Monday 25th August, 2025
Bible Reading: Proverbs 22:6
Memory Verse: Train up a child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents], Even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 (AMP)
Raising an independent thinking child means fostering their ability to analyse, question, and make decisions autonomously, ultimately leading to a more confident and capable individual. This involves encouraging them to express their own opinions, consider different perspectives, and develop a strong sense of self. By allowing them to make choices, learn from mistakes, and take responsibility, you help them cultivate crucial skills for navigating life’s challenges.
While no parents would want their children to go through the stress they went through, at the same time, we must be careful to instil the life lessons such struggles impacted in us to becoming more like Christ, socially stable, and emotionally matured.
It was Wendy Ologe who said: In a world that celebrates ease and convenience, the natural instinct of a parent is to rescue to pave the path, remove obstacles, and shield their child from pain. But what if the very thing we rush to eliminate is the foundation upon which strength is built? Struggle is not the enemy. It is the tutor.
When a child wrestles with tying their shoes, solving a puzzle, or navigating a tough friendship, they are doing more than simply trying to “get it right.” They are learning patience, building problem-solving muscles, and developing emotional resilience. These small battles—frustrating as they may seem—are the seeds of grit, confidence, and character.
To constantly intervene is to interrupt their becoming. Letting your children struggle doesn’t mean abandoning them. It means standing close enough for support, but far enough for growth. It means saying, “I believe in your ability to figure this out,” instead of “let me fix it for you.” It’s choosing long-term development over short-term relief. Every caterpillar must struggle out of its cocoon to gain the strength to fly. If we cut it open to help, it may never soar.
So the next time your child says, “This is hard,” don’t be quick to swoop in. Sit with them in the discomfort. Remind them that hard things grow us. That struggling isn’t a sign of failure—it’s a sign of forming. Because the child who is allowed to struggle today becomes the adult who knows how to stand tomorrow.
Quote: Think on this: What values am I communicating to the next generation?
Prophetic Decree: Receive grace to transfer not only wealth but values to your children, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. Father in Heaven, hallow be your name in all the earth.
2. Thank you Father for the gift of children, in Jesus name.
3. I receive wisdom to model the next generation for Jesus, in Jesus name.
4. Foundational limitations that hindered me shall not hinder my children, in Jesus name.
5. O Lord, deliver my children from wrong associations, bad friends, and strange children, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lamentations 1-2
