Bible Text: Psalm 9:10 | Speaker: Darlene Sala | Series: Encouraging Words | When our daughter and her husband faced a financial reversal, they realized that it was extremely important how they handled the situation. If their two boys saw them panic-stricken, they would pick up on their attitude and worry too. If they saw them pretending the problem wasn’t there and not talking about it, the boys would assume that the way to deal with problems is to stuff them inside—and not deal with them. But if they saw their parents facing the situation realistically, yet with faith in God’s promises, the boys would learn a lesson that they could forever apply to their own lives: they would learn that God is big enough and dependable enough to meet our needs.

You cannot fake trust in God—kids can spot a phony anywhere. Kids know whether your relationship with God is deep and solid. And it won’t do a bit of good to say you are trusting God unless you are. What they see in your life teaches them in ways that words alone can never accomplish.

When a dad brings the family together and tells them that he has lost his job and that they’re all going to need to pull together to get through this period, and then the family joins hands and asks God for His help, he is teaching them a spiritual problem-solving technique. And as you’ve probably noticed, we tend to grow up and use the same problem-solving techniques our parents used.

You don’t have to be perfect at this; kids don’t expect it. In fact, it’s good for them to see you work through your doubts. But they do expect you to be real. What they are looking for is authenticity. They want to know if faith in God really makes a difference.

The Bible says, “Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you” (Psalm 9:10). Do you really believe it? Let your kids see that you do. They’ll learn a great lesson for life.