You want me to do what?

“Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. " – Isaiah 26:4
One of the most important things you can teach your kids is that they
need to obey you when you tell them to do something. This not only makes
for a more peaceful household, it also prepares them to learn to obey God
better as they grow older. A good principle to put in place is First Time
Obedience (FTO), which means that whenever you call your children’s names,
they come to you immediately so they can find out what you want them to
do.
To teach your kids FTO, start by playing a game. Tell them that you
want them to go to different parts of the house and when they hear you call
their names, they are supposed to say, “Coming, Mom,” or something similar
and come to you. When they get to you, you’ll have a treat for them. Send
them throughout the house, wait a few minutes, and then call them loudly by
name. When they come to you, thank them for obeying and give them a small
piece of candy.
Play the game again, but this time, hide the piece of candy. Call their
names, and when they come to you, give them directions on how to find their
candy. Once they find it, tell them that learning to come when they’re called
and then doing what you tell them to do is obedience, and it’s what God
expects them to do. Tell them you’re going to practice this for a few days, and
that sometimes they’ll get a piece of candy for obeying, but sometimes they’ll
get a hug or a kiss. Continue to practice this for several days, making sure that
you only give one instruction at a time (for example, “Take your shoes to your
room,” not “Pick up your toys, turn off the light, brush your teeth, and go to
bed.”) Over the course of several weeks, if you’re consistent, you should see
the level of obedience in your kids rise.
Tell your kids that God expects them to obey him, too, and that by
learning to obey you, they’re learning to obey God. Pray together that God
will help you all learn to obey better, and to trust God that he loves you
enough to give you good instructions.
Pre-teens
How easy is it for you to obey people in authority, like your
parents, teachers, or pastors? Better yet, how easy is it for you to obey
them when you don’t understand why they’re asking you to do
something or they say, “Because I said so!” when you ask them why you
have to do it? For a lot of people, it boils down to a matter of trust: do
you trust the person who is giving you an instruction even if you don’t
know why you’re supposed to do it? Talk about the following questions:
* Why should you obey your parents, teachers, pastors, etc. even if
they don’t give you the reason behind their instruction?
* Are there any situations when you shouldn’t obey them? Name some
of these situations.
* How does it make you feel when you don’t know why you have to
do something?
* Do you think you always have the right to know why you have to
obey? Why or why not?
* Can you think of some reasons why someone in authority might not
tell you why you’re supposed to do something?
*Can you think of any times God has asked you to obey him without
knowing why he was asking you to do something?
God often asks us to trust him enough to obey him without
understand the reason behind his instruction. One of the reasons he does
this is to strengthen our faith—our ability to believe he’s in charge even if
our circumstances don’t look like he is. Sometimes talking to a trusted
friend, parent, or pastor can help us understand why God ask us to do
certain things. While it’s okay to question him, however, we ultimately
have to learn to do what he says whether we understand it or not.
Ask God to help you learn to trust him even when you don’t
understand the why behind his instructions. Thank him that you can