If you have children who have wandered away
from God,
don’t give up on them. They’ll come running back…
When God Says “Pssst”
By Gloria
Copeland
Did you know your children are in your heart? It’s true. You carry
your children in your heart the same way God carries you in His heart.
You can feel what’s going on with them even when they’re on the other side of
the world. If they’re hurt, if they’re lonely, if they’re toying with sin and
getting off track—when things are wrong or things are right, you can feel it.
I remember once when Ken and I were in Australia. We were flying from one city
to another and suddenly thoughts of our son, John, flooded my heart. John was a
teenager at the time and he was all boy. He rode everything with wheels—cars,
trucks, motorcycles, dune buggies. And it seemed he was always turning
something over.
That day on the plane, I was concerned about him. I knew how much the devil
would like to sneak in and steal his life, and I was concerned that John’s
misadventures could give the devil the opportunity to do it.
But the Holy Spirit broke in on my thoughts. He spoke to Ken and said, My mercy
hovers over John. When Ken relayed those words to me, all my fears vanished.
My mercy hovers over John. I’ll never forget that promise. As I’ve
prayed for John throughout the years, that wonderful word from God would often
rise up and remind me that John’s life was secure. It would assure me that
God would keep him and hold him steady until the day he got things straight in
his life.
My mercy hovers over your child. That is a wonderful word
from God. If God will do that for my child, He will do it for yours. The
covenant God has made with you in the blood of Jesus extends to your children
and your children’s children. Psalm 103:17 says,
"But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children."
Our grandchildren are covered in our covenant with God. Everything God gives to
me, He’ll give to them. All the protection that I have, He passes on to my
family.
If you’re a believer and you’re willing to trust God for the deliverance and
salvation of your children, you will not be disappointed.
Study Zechariah 10:7-9. There God tells us about the outpouring of the Spirit
of God in the last days—the days we’re living in. He says:
And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart
shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad;
their heart shall rejoice in the Lord. I will hiss for them [your children],
and gather them; for I have redeemed them....And I will sow them among the
people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with
their children, and turn again.
You may not even know where your children are right now. They may
be in another city or another country. It doesn’t matter. This scripture
says when you rejoice in the Lord—not when you’re depressed or worried or
afraid, but when you trust God so totally that you’re filled up with joy—then your
children will see it and turn.
"I will hiss for them." What does that mean? It means God will
signal for them. He’ll say, Pssst! Come here! And they’ll come running.
Let me tell you something. God knows how to get somebody’s attention. He knows
how to signal for the ones His people are praying for. Kenneth’s mother prayed
for me and then one day God said, Pssst, Gloria! I heard Him and was
born again.
I didn’t know much about God before that time. I knew there was a
God, but had no real knowledge about Him. Yet He still knew how to get my
attention. He called and here I am today preaching His Word!
He’ll do the same thing for your child. It doesn’t matter what kind of
wickedness that child has fallen into, God can still reach him.
I know a man who pastors a great church in Sacramento, California.
His name is Phil Goudeaux. He used to be part of the militant black power
movement. In fact, he was in charge of security for the Black Panthers.
He didn’t know God and he didn’t want to know God. But one day when he was in
college, a young white fellow came over to his lunch table and started telling
him about Jesus. This Black Panther leader couldn’t believe it. The nerve of
this guy! He tried to get rid of him. He threatened him and even tried to hit him...but
he couldn’t
For weeks this little white fellow followed this big "bad" black guy
around talking to him about Jesus. Finally, the Black Panther prayed with the
fellow just to get him off his back. After that he tried to forget about
it...but he couldn’t. Two weeks later, all by himself, he made Jesus Christ the
Lord of his life.
God knows how to get somebody’s attention! He’ll knock them over and speak
to them right out loud if He needs to. He proved that in the life of a man
named Saul. Years after that man was saved, he wrote, "…I follow after, if
that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus"
(Philippians 3:12).
God apprehended Paul one day on the road to Damascus. According to the
dictionary, to apprehend means to capture or arrest. God captured
Paul’s attention. The last thing he wanted to be was a follower of Jesus. He
was a declared enemy of Jesus. But God was able to apprehend him anyway.
Don’t you worry. God knows exactly how to apprehend your children. And when
the time comes, He’ll do it. After all, you weren’t in your prayer closet when
He found you!
But until then, you must stand fast in faith for them. No matter what they get
into, no matter how far off the track they seem to be, just keep saying what
the Bible says about them. Keep your eyes focused on the covenant mercy of
God and not on the symptoms of ungodliness that you see in their lives.
Don’t ever give up on your child. If you’ve grown weak and discouraged
lately, it’s time for you to get that fire back in your bones. Dig into the
Word of God and dig out the promises He’s given you for your children. Lay hold
of those promises and don’t let go.
Learn to call things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17). When you
hear bad news about your children or you see them do something that hurts your
heart, just say:
God, I thank You that Your tender mercy hovers over my child. I thank
You Lord that he is born again, filled with the Holy Ghost and obedient to You.
I thank You that Your Word is in his mouth (Isaiah 59:21), that he is taught by
Your Spirit and great is his peace (Isaiah 54:13). I am not moved by what I
feel or what I see. I am moved by Your Word and I call it done in Jesus’ Name!
I’m going to say it one more time: You have a covenant with God
that covers your children. So rejoice! God will be faithful to you. One day
your boy or your girl will be going about their business doing their own thing
when suddenly—Pssst!—they’ll hear the voice of God.
When that happens, they’ll come running.
You can count on it.
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