He Knows How Weak We Are

The LORD is like a father to his children,

tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

For he knows how weak we are;

he remembers we are only dust. Psalm 103:13-14

AS PARENTS we tend to be pretty hard on ourselves. We’re well aware of our deficiencies and our hypocrisies. We’re so determined not to parent our own children in some of the ways we were parented, yet we find ourselves instinctually repeating similar patterns. We want to listen, but we’re distracted. We want to play, but we have so much work to do. We want to engage helpfully, but we recognize that so much of what we throw out there just doesn’t seem to stick. Even our most brilliant efforts at parenting don’t always work well.

So here in Psalm 103 we find good news for parents who have failed their child, for parents who have been angry, impatient, or cold. We have a Father who is tender and compassionate toward us. He’s not pointing fingers or putting us on trial. He is mindful of our limitations and frustrations. He is more aware than we are of how the way we were parented imperfectly impacts the way we parent. He knows how weak we are in faith, in discipline, in consistency, in wisdom, and in relational skills. He remembers that we are dust and that we are doing the best we can in a world we don’t control to parent children we don’t ultimately control.

The good news for imperfect parents is that we have a perfect parent. He is strong and faithful enough to use even our failures to glorify him. He works in and through our weaknesses to show his power and strength.

Father, we need you to be a Father to us as we seek to parent ________. We need your wisdom and guidance. We need your tenderness to release us from our regrets, and we need your compassion to assure us of your long-term commitment to see us through all of the seasons and struggles of parenting over the years to come. Help us to parent as those who fear you, as people made of dust who have been infused with the breath of life that comes only from you.