The Overprotective Parent and Trusting God

The anxieties that I have about my children are not from God, but I still find it hard to let go of the fear of what could happen. These fears can run so deep that they can leave me paralyzed and constantly worried. So where is my faith?

I have always felt that if God gifted me with such beautiful children, then it is up to me to protect them. Yet, recently, I have concluded that my apprehensive nature is not the kind of protection God desires from us as moms and dads.

When God tells us to trust Him, it is largely an internal trust. We sometimes fear what we cannot even see or that are not even potentially going to happen to us or our children. Satan uses these fears to overwhelm us.

Of course, we should not allow our children to play in the road or go outside without sunscreen. God gives us wisdom to know how to care for them. However, we should not shelter them to the point that they’re essentially living in a bubble either.

When the overprotective nature of a parent is causing the child to not live life, then it is also preventing them from growing in the way that God intends.

I have been caught in this trap. I do not like my children to be out without me, so they have missed out on things that would have been good for them and fun. When everyone who went arrived home safely after the fun day, I would think that it wouldn’t have been so bad to let them go. But it is that tug of war over trust in God and the fears of the world that prevented me from allowing my children the opportunity.

The fears of the mind can cause us to create our own nightmares. I have many times thought about diseases or horrible things to the point where I nearly manifest them, not in actuality but in a way where I truly believed they were happening.

It has been said many times that the mind is a powerful tool; this is true. We must allow God to calm our minds and allow us the peace that overrides understanding. When we are constantly worried, those reactions do affect how our children learn to respond to life. They will see that our trust is not in the Lord.

The question remains, what should we do to protect our children without being too overprotective?

If we listen, God is constantly giving us wisdom and answers. It can be difficult to hear this wisdom over the fears that cloud our minds, so we must pray that God frees us from these fears.

Before you turn on the news in the morning, go to God and talk to Him about your children and your concerns. Have a quiet time. Read your Bible and even keep a journal of your thoughts. A prayer journal is a great way to channel those anxieties, putting them down on paper and praying can really lift a burden of worry from you.

Pray with your children and for your children on a regular basis. Use the discernment that God gives to decide what your children should be allowed to go out and do. Once you start putting your uncertainties before the Lord, that web of fears in your head will start to untangle.

God does not want us to be overprotective parents. He wants us to raise our children in a godly way so that they know how to navigate life when they grow older. We cannot and should not shelter them. If we do, they will not be able to grow into God’s full potential for their lives.

There are many examples in the Bible where God commands that we should not allow our fears to rule. Our thoughts should be on Him and our faith and not the worry and concerns of this world. Only God knows what the future holds and obsessing over things that can go wrong will not change that.

The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. Psalms 29:25 (KJV)

This snare can transform a normal parent into an overwhelmed anxious person. Putting our trust in the Lord is the only way to prevent these parenting fears from harming our children and ourselves from our overprotectiveness.