Protect The New Shoots

“There is hope for a tree: if it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.” Job 14:7 NIV

It takes God’s wisdom to find a mate who can fit where you are and go where you’re going. If you choose damaged material, you’ll get disappointing results. And when a family shatters, the wounds can last a lifetime even though the war is over. Please hear this: never use your children as ammunition to hurt one another! Ammunition doesn’t just destroy the target, it also gets destroyed in the process. Your monologue of bitterness may be true, but it can destroy your child’s ability to build healthy relationships of their own. After all, if they can’t trust a parent, who can they trust? Even if you can’t save the relationship, save them. Job says, “There is hope for a tree: if it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.” How wonderful—new shoots born out of a dead tree! That’s our message; there is life after death! He’s the God of second chances and new beginnings. Just because your dreams didn’t come true doesn’t mean your children’s dreams won’t. If the only thing that comes from your relationship is a healthy, well-adjusted child, you’re still a winner! Solomon says without a vision we perish (see Proverbs 29:18). And your children are your vision. They speak of your future, so give them extra love and stability. Teach them what God says about life. Work at it for their sakes. If the new shoots are lost along with the tree, all those years are wasted. So protect the new shoots.

Bible in a year: Lamentations 1-2 and Hebrews 3