. The light is strongest when it is shone immediately before us, guiding each and every step.

This is such a good visual reminder for us to grasp hold of – that God’s word, his guidance and his help in times of need, is available to us each and every day through the Bible. We may know it, but sometimes it’s good to remind ourselves how valuable this incredible gift is.

In the book of Proverbs, Solomon, a man blessed with great wisdom, encourages us with these words, “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track” (Proverbs 3:5-6; The Message translation).

It’s incredible that God chooses to speak to and guide us. I guess the question is – how can we listen to his voice in ‘everything’ we do and ‘everywhere’ we go? How can we turn our ears to hear these directions more in the middle of our busy days as a family?

As Christian parents, we want our children to grow up to know and love God, but we also want to teach them how to listen for his voice too. This week, how could you model this to your children?  How can we develop a listening ear as adults, which will help our children to see that we highly value communicating with God?

We don’t learn these communication skills in the middle of the crisis. Often the chaotic moments of our life are noisy, tiring and difficult to navigate. We learn to hear from God, through his written and spoken word, in the small, mundane, everyday routines.

Remember

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105

Family idea

Learn this week’s memory verse by writing each word on a separate piece of paper. Place the pieces on the floor and turn the lights off. Use a torch to find the words and then say the verse together. You could make this harder for older kids by hiding each piece of paper around the house and then get them to use the torch to find them. They can then bring the words back to one room, arrange the verse and remember it together.