Fear

Every day for the past year or so, I have this nagging fear that my children (8 and 6)will be taken from me.When I say taken, I mean by death.Now there is no reason for this fear as neither child is ill,Thank God, or in dangers way.It's like the devil keeps this thought alive by saying that GOD took Jobs children in the bible and he can do it to me. Now I know that it is a possibilty,but I am not like Job. I couldnt be so perfect as he was to where GOD offers him over to Satan.Can anyone point me to a passage in the bible that can reassure me? Now, I know there are no assurances in life, except death (and taxes!),so why I have this notion, I dont know.
Now I dont mean to blow this out of proportion.I am not getting anxiety attacks or missing work because of the thoughts, but the thought still lingers within me. I read about Leonard Ravenhills mother saying to GOD to either make her son a preacher (or something like that)or else kill him. Now I would never make that offer to GOD.Is this a normal fear or irrational?
Thanks for letting me vent!
God Bless
John

Now I would never make that offer to GOD.

John, might I suggest that perhaps there lodges in your heart a slight idolatry towards your children? Unless you recognize them as a gift of God, and are willing to put them on the altar and offer them as a sacrifice to God, like Abraham was prepared to do with Isaac, then we risk turning the gift of God into an idol. For if there is something in your heart that takes the place of God, then that is a subtle form of idolatry.

Job had his children taken from him. Yet, the same Job was able to say, "though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" (Job 13:15). We must be willing to entrust everything we have to God, even our very lives, and so much so that even should God kill us, we will trust Him while He does it. If we are able to trust God in such a way, then we should be able trust Him for the lives of our children as well.

[u][b]Deuteronomy 6:1-8 (NKJV)[/b][/u]

“Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, [b]that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.[/b] Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. [b]You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.[/b] You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

Brother, I truly understand your fears. I myself have had these before and sometimes these thoughts still creep in. My wickedness can always think up something horrible that may happen to my children. I struggle with this my brother. You are not alone.

In my opinion, we need to focus on what the Lord is saying, not what we are thinking. We are to train up our children in His ways and help them to begin to walk in His ways. If we do this, and our children walk with Him, we can know that death has been conquered for our children through the blood of the Lamb.

In my opinion, the fear of death for our children is bearable if we know that we will walk with them again along side the Father.

Also, fear is good, just as long as it is directed in the right place. :-)

Yes KingJimmy, but Job also blew it in Chapter 3 and decried his birth, and also later int eh book actually questioned God's goodness, and character.

Yet God still said that he was righteous.

Brother jamccor,
Never be afraid to be honest with the Lord about things. He knows, and is putting His finger on this.

His grace will enable you, but it will not be easy. I know because I had a similar feeling about my wife for a time. I still struggle at times with this.

I find myself wondering if God desires me to be ascetic(without feelings), but then I realize that the feelings must be governed by Him.

It is difficult brother, but rejoice in that it will produce a sweetness, and also that the pain and struggle will give way to the risen Son beaming forth in glory.

Maybe, one of the reasons I feel this way is because the pastor at my church doesnt think children are "ready" to be baptised until they are 12. Now I have been baptized and also my wife and I have been saved years before my baptism.Would getting my children baptized or at least lead them to the Lord ease my fears? Even so, I have been listening to a lot of Paul Washer,to the point where I am not so sure how to lead someone to christ anymore!
I have a terrible habit of worrying.Doctors would call it something like OCD.I call it sinning or having little faith.I even told GOD that I did not want to surrender my children to him.Now I only have these fears for my little guy and girl.
How can I lead them to the Lord and maybe save myself ,and them, much heartache? My son is 8 and my daughter is 6. They both come with me and my wife to church and participate in many church activities during the week.I teach them all they can handle about the bible everyday.What more can I do besides pray and pray? But maybe its not the praying that I need to focus on, but WHAT I am praying for? Should I tell GOD that I am surrendering them to him (even though they are his anyway).As you can tell, I am thourougly confused here. I do appreciate the scripture verses and I will study them more.
GOD Bless
John

Dear Brother,

I know all to well the subtle, nagging thing called fear and of course I'd be foolish to think that you wouldn't be aware of the source.

The fear of losing our children is extremely common and Satan simply knows how to hit us in a vulnurable place.

When I was plagued by this in light of my own children,(one son is still inconverted and in a place where most parents would be never hope their children to have to go) I truly had to come to a place of complete dependency of the truth of God's word.

Proverbs 3:4-6 was a mainstay. We must simply trust him. He does not purposely allow us to experience hardships or trials just to cause us to fall. I remember reading in Job the conversation that Satan had before God and that he was given only specific permission on what he could do. I get the impression that both Job and Abraham were were extremely solid in their walks and that is why they were allowed to endure such trials.

I was so tested reguarding my son at one point, that I truly feared for his life and arrived finally at a point where I laid him at Jesus' feet because I was too weary to carry that burden.

God has proven himself faithful.

Each bruise, cut , and close call are all monitered closely by the Lord. My grandchildren are just as precious to me and when I babysit I give their care over to Him as well.

The biggest thing I realized was that Satan tries to make God the one that can't be trusted. It has been a stretch of events in my life that have proven to me that not a thing can occur unless He allows it, and that if something does happen, I trust Him. This does not happen instantly.

If anything happens to myself or my children, I have come to accept it as a testimony in the making. Five years ago, I couldn't say that emphatically.

I will pray that you will witness His great protection over your precious ones. No matter how minute, fear does have torment.

God Bless, Kathleen

Kathleen
I so appreciate your prayers and also you sharing what you went through. Its encouraging to read what others have been through in their walk with Christ.
God Bless

Jamcor,

So you fear for your children....may I suggest that is not uncommon at all? When I was a young mother, Khrushchev had declared they were going to take over the US and that was during the time I was birthing children. Talk about fear! Brother, I had a huge dose of it! I worked hard to teach my children Bible verses, told them Bible stories and they responded real well. Well, when 1973 rolled around and Khrushchev had not met his goal and that it did not look like it would in the near future, I relaxed in my urgency in teaching my children .... Now in hind site I see this was a very wrong thing for me to do!

Here I am now - our oldest child is 40 YO and the youngest is 27 and we have 10 grandchildren. From my perspective in mothering five children, I have learned a few more things about 'fear' and raising children.

Brother, may I suggest that you pray asking the LORD to take this child now if by living he/she would grow up and live for self and sin. Can't stand to bury a child? Brother, that grief will be a whole lot easier then to see a child walk away from God! I promise you! Been there, done that! We buried a 25 YO daughter and while that was sad, God was with us, comforting us. We also have two who are not walking with the LORD and that grieves us so much more - this is far worse then to bury a child who is ready to meet God! I promise! Know why? Because God grieves, too. When you bury a child ready to meet God, there is joy in heaven and you will experience some of this, but when a child apostasies, God grieves and there is no comfort, none. You learn to trust God (or go crazy) for this person and you just keep praying, knowing you are praying for something that is God's will and that He knows all about it and will work to this end to bring about reconciliation. If they refuse....it will not be because they did not know but because they made that choice. That is the awful reality ...

Blessings to you and may you learn to rest in the LORD to do with your children as he sees best,
ginnyrose

ginnyrose
What a testimony! I dont think I could ever be as strong as you and tell GOD to either let my children die or else,let them walk with HIM.This is such a hard task for me to do.I would never want them to become an apostasy,but I would still love them no matter what. Please pray for me to be strong enough to do what you suggested.This will be my prayer until I am released from fear.
GOD Bless

If you love your children, you will give them to God - for only in Him are they safe. Only in Him is there no fear. He is such a wonderful, merciful Saviour, but you must trust Him. Your fear is a sign of unbelief - and until you believe, you have reason to fear. Ask Him to show this to you. He is worthy to be praised.

Dedicate your children to the Lord and teach them
to keep His Word and follow in His ways. Know
that He will keep and preserve them as long as
you stay faithful and obedient. Love God and
love your children, there is no fear in love!!

. . . there is no fear in love!!

I don't think I could ever be as strong as you

jamccor, I came to this conclusion AFTER experiencing the death of a child and the apostasy of another. I was told this when I was a young mother and I fought it. I could never understand this sentiment either. Experience is a relentless teacher. Too bad I was such a stubborn and slow learner....

Your reluctance is normal and I understand it perfectly. Wish I could do a few things over, but you know what, there is no guarantee the outcome would have been different. Sobering, is it not?

God bless you brother. Parenting is a tough job. One that never ends, even after they leave the nest. Just remember your children are given to you as a loan from God, entrusted to you for safe keeping. Since this is the case, he can at will recall that loan. So in the meantime, enjoy that 'loan'. When I came to this understanding after our 25 YO daughter died, I was filled with incredible joy that God had loaned her to us for 25 years! Why if he had not given her to us at all, how much poorer our lives would have been! So we had her for 25 years, she gave us two beautiful grandchildren, she was fun and a pleasure to have around; served the LORD with diligence. We were blessed by her presence. Finally, it was time to say 'Good-bye' and we did and thanked the LORD for allowing us to have her. Now we must get on with life, there is other work to be done. And so we have been busy since and do not lament our loss all that much. This comfort is rooted in reality and comes from God.

Your concern for your children is an encouragement to this grandmother. Keep the faith, brother and do not worry about the future. Just be faithful today and tomorrow will take care of itself. And I will pray for you.

Blessings,
ginnyrose

Reply

The following verses are key in my understanding the book of Job.

Job 3:26
For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.

Fearing is breaking the commandant of Jesus to “fear not”. Lean on The everlasting Arm..

When we become old we come face to face with our biggest fear. Those that live on have faced death and have the victory.

Eddie

Thank You all for your replies. I am learning through all of your testimonies that what I have is unbelief. I know I can trust the Lord and should have known all along. The devil has fooled me into thinking my children are mine when, as ginnyrose has said, they are really on loan to me. I must change my mindset and live as the Lord teaches,to lean not on my own understanding.I am so sorry for your loss ginny and all others who may have lost children. What a wonderful testament it is to be appreciative when the Lord takes back what is his,and not complain and grumble.That is amazing faith and obediance!
GOD Bless
John

Oh, just wait until you see how much more beautiful your children will be when you see them as His! There is much blessedness in faith and obedience - for God's way is perfect, and in Him lies perfection - your family will become like a beautiful garden full of life and light, but only in so much as you trust and obey.