We all want to raise healthy, confident kids, right?
Kids who make the right choices when faced with peer pressure.
Happy and healthy kids who aren’t afraid to take life by the reigns and boldly pursue their dreams.
On the surface, these seem like great parenting goals. Who doesn’t want to raise a child like this?
And yet I can testify from personal experience that we must give our kids more. Way more.
We must gift them with a godly confidence—an unshakeable, unchanging assurance—that is founded on a dependence on God.
Perhaps it sounds counterproductive—wrong even—to teach our kids to become dependent on anything! After all, don’t we want to raise self-reliant kids?
No, teaching kids to find confidence inside themselves shouldn’t be the goal.
We shouldn’t try to create independent children who are taught to “need no one” and to find the answers “inside their heart.”
Instead, we want our kids self-worth to be determined not by their fleeting emotions (or the thoughts of those around them) but by the unchanging, deep riches of the Creator’s love for them.
And that kind of self-worth comes from daily dependence in God.
For those of us who know and love Jesus Christ, we understand that a daily relationship with Him is the only way to the rich, full life that we all long for. Allowing God’s view of us to shape our self-perception is the key to authentic confidence.
Imagine how different our world would be if we could teach our kids this kind of godly confidence! Wow.
Wouldn’t you love to develop this same godly confidence in your kids? It’s something that my husband and I continually—and imperfectly—seek to do (with God’s help).
My husband and I firmly believe that if our kids can grasp these 12 biblical truths they will become those joyful, intentional, confident kids that we long for them to become.
12 Truths to Teach Kids Godly Self-Confidence
(Note: I’ve written each one from God’s perspective as if He were speaking to them.)
Truth #1: My love for you lasts forever, and it’s because of this love that I’m always wanting to be close to you. (Jeremiah 31:3)
Truth #2: I know all of your thoughts—your good ones and bad ones—and I know every part of you. Don’t be afraid to share your heart with me. (Psalm 139:1)
Truth #3: You were handmade by me—perfectly crafted by my hands—and I call my creation of you “marvelous.” (Psalm 139:14)
Truth #4: Even when things are hard, let my deep love for you remind you that I will be there to help you through it. (Isaiah 43:2)
Truth #5: I will never stop loving you, my child, and nothing can separate you from my love. (Psalm 136; Romans 8:31-39)
Truth #6: My love for you is not conditional. You can never earn my love—it is simply a gift I give to you. (Ephesians 1:4, 2:4-5)
Truth #7: Stay connected to me and I promise to fill your life with good things in every season. (Psalm 1:1-3)
Truth #8: Because I love you and care about you, I want to replenish your soul when you are tired and give you strength to do more than you could hope or imagine. (Isaiah 40:28-31, Ephesians 3:20)
Truth #9: Don’t worry about what others think. Choose to let my voice guide you over the roar of the crowd. My truths will bring you the rich, full life that you’re looking for. (Proverbs 4:5-22; John 10:9-10)
Truth #10: I am always good, even during the hard times. Trust my wisdom and judgment and let me direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Truth #11: Should you make a mistake, be quick to tell me about it so that nothing comes between us in our relationship. (Psalm 32:3-5). Remember, I love you as-is and at all times. (Hosea 2:14-23)
Truth #12: I love to bring new life out of the sin or difficulties in your life. Let me use them to give you a testimony of my love for others too! (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)
May teaching these truths to your kids assure them of God’s great love and impart a beautiful, godly self-confidence that can never be taken away!
