We recently had the privilege of taking our family to Pine Cove Family Camp, and it has changed our family forever. Our foundation is firm, and our love and commitment for each other is stronger than ever. How did that happen? Well, the theme of the week was “FIGHT for your family” taken from Nehemiah 4:14, and the entire week was built around reminding us campers that we are in a battle for our families.
“Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”
The book of Nehemiah tells the story of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. As the Israelites went about the work of reconstruction, they built the wall with one hand, and with the other, they held their swords to protect their families.
The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. (Nehemiah 4:17)
The wall was not built without opposition, just like in today’s world, a Christian family is not built without opposition. They faced the threats with prayer and vigilance, just as we should.
We prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. (Nehemiah 4:9)
This visual made it so real to us–the importance of staying strong, persevering, and fighting for our family unit no matter what. You know, honestly, I get tired, really tired of fighting every day. But when I let my guard down and don’t take the time to train my children or when I don’t spend time with God preparing my soul for the day, I am letting the enemy win.
Satan wants nothing more than to destroy us and our families, to pull us apart at the seams. He doesn’t always do it with a major blow. For me, it was more of a gradual wearing down, and before I know it, I have made every excuse as to why I am not training for the battle. The Lord instructs us to put on the full Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20), to be ready for the battle. It is a daily battle, not one you prepare for when you feel like it. I don’t know about you but I hardly ever “feel” like it.
That week at camp our family began our training for the battle…all of us. The first step was to memorize Nehemiah 4:14. We learned it to the tune of “Old MacDonald” and sang it each morning at breakfast.
Remember the Lord who is great and awesome,
And fight for your families!
Your sons and your daughters,
Your wives and your homes.
Nehemiah 4:14!
Guess what? My 4-year-old son knows that verse. My 7-year-old daughter knows it too. And through God’s truth, we now understand how incredibly important it is to protect our family against the one who seeks to “kill and destroy” us. In my daily hourly parenting, I use this illustration with my kids. My desire is for them to actually want harmony in our home. I don’t want them to just obey my commands because they don’t want to be punished. My job shouldn’t be to administer punishment, but to disciple or discipline them so that there is a desire to obey so the enemy doesn’t win and get a stronghold in our family. I want their desire to be pleasing God and bringing glory to Him.
Our week at camp made it clear to our family that we are not in a battle with each other; in fact, we are on the same team. Our battle is against the enemy, the dark forces, and they are not flesh. They are worse, because they want our souls. We have let the enemy distract us and pull us away from what is truly important for far too long. We have put an end to that, and our goal is to begin our training to “Fight for our Family.”
Learn more about Pine Cove Camps HERE.
Do you fight for your family? What ways do you and your family put on the “full armor of God” and protect yourselves? What verses or stories in God’s Word have you found most helpful in training your kids?
Our family has had the blessing of attending family camp at Pine Cove for years, but we haven’t been the last two. It is truly an amazing place! What a great reminder for all of us. I think I will use this with our kids (11, 13) as we prepare for a new school year….they start Tues. Thank you!