A word-picture expresses a child’s God-given worth in a creative, compelling and unforgettable way, and it often becomes the prophetic momentum for them to actually become that vision. Do that for your child. Paint a picture of their special value and their significant future. Discern God’s thumbprint for their life and prophetically speak that into their spirit and you’ll provide them with a self-renewing blessing. Intentionally give them that blessing now and you will give your child an incredible destiny!
Going Deep // Focus: 1 Chronicles 28:8-10
David said to Solomon, “So now, with God as our witness, and in the sight of all Israel—the Lord’s assembly—I give you this charge. Be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land and leave it to your children as a permanent inheritance. And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.”
Ultimately, your child’s walk with God will be their responsibility. When they are of age, they will choose how close they will be to God, or not. But along the way, as they are growing and developing under your stewardship, being a compelling example of full devotion to God and being unwaveringly intentional about passing your spirituality on to them is the best energy you can spend as a parent.
Unfortunately, too many Christian parents today, although they love their children and have the best of intentions regarding their kids spirituality, leave it up to others to shape their future relationship with God. King David didn’t do that, and neither should you. And what David is doing for Solomon in this chapter, although Solomon is an adult at this point—which also reminds us that if parenting is done well, the job of parent is never done—is envisioning for him a special future.
God has engineered your child with the seeds of success—and as their parent, it is your duty to see and prophetically speak that potential into your child’s spirit. Much of what a child needs to reach their potential is an adult who understands God’s thumbprint for them and helps them understand what that means by picturing it for them. Larry Crabb writes,
A vision we give to others of who and what they could become has power when it echoes what the spirit has already spoken into their souls.
Isn’t that what Father God does for his children? Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you—plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” One of the laws of physics says that water cannot rise above its source. That’s true of our kids. If a parent pictures for a child low value, that child will find if difficult to rise above that image. William Appleton did a study of fathers and their daughters and found that the achievements of these women in adulthood were directly related to how much their fathers communicated value to them. The German poet Goethe said,
Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to be what they are capable of becoming.
One of the ways you can envision a special future is through painting a picture of a life of significance. Notice how David did that in 1 Chronicles 28:10:
The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.
A word-picture expresses a child’s God-given worth in a creative, compelling and unforgettable way, and it often becomes the prophetic momentum for them to actually become that vision.
Do that for your child. Paint a picture of their special value and their significant future. Discern God’s thumbprint for their life and prophetically speak that into their spirit and you’ll provide them with a self-renewing blessing.
Intentionally give them that blessing now and you will give your child an incredible destiny!
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