The first doesn’t always equal the second.

But the children are more likely to be faithful if they have the father’s faithfulness to learn from and reflect.

Here is something in which I have not been faithful:

“We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old” (Psalm 44:1).

I am too quiet.

Too withdrawn.

About the works and wonders of God.

So what — if anything — will I do about it now?

Sometimes I feel particularly oppressed by the devil.

Other times I feel strong oppression from my own lusts, desires, and affections.

At times I even feel oppressed by certain people. Or by my imaginings regarding certain people.

So sometimes I feel discouraged or depressed.

“For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” (Psalm 43:2).

I want God to be my strength!

But how in the world do I make that happen?

I suspect it begins with something I seem to write frequently here: Awareness of Him.

Where does God fit in my life, in my conscious thought?

If it is only in these moments of beginning-of-the-day reflections, how can He be my strength through the day?