The Vine News

As a single parent, it’s easy to spend an entire day shouting. The average single parent faces battles each day that are completely foreign to most people. As stress builds, the reaction is often to shout at our children, the uncooperative parent, or others around us.

There are times when another parent or extra set of hands is legitimately needed, but at the moment, it’s just you, going above and beyond, to fill in the gaps. At these times, we wonder if the symptoms of a broken home will show up in our children.

You may not be able to talk to that other parent or get them to see the needs, and you certainly can’t force them to fill in the gaps (although you’ve tried). Does this sound hopeless?

Perhaps, but it is all the more reason to develop an attitude and lifestyle of personal praise. We cannot afford to just praise the Lord when things are going our way, when the kids are obedient, and when the other parent is cooperative. If we can praise Him while things are still being worked out, before we feel like praising Him, we are inviting God into the center of our problems and our pain.

Psalm 22:3 says He inhabits the praises of His people. When the situation calls for shouts of anger and frustration, but we shout victory instead, this escorts the enemy out and ushers God into the front-row-seat of our lives.

Let this be the year you shout victory and not defeat, especially in your parenting. When there is a gap, shout Hallelujah until Jehovah Jireh fills it (Gen 22:14). When your child behaves like a broken home statistic, shout until Jeremiah 29:11 overrides every stat and removes all evidence of brokenness. Most of all, when you feel discouraged, shout “He is worthy!” until the Lord Your God shows up and shows you just how worthy He is.

Shout because “many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord deliveres him out of them all” (Psalm. 34:19).

The Lord loves hearing our praise, and no one can praise Him quite like a single parent!

“I will praise thee O Lord among the people and I will sing praises to thee among nations.” Psalm 108:3

For further study, read Isaiah 12 and Genesis 22.