You may notice that there is no passage for today’s entry.  That is on purpose.  Today is about a period of time in Israel’s history; a phase they went through. This period of recovery from rebellion and stubbornness lasted 40 years.  Years of wandering, waiting and wisdom building.  Years of delayed hope and distance from slavery.  They needed to grow up.  It was just a phase.

If you have children, you will be familiar with that saying, “It’s just a phase.”  There will be periods of time where we wonder what switch went off in our child and turned them into something different.  We comfort ourselves with sayings like, “They’ll grow out of it” or “I went through the same thing when I was their age.”  But a phase is only a phase if things change.  God changed His people in the wilderness.  They went from frightened complainers to ready warriors.  They left behind slavery and took hold of a servants heart toward God.

The various phases our children go through will bring varying challenges.  Each will require us to seek God’s help and rediscover the meaning of patience.  Some will be more difficult for us to understand because we have never experienced before.  Others will hit a familiar cord because they remind us of our own struggles toward maturity and wholeness in Christ.  God knows what we are going through and will help us if we cry out to Him.

Lord, grant me the wisdom and patience to walk my children through the phases of their lives.  Help me to understand their unique personalities and minister to their needs.  Give me a loving heart, an understanding mind and a firm hand to lead them. Amen.

You may notice that there is no passage for today’s entry.  That is on purpose.  Today is about a period of time in Israel’s history; a phase they went through. This period of recovery from rebellion and stubbornness lasted 40 years.  Years of wandering, waiting and wisdom building.  Years of delayed hope and distance from slavery.  They needed to grow up.  It was just a phase.

If you have children, you will be familiar with that saying, “It’s just a phase.”  There will be periods of time where we wonder what switch went off in our child and turned them into something different.  We comfort ourselves with sayings like, “They’ll grow out of it” or “I went through the same thing when I was their age.”  But a phase is only a phase if things change.  God changed His people in the wilderness.  They went from frightened complainers to ready warriors.  They left behind slavery and took hold of a servants heart toward God.

The various phases our children go through will bring varying challenges.  Each will require us to seek God’s help and rediscover the meaning of patience.  Some will be more difficult for us to understand because we have never experienced before.  Others will hit a familiar cord because they remind us of our own struggles toward maturity and wholeness in Christ.  God knows what we are going through and will help us if we cry out to Him.

Lord, grant me the wisdom and patience to walk my children through the phases of their lives.  Help me to understand their unique personalities and minister to their needs.  Give me a loving heart, an understanding mind and a firm hand to lead them. Amen.