"My kids won't respect me because I'm still figuring out my own life and career."
How it sounds in your head: You don't even know what you want to do long-term. You've changed jobs twice, you're still 'exploring options,' and you feel like you're floundering. How can your kids look up to you when you don't have it all figured out? Respect comes from stability and success, and you have neither.
"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty."
-- 1 Corinthians 1:27World: Culture says respect is EARNED through achievement, career success, and having your life perfectly together.
You look at other dads who've been in their careers for 20 years, who have titles and retirement accounts, and you're still in the 'entry-level/figuring it out' phase. The comparison feels crushing, and respect feels impossible to command when you're still unstable.
God called Gideon 'mighty man of valor' while he was hiding in a winepress, threshing wheat in fear. Gideon argued he was the LEAST in his family, from the weakest tribe. Yet God used him to defeat an army of 135,000 with just 300 men. INSTANT promotion from 'least' to 'mighty warrior' by God's word.
I REFUSE the lie that my kids won't respect me because I'm still figuring things out. IT IS WRITTEN that God chose the FOOLISH and WEAK things to confound the wise and mighty. My authority doesn't come from having it all together; it comes from being IN CHRIST. I am a SON of the King, and that identity doesn't change based on my career stability. IT IS WRITTEN that I am the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath—and that's POSITIONAL, not performance-based. My kids respect the ANOINTING on my life, not my résumé. The BARAK blessing makes me a man of FAVOR, regardless of my job title.
The Father isn't waiting for you to 'get stable first.' He's running toward you NOW, calling you 'mighty man of valor' while you're still hiding in uncertainty. He's handing you the ring of authority and saying, 'You're qualified because I SAY SO—now walk in it and watch Me show up.'