A King is in the House

2 Chronicles 23:3

And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as the LORD hath said of the sons of David.

Joash was made king at a very young age. His mother committed treason by trying to kill all the seed royal, but Jehoiada the priest saved Joash and hid him from his evil mother who would have had him killed. While he was in the temple, protected by Jehoiada the priest, Jehoiada put many safeguards in place as Joash was being raised as a child. Jehoiada knew that this was a king in the making. Better yet, he was not a king in the making, but a king; he just had not yet been introduced to sit on the throne.

In every household that has children, parents need to remember that every child is a king. Oh, they may not sit on a throne as Joash did, but they will sit on the throne of God's Will for their life. It is critical for every parent to raise their children as a king. We must understand that no child is truly our own; rather, they are God's loan to us to raise for Him. I believe every parent would treat the training of their children very differently if they realized their child would become a king. My friend, they are a king; they are a king that God has made to do something for Him, and it is your responsibility to be sure that you train them right so they will fulfill that Will that God has for their lives. Let me share several things you can do as you train the king that is in your house.

First, you must keep them in church. Jehoiada was raised in the temple, and you must raise your children in church. You will not turn out good children for God if you are unfaithful to any church service. Your children know what is important by what you are faithful to, and when you are hit-or-miss with church services, you are training your children that church is unimportant, which means that God will not be important in their lives. If you want your children to make God important in their lives, then you had better be faithful to church.

Second, surround your children with spiritual authority influences. Joash surrounded Jehoiada with many people who protected him. A great mistake parents make is to isolate their children to themselves, only to find that one day they have no spiritual influences to help push their children toward God. Every parent will struggle with their children at some point in their lives. Children often go through a stage when they become at odds with their parents, and if there is no other spiritual influence in their lives, they will go the way of the world. Be careful to surround your children with good spiritual authority influences. Do not pull them out of the Sunday school class, but keep them in that class as that teacher is a spiritual influence in your child's life who will help you to push them toward God.

Third, remind your children that God has a Will for their lives, and that their job is to fulfill that Will. Parents are not to raise their children to fulfill the dreams they want for their children, but to raise them to live in God's Will for their lives. Stop trying to live your life through your children, and accept that they are on loan to you from God to do His Will. If you pull your children away from God's Will for their lives, I can promise you that you will lose your children to the world, and they will break your heart.

Raising children is not easy, but it can be done successfully by applying these three thoughts. Never forget that your children belong to God, so raise them to live in God’s Will.