Sometimes when we obey the voice of God, blessing and favor don’t seem to follow immediately, but hardship and heartache instead. That is a reality I have faced many times and I’m sure you have too! Do we have the courage to walk through these things with our children by our side or do we pull out and go into protection mode? Oh, that is so easy to do!

Matthew 5:10

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

It doesn’t say here “blessed are those who might be persecuted”. People who put the will of God first and walk in faith sooner or later will be persecuted. The blessings of the righteous don’t come without cost. When our children watch us go through trials that were brought on by our obedience, it is important that they not see the polished version, but the reality of our struggle. This will build their faith when they see that God has WALKED YOU THROUGH and that the only things you lost were temporal.

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Jim Elliott

What do we gain? We gain a deeper, living, vibrant faith that we then PASS ON to our children. The rich heritage of faith and trust is passed down from generation to generation when we choose this walk of integrity with our children lined up and following God together!

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.³ He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

When we put God before our children, they will learn to do the same. Here is a booklist of 37 men and women who choose to follow God’s plan for their lives. They are still reaping the rewards of the righteous to this very day!

Heroes of Faith, 37 Volumes

Barbour Publishing / Paperback

1. Amy Carmichael: Abandoned to God
2. Billy Graham: The Great Evangelist, Heroes of Faith Series
3. Billy Sunday: Evangelist on the Sawdust Trail
4. Charles Finney The Great Revivalist
5. Charles Spurgeon: The Great Orator, Heroes of Faith Series
6. Corrie ten Boom: Heroine of Haarlem, Heroes of Faith Series
7. D.L. Moody: The American Evangelist, Heroes of Faith Series
8. David Livingstone: Missionary and Explorer, Heroes of Faith Series
9. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
10. Eric Liddell – Heroes of Faith
11. Fanny Crosby: The Hymn Writer, Heroes of Faith Series
12. For God and Country
13. Francis and Edith Schaeffer: Defenders of the Faith
14. Frederick Douglass
15. Free Indeed
16. George Washington Carver, Heroes of Faith Series
17. Gladys Alward: Missionary to China
18. Hudson Taylor: Founder, China Inland Mission
19. Jim Elliot: Missionary to Ecuador, Heroes of Faith Series
20. John Calvin
21. John Newton: Amazing Grace, Heroes of Faith Series
22. John Wesley: Founder of the Methodist Church, Heroes of Faith Series
23. John Wycliffe
24. Jonathan Edwards: The Great Awakener
25. Luis Palau: Evangelist To the World
26. Martin Luther: The Great Reformer, Heroes of Faith Series
27. Mary Slessor: Queen of Calabar Heroes of Faith
28. Mother Teresa: Missionary of Charity
29. Saint Augustine
30. Samuel Morris: The Apostle of Simple Faith, Heroes of Faith Series
31. Sojourner Truth: American Abolitionist, Heroes of Faith Series
32. Some Gave All
33. Watchman Nee: Man of Suffering, Heroes of Faith Series
34. Well With My Soul
35. William and Catherine Booth: Founders of the Salvation Army
36. William Tyndale
37. William Wilberforce

When you prioritize God’s voice above all others and honor His word, He opens doors for your children you never knew were there and could not have opened by yourself.

This has happened so many times for our family! One example I can think of right now pertains to basketball, which we love and which our oldest son seemed to have a natural gift for.

You know how many parents push and shove and manipulate the system to get their kids a place to be positioned in sports? Whew! CRAZY folks! And its not just sports…

We started Elty (Elton McMillan III) on a team when he was five years old and he was so much fun to watch! He was on our local kid’s club teams and school teams. His daddy coached him some times and made some sweet memories. As our kids got older, God began asking us to do things that were time-consuming and lifestyle-changing. We started homeschooling, moved to Africa for a year, my husband had a major job change, I had a kidney transplant, we started running a private school; things like that. Just life! Our kids were right there with us serving and working hard and being understanding that there was just not enough left in us at the end of the day to pursue sports. We just pulled back.  There were times when Elty wanted to go to Basketball camps but we just couldn’t stretch our money to do it.

As a parent you feel like everyone else is putting their kids in the best position to succeed, and you want to be that parent!  We often talked about the fact that God was providing for his future in amazing ways that we couldn’t see at the time.
By the time he reached High-School it seemed like his training consisted of  a lot of one-on-one on the driveway, but we signed him up for try-outs on our local public High-school team.

It was amazing! He was chosen to be the starting point guard and he lead his team to State! (Oregon, 3A) He also went to state finals in triple-jump and high-jump with the track team. I just sat on the bench time after time and watched God be powerful on our behalf. I was one proud mama! The best part was the smile on his face when he ran down the court or flopped over the high bar. I know that his faith in his God was strengthened as he realized that God cares about his dreams!

As parents, there are things we just cannot or will not afford our children, and there are opportunities we can’t manipulate for them, but God is faithful!  When we put HIS will above our own, and teach our children to do the same, He opens doors we haven’t even considered. He treats our children royally for His name sake. This is yet another example of how God partners with us in our parenting, and how we can teach our children to partner with us in faith. It is amazing to watch them begin to reap the blessing of being a righteous man or woman themselves.

I encourage you to do this little Bible study from Psalms and Proverbs with your children and find out what some of those blessings are. Wisdom is speaking truth here!

Psalm 37:16

A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked.

When the Bible says someone is wicked, it means anyone who is hostile toward God, the opposite of righteous. So, what DOES the righteous have that is better than the riches of many wicked?

• Blessing and favor that protects and beautifies (Psalm 5:12)
• Salvation, strength in trouble (Psalm 37:39)
• He will never be shaken, he will be remembered (Psalm 112:6)
• Blessings crown his head (Proverbs 10:6)
• He is given a good name (Proverbs 10:7)
• An everlasting foundation (Proverbs 10:25)
• He is established and cannot be moved (Proverbs 12:3)
• He leaves his children an inheritance (Proverbs 13:22)
• A refuge when he dies (Proverbs 14:32)

…That isn’t to say that we didn’t want to, but sometimes we just couldn’t. A good example of this is when our kids were age 1, 2, 6 and 7 we moved to Liberia. They were uprooted from their friends and their grandparents, we lived in third-world country and a war-torn city with very little security and we drank un-sanitized water, just to name a few hazards. If all our decisions were made by “doing what was best for our children” we would have never gone. But we made this decision based on obedience to the voice of God.

He told us to move there, and then He told us to move home 9 months later. It was a challenging time, but as it turns out, it was the gift that keeps on giving. We learned so much about obeying God and trusting Him and we have been able to pass that on to our children. We have all been broadened, deepened and grown immeasurably from this one experience of walking by faith as a family.

So, the big worry might be that if I’m not looking out for my kids first, who is going to? God will! Think about it this way, there is peace and security in the family when God is in control and the parents and children line up and follow God together; and it doesn’t end there! God is an attentive God. He watches us closely to see our response of faith and obedience to Him and He strategizes to bless our children.

Here is a little discussion you can have with your kids while you talk about following God. This is a great verse to memorize as a family. It will help your kids remember how you make decisions at your house as you get everyone lined up and follow God together!

Proverbs 20:7

 The righteous man walks in his integrity;
His children are blessed after him.

1. Who is this righteous man? Those whom God has justified because of their faith (Genesis 15:6)
2. What does it mean to walk in integrity? To follow God in conduct and character.
3. Who is the blessing secured for? His children
4. What are the children doing in this verse? Following the righteous man.