Our kids are under attack.

From shows, to movies, to music, to commercials, to toys. They are endlessly bombarded with messages about what they should want, what they should do, and who they should be. The technology age has made a lot of things easier while making some of the most important things harder.

Look at our relationships. They are deteriorating at an alarming rate. Divorce continues to become more commonplace, domestic abuse continues to increase, and our children are bearing the brunt of it all.

But it can’t be just that technology has grown, or that our faces are buried in screens, or that all types of information is just a click away. There’s something deeper lurking, and our children are the target.

When we look at what is happening in the world, it is becoming more and more difficult to reject the notion that there are spiritual forces at play around us. The crimes we see, the hatred that seems to be spreading, and the sense of panic that surrounds us are just symptoms. You can only treat symptoms for so long, but if you don’t treat the root cause, the symptoms will continue.

We have to be constantly on guard for our kids. Dads, we must be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Our kids are watching us, and they will respond to being attacked, the way we respond. And trust me, they are under attack.

The other night, it was like many other nights. Long past bed time, and my patience was wearing thin. Side Note: I look forward to reminding sleepy teenagers sleeping in late and taking naps of how much they fought sleep when they were younger. It was one of those nights.

After a stern conversation about calming down and getting to bed (you know the one), I looked across the hallway to see Noah still not laying down and doing a motion like he was trying to put something on his head.

At this point, I had enough. No more games. It’s late, school in the morning, it’s time to sleep. I walk across the hall ready to unload, and I notice he’s got tears in his eyes. He’s crying. No, he’s utterly weeping.

He’s surprised to see me and quickly lays his head down trying to hold back the flood of tears. I sit on the edge of the bed next to him and ask what’s going on. He can hardly breathe, let alone talk.

Through choked back sobs he tells me he was trying to put on the Helmet of Salvation. Now, for those who may not know, the Bible talks about wearing the Full Armor of God in Ephesians 6:10. I would encourage you to read that passage and see that God has given us the tools to fight an unseen enemy, because after all, that’s who the root cause of all this pain we see really is. Back to the story.

We’ve recently been reading through The Prince Warriors series by Priscilla Shirer, which is an incredible series that gives great insight into the armor of God. Highly Recommend. I knew that him putting on the helmet meant he was struggling with the things he was thinking.

I asked him what he was thinking about, and the tears started again, harder this time. At this point, David, with his loving and gentle spirit, came over and joined me in rubbing Noah’s back and giving him hugs. Noah pulled himself together enough to say, “I keep hearing a voice…*sniffles*…and it’s telling me…*deep breath, choking back tears*…‘No one likes you’.” And he fell into my arms, limp and defeated, tears streaming down. My heart was broken…devastated.

Again, our kids are under attack.

Noah is in a loving family, with two loving parents, who shield him from a lot of what kids his age watch and play. Where is that type of thinking coming from? There’s more going on than just what we see, and that includes with our kids. No family, and nobody is off limits.

After I pulled myself together, and David and I loved on him. We prayed. We asked God to protect our minds. We reminded ourselves of what God says about us in His Word. We talked until we felt God’s peace surround us again.

And then Noah drifted off to sleep, and I tip toed back to bed and laid there thinking about what had just happened and how the enemy had attacked MY family, and MY boy.

I pray all the time that God’s grace would fill my gaps as a parent and as a husband. I know He’s doing just that, and I’m thankful that I can rely on my heavenly father for strength, protection, and wisdom.

Parents, I encourage you to do the same, because this battle is beyond us.

#daddylessons