When God’s Purpose for Your Child’s Life Hurts You

The day that he met Joseph as the second in command of the most powerful nation in the planet is the day that God showed His glory. That day Jacob met Pharoah is the day God’s splendor shined when He fulfilled His promise with them that He would provide. The son who he thought was dead was alive and in charge of the nation’s grain. His son, Joseph, was the savior of the known world.

“God sent me ahead of you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of his entire household and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says, “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay. And you will dwell in the land of Goshen, and you will be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, along with your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there, for there are still five years of famine to come, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty”‘” (Gen. 45:7-11).

Joseph tells his brothers that God sent him into slavery to save them. The favor of God sent Joseph into slavery, prison and then catapulted him into the highest office in the land. God’s plan to save Jacob from famine depended on Joseph.

We want our son or daughter to go to college, graduate with a high-paying job, marry and have children. Yet God’s plan may be radically different from your plan. Can you really trust God?

My mom had to trust God when I got kicked out of high school at 16. She had to trust God when I started college at 16 and lived on campus. She had to trust God to protect me and keep me when I wanted to be independent from my parents.

I had a calling from God that I had to answer myself. My mom, my pastor and my counselor couldn’t answer it. I had to answer His calling alone. Release your adult child to answer His call in their own way.

Leilani Haywood, online editor for SpiritLed Woman, is the author of Ten Keys to Raising Kids That Love God. She is an award-winning writer and frequent contributor to Charisma.