A Little Sunday Perspective

The sun peaks through my blinds, painting light over my face. I listen to my husband making breakfast for my children and I nuzzle down under the blanket a little further. Since we started having a set sleep-in day, his on Saturday morning and mine on Sunday, it has become something that I look forward to on those mornings when the kids are up bouncing around before the sun. This morning, my heart fills with joy. It is the Lord’s day and I get to be with his people; my people.

It hasn’t always been like that. In the past I have come to Sunday and looked for reasons why a rest at home would be more beneficial, or why rushing off after church is what we need. But in these times of excuses, I realized I often felt disconnected from the body of believers- like an outsider looking in on something that I wanted to be a part of but just couldn’t quite get there. Things have become easier as our bubba is now 1 and copes more with the church routine and this too gives me a bit more freedom to really connect with people. 

We were created by a communal God for community. We are part of a family. In 1 John 3:1 we read, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” I think those three words have become a favourite phrase for me- “and. so. we. are.” God has paid the price, we are part of the family, a child of the King of Kings. His love has drawn us in, enveloping us like my blanket does now. He sees our weaknesses and loves us. He sees our strengths and loves us. He sees us when we are changing our little one’s nappy, or when we are leading worship in church and loves us the same. And the ultimate place we see this love? In Jesus.

As Sally Lloyd-Jones writes, “Jesus was showing people what God’s love was like- his wonderful, New Stopping, Never Giving up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love” (The Jesus Storybook Bible, 2007, Zondervan). Today as I head off to celebrate the life we have in Jesus, I want to seek forgiveness for my times of tired irritation at my kids this week, and I want to simply enjoy being covered in the love of Jesus. I also want to look for the tired mamma who is feeling like she is the outsider looking in, and show that she is my sister in the great family of God. I want us as mammas to support each other in this journey with God's love as the glue.

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Help! My Brain Is Scrambled

Somedays motherhood makes my brain feel scrambled. Between the lack of sleep, extra breastfeeding-induced hormones and trying to keep my tribe fed, clothed and loved, it often feels like there is little brain-room for other things. Children are an amazing blessing from God, but I have to admit sometimes I crave a little bit of peace and quiet to just give my brain a rest. When nap-time comes, I am usually found in a comatose state, catching whatever minutes of extra sleep I can. This is not a unique story, rather one shared by millions of mothers around the globe. It isn’t new: motherhood is one of the most challenging things we as women will ever do.

Yet in this season of caring for littlies, it is easy to use our tiredness and lack of peace and quiet as an excuse for not fitting God into our lives. Lack of peace and quiet was my go-too reason for not reading my Bible. It seemed that there were always other things to be done and while I did try and want to spend time with God, it became another reason for guilt to creep in instead of grace driving me to the feet of my Saviour.

Filling Instead of Emptying

There is nothing wrong with craving some peace and quiet. Even Jesus took time to withdraw from the crowds to pray (Luke 5:16). But what I am learning is that in the busyness of mothering, when we sit down next to our children playing dress-ups and open the Bible to read a snippet, God meets us there.

I was craving an emptying of my mind, yet I have come to understand God calls us to fill it. Vishal Mangalwadi, an Indian Christian Philosopher, proposes that the key difference between Buddhism and Christianity is that Buddhists try to empty their mind to gain enlightenment (for example, Yoga), while Christians are called to fill their minds with God and His Word (Philippians 4:8). In Psalm 1 we read that blessed is the man whose “...delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2).

As mothers, when we read only a small portion before motherhood calls, it is sometimes easy to feel defeated. But we can have hope: Isaiah 55:10-11 says that just as the rain makes the earth sprout, “so so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” It humbles me to think about the number of times the Holy Spirit has brought whatever little verse I had read that morning back to my mind throughout the day, helping me savour the goodness of God and helping me meditate on His Word.

Glorifying Instead of Self-Gratifying

I’m not sure if you are anything like me, but when the peace and quiet did eventually come, I would often find things that I ‘deserved’ such as a nice cup of tea, reading a novel or losing myself in some mind-numbing television show. Then one day it dawned on me- I had been using the noise of the day as an excuse for not spending time with Jesus and then when peace and quiet came around, a hundred other options sprang to my weary mind.

Gloria Furman, in her book Treasuring Christ When Your Hands are Full (Crossway, 2014), quietly reprimanded me on this way of thinking. She reminded me that God created these children and gave them to me as a blessing, so he knew I was in a ‘noisy’ stage of life. Furman then encourages women to recognise God in all facets of our day and make time for him in the middle of the noise. I also came to see it is not a one-way pursuit: God wants to spend time with me too! As I started to actively seek to spend time with God, creative ideas came to my mind: I could pray as I wash up, or put a Bible verse to meditate on for the week above the baby’s change table. There are countless ways we can spend time talking to and thinking about the God we serve.

As we make spending time with God a priority, we will see that our thoughts, desires and attitudes will change (Psalm 37:4). Instead of making the day about us and focusing on the trials and tribulations that come each day, we can find delight and hope as we seek to glorify God. We will begin to recognise the little pearls he places in our day and he will provide us with the grace and strength that we need to get through it.

It is something I still struggle with- it seems to be a daily struggle between my fleshly and spiritual desires and then just the day-to-day jobs that need to get done. But in this challenge of mothering I know I am a more peaceful, Godly mother if I take even a few moments at the start of the day to lift my eyes to the hills and recognise my Saviour who can grant me his spiritual refreshment, quiet mind and strength for the day ahead.

A Godly Wife... Who Can FInd?

Somedays my hands feel very full. Somedays I get to the end of the day and feel weary but don't have anything really material to show for it. I haven't come home with financial reward for my toil. The washing baskets are filling up when I just emptied them. Toys cover the floor even though I've picked them up more than once during the day. With two little ones, I am in the trenches of hands on motherhood. During my day, I find it easy to be filled with dissatisfaction that I can't see anything amazing achieved. I can spiral down into a negative and frustrated mood, with too much self-focus and not enough time spent looking up to Jesus. Amongst a few of these days lately, I have been reading the short biography of Sarah Edwards written by Noel Piper in her book "Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God" (2005, Crossway).

I'm not sure if you know much about Jonathan Edwards- he is perhaps the greatest theologian and philosopher America has known and lived around 250 years ago. His life, and that of his wife Sarah, prove the saying true: behind any great man is a great woman (and behind any great woman is a great God).

Sarah Edwards was mother to 11 children. Her husband Jonathan, was often given to times of deep contemplation that meant he wasn't present at every meal and would spend the majority of his day in his office writing sermons, meeting with parishioners and studying the Bible. Sarah meanwhile, spent her day either doing or delegating the tasks of running a home in the 1700s and her tasks on her 'to-do' list may have included: "breaking ice to haul water, bringing in firewood and tending the fire, cooking and packing lunches for visiting travelers, making the family's clothing (from sheep-shearing through spinning and weaving to sewing), growing and preserving produce, making brooms, doing laundry, tending babies and nursing illnesses, making candles, feeding poultry, overseeing butchering, teaching the boys whatever they didn't learn at school, and seeing that the girls learned homemaking creativity. And that was only a fraction of Sarah's responsibilities" (Piper, 2005, p. 23). Suddenly my hands feel a little less full....

Did Sarah sit around complaining or whinging at her ever-present list of tasks or her husband's quiet retreat to his study? No. Sarah was the kind of wife who empowered her husband to be all that he could be as he followed God's leading in his life. As she went about her daily tasks, she allowed her husband the time to grow in his knowledge and understanding of God and His Word and write down his reflections that still influence us today. Jonathan was an attentive husband and father. Their affection for God, each other and their children was often documented (even journaled about by visitors such as Samuel Hopkins and George Whitefield).

In 1900, Winship conducted a study that found the legacy that Jonathan and Sarah Edwards left included: "13 college presidents, 65 professors, 100 lawyers and a dean of a law school, 30 judges, 66 physicians and a dean of a medical school, and 80 holders of public office (including 3 US senators, mayors of 3 large cities, governors of 3 states, a vice president of the US, a controller of the US Treasury)" (in Piper, 2005, p.22).  And this was only up until the year 1900!

In spite of this list though, and the sheer task of raising eleven children (AMAZING!), what really stood out to me about the biographies of Sarah's life, was that she threw herself into her life with a deep peace that came from a personal, vibrant and living pursuit of relationship with God. Her life was not without hardship,  but in it, she actively sought God in the middle of them. "Stresses over finances, distress at having upset her husband, jealousy over another's ministry- all those things were real in Sarah's life. And God used those things to reveal himself to Sarah, to show her how much she needed him, to uncover her own weakness" (Piper, 2005, p.30).

As I've read about Sarah Edwards' life, I have been impacted by the work of the Holy Spirit in her life and available in our lives. As we are empowered by the grace of God that covers our sin and are equipped by the gentle leading of the Holy Spirit, rooted in His Word, our life too can be beautiful (Praise God!). As we go through what seems to be the mundane mothering tasks, we can recognise that we are undertaking our greatest evangelical role- that of raising children in the love and admonition of God. We also can remember we have the ability to empower our husbands through being their help-meet, or crippling them through our nagging brought on by too much bellybutton gazing. And we can experience the joy that is based on our relationship with God, rather than our circumstances.

May you be blessed as you go about your day and whatever situation you are in.

*As a side note, Desiring God do this amazingly generous thing by providing their books free for online download
"Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God" (Noel Piper, Crossway): http://cdn.desiringgod.org/pdf/books_bfw/books_bfw.pdf

Blog Post on other free resources by Desiring God: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/24-free-ebooks-for-you

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What Christmas Means to Me

Our family love music. It has been a bit of a heritage really- growing up my family and that of my wider family- my cousins, aunties and uncles could often be found around my grandmother's piano and my uncles' guitars singing. When I became part of Dave's family, I quickly realised music was a big part of their life too. Dave's dad quickly educated me on music such as Ray Charles and now with my mothering meaning I am a little removed from current music charts, a visit to Dave's dad will often rectify this as he shares the music he is currently listening to.  

We have continued to enjoy music in our little family. Before bed our children are often found crowded on Dave's lap, listening and watching music clips on YouTube. This tradition makes our Miss 3 want to eat her whole dinner (most of the time) as she wants to watch YouTube with Daddy and our little man (10 months today) has also just started bopping along and clapping to the music. 

One of our latest favourites is the acapella group Pentatonix. Here is "What Christmas Means to Me," a song we have enjoyed watching that helps us get excited about Christmas. 

One evening, as we were listening along, I started to think though- at our heart what does Christmas really mean to us? Here, the song and group reinforce the message that Christmas is about enjoying family and presents. We too perpetuate this message- we shop for pressies, we learn new recipes for our family to enjoy eating, we decorate the house to help us get excited and make things look festive and pretty. Like any girl, I love pretty and glittering things. But is there anything wrong with this? I think celebrating family and enjoying giving is a great thing to do: I love it! But if our celebration of Christmas becomes more about celebrating family and gifts, haven't we missed the point?

Why Do We Give?

In the article, "Christmas Spending is a Test of Your Treasure" by David Mathis on DesiringGod, Mathis prompts us to look at our heart motives as we spend money this Christmas. Mathis reminds us that just as our Heavenly Father is generous in giving us the gift of his Son, it is important that we too are generous. At the core of Mathis' article is a reminder to question our hearts when we give- are we giving sacrificially? Are we giving to bless others? Are we giving because we know it is expected? Are we giving to show others how clever we are at finding the right gift, or to show our financial status? Are we giving because we are trying to fill a void in our lives? or are we giving to glorify God and celebrate his blessings firstly in his Son and then in the provisions he showers upon us? As Mathis says: 

"God made us for rhythms and cadences, for feasting and fasting, for noise and crowds and silence and solitude. There is some help, even if minimal, in identifying and naming the extremes of sustained opulence and austerity. We need a place for both financial feasting and fasting. We should abhor the prosperity gospel, and not be snookered by stinginess masquerading as Christian stewardship, and beware that running up large credit-card debt is likely giving beyond our means."

As we shop this year, gathering our gifts from near and far, as Mathis suggests, I will take a moment to ask "What desire am I trying to fulfill? Is this for private comfort, or gospel advance, or expressing love to a friend or family member?" (Mathis)

Treasuring God in Our Traditions

Noel Piper, the wife of John Piper, has written a book that is available for free download here, titled "Treasuring God in Our Traditions" (2003, Crossway). In this book, Noel Piper shares the importance of creating traditions that honour and glorify God. She writes how important it is for us to plan our "celebrations of a world-shaking event like God being born a baby so that we can be reborn as his children." (2003, p.76).  This year, with our Miss 3 able to understand more of what is going on, I really want to be intentional about honouring God and his gift of Jesus. Noel Piper encourages us to recognise the importance of this gift, "We are a people of promise. For centuries God prepared people for the coming of his Son, our only hope for life. At Christmas we celebrate the fulfilment of the promises God made—that he would make a way to draw near to him." (2003, p.76).  As we have tried to be intentional in this nativity period, we have been reading the Nativity Story from a children's Bible each evening and opening an advent calendar square (with accompanying chocolate). Noel Piper also suggests traditions could include advent candles, an advent calendar that tells the Nativity story and nativity crèches that children can play with and that can decorate the home. Picture books focused on Jesus' birth could also be a good addition to family traditions. I'd be interested to hear how you celebrate Jesus in your home! As we get closer to Christmas, may we take the time to look at what Christmas really means to us and make a conscious effort to focus on Jesus. 

 

 

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God's Word: Living and Active

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

Hebrews 4:12

Lately, I have been feeling challenged about God's Word. I've been being convicted of the fact that too often, we take for granted our free access to the Bible and demote its role in our lives. In Hebrews 4:12, we are told that the Word of God is living and active. Unlike any other written words, the Bible is God's Word and so is more than just words on a page. As the passage continues, it is sharper than any two-edged sword. It cuts through to the thoughts and intentions at the core of our being. It convicts.

This morning, I was cooking with my almost three-year old. We were baking some muffins and as cooking with a three-year-old often goes, my newly cleaned kitchen floors and my clothes ended up covered in cocoa. Instead of shrugging it off as part of the fun, I became irritated that my daughter had, in her excitement, let the measuring cup enthusiastically miss the bowl. I expressed my displeasure at her carelessness and moved her out of the mess while I cleaned it up. Quickly, I felt the Holy Spirit admonishing me that I was in the middle of a mummy-meltdown, a grown-up version of a toddler-tantrum. After apologies were made and we finished our cooking, I sat down to read my Bible. 

Currently, I am working through James and wouldn't you know it I was up to James 1:19: "Know this, my beloved brothers; let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." I shouldn't be surprised when God's Word cuts to my heart and exposes my sinfulness, for this is exactly what God uses it to do! It continues to amaze me that in God's mercy, the Holy Spirit considers my sanctification important enough to stick at it. When I come to His Word, I should expect some of this sanctification to occur and in fact welcome it. 

I long to be a doer of the word, not only a hearer (James 1:22). I am humbled that God continues to chip away piece by piece at me, refining me, purifying me, making more like my Saviour Jesus. As James continues, "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in the mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing." (James 1:23-25). Woe to the one of us who reads or hears the Holy Word of God and does not come away a little more sanctified. Like the man in this passage who sees his reflection and then walks away unchanged, we too can read God's Word and not put into practise what the Holy Spirit has convicted us of. 

It is my hope that next time I cook, God may have helped me learn from this and be a little more patient. It is my hope that I will come to open God's Word and realise how precious it is. It is my hope that I will come to God's Word expecting to be convicted of my sin. It is my hope that I will be thankful that God considers my sanctification important enough to stick at it. It is my hope that I will close the Bible and be changed to be a tiny bit more like Jesus. Finally, it is my hope that in persevering, I will recognise God's blessing that is in store. 

Some Bible study resources that I've found helpful lately:

• "Women of the Word" Jen Wilkin, Crossway, 2014
• Word-Based Ministry to Women, Nancy Guthrie, Youtube Link

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James: Slave of Jesus, Brother of Jesus

Our little man has just started commando crawling which has led to lots of excitement by our family over the last few days. With it however, has also come sibling tension. With his new-found movement, our little guy can find his big sister any time he wants to and 'disrupt' her games as he tries to participate. Sometimes this interaction is encouraged by his older sister, but often it is unwelcome, causing frustration for both of them. Seeing this sibling rivalry and interaction has caused me to pray that they would come to love each other and love spending time with each other.

It makes one think- what would Jesus have been like as an older brother? James, the author of the book of James in the Bible, was the brother of Jesus and would have known first hand what this would have been like. Matthew 13:55 shows us that James was the first brother of Jesus listed, probably indicating as Jesus' half-brother, he was the first son of Mary and Joseph. While James, along with the rest of his family, didn't always recognise Jesus for who he was (Mark 3:21, 31-35; John 7:2-5), after the resurrection they came to recognise Jesus as their Lord and Saviour (Acts 1:14). James then went on to became a leader in the church of Jerusalem (Acts 15) and as Josephus accounts, James was martyred by stoning.  

In the greeting of the book of James, James writes, "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ..." (James 1:1a). Jen Wilkin, in her Bible Study series on James , points out that this shows incredible humility. Surely, of all Jesus' followers, it would have been easy for James to want to point out that he was Jesus' brother. Exhalting himself as a little higher than the other disciples. Or even mentioning that he was a leader in the Jerusalem church. But he doesn't. James calls himself a 'servant' (Greek: doulos) otherwise translated slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

John MacArthur says:

When the apostles used slave imagery, both in their preaching and in writing the New Testament, they were fully aware of what it meant in terms of both Jewish history and Roman culture. From the standpoint of Israel's history, to be a slave of God was to identify oneself with those who stood at Mount Sinai...Moreover, it was to be aligned with notable men of faith, such as Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets- spiritual leaders who exemplified wholehearted submission to the will and word of God. From the standpoint of first-century culture, slavery served as an apt picture of the believer's relationship to Christ- one of complete submission and subjugation to the master. In both cases, to be a slave was to be under the complete authority of someone else. It meant rejecting personal autonomy and embracing the will of another. The concept required no great explanation because slavery was commonplace and had been for many centuries.

(Slave, 2010, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, p.35)

James, when calling himself a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, would have known this history and understood that he was declaring that he was completely at the mercy of his master Jesus. There was nothing James was bringing of himself- he wasn't trying for notoriety, he was simply saying that all people needed to know of him was that he was a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

We can celebrate in this for we share a master with James, we too have a gracious and loving Master. It is through slavery to Jesus that we are adopted into his family (Romans 8:16-17). As we grow in our understanding that pursuing God means surrendering more of our life to him, may we also recognise the freedom and beauty that this slavery means. Because we have been bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), we can fully trust the love and security our Master provides. Like James, we do not need to fight for fame by listing our credentials, but we can stand as a slave to God and the Lord Jesus Christ, loved, accepted, forgiven and free. 

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An Aged Martyr

“86 years have I have served him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?”

Polycarp’s Martyrdom (ca. 69-ca. 155)
I like to people watch when I get the chance- watching an expression cross a person's face, viewing a film that poignantly speaks of this thing we call 'life', sinking my teeth into a book with strong characters. All these opportunities give me time to pause and consider the millions of people living across this earth and the different lives they live. These days, I am usually found watching my two little children and marvelling at God's handiwork in their lives. I also wonder about who they will grow to be.  My almost 3 year old daughter is becoming more aware of the concept of 'time' in life. Her birthday is rapidly approaching and her mind is taking in what a birthday actually is and what it means to get a year older. The other day after running into an elderly friend, my little lady looked at my and stated most emphatically, "I don't think G- is a baby". I concurred with a smile: It had been 70 or so years since our dear family friend had been a baby! Age is such an interesting thing for a small child to understand. This made me think- how do I want to look back on these years I am to live? I hope that if I reach 70+ years on this earth, I may be lots wiser, more patient and more in love with our Precious Saviour Jesus!Polycarp, is one of the earliest martyrs we have documented eye-witness accounts of outside the New Testament. At 86 years of age, I would also make a guess that he is perhaps one of the oldest. He is thought of to be the last surviving Christian who learnt directly from the Apostle John and was a leader of the Church in Smyrna. In the account below, we read of his courageous martyr:

"In the popular mind, the early church was above all else a noble army of martyrs. In many ways it was, and none was more noble than Polycarp, the aged bishop of Smyrna in western Asia Minor.The authorities brought the highly respected pastor into the crowded arena, prepared to shove him to the lions- but only reluctantly. They much preferred a denial of the charge against him. He was a Christian."Simply swear by Caesar," the governor pled."I am a Christian," said Polycarp. "If you want to know what that is, set a day and listen.""Persuade the people," answered the governor. Polycarp said, "I would explain to you, but not to them""Then I'll throw you to the beasts.""Bring on your beasts," said Polycarp."If you scorn the beasts, I'll have you burned.""You try to frighten me with the fire that burns for an hour, and you forget the fire of hell that never goes out."The governor called to the people, "Polycarp says he is a Christian." Then the mob let loose. "This is the teacher of Asia," they shouted, "the father of the Christians, the destroyer of our gods."So Polycarp, praying that his death would be an acceptable sacrifice, was burned at the stake.The scene is real. It did happen."- Excerpt from B. L. Shelley¹

In another account, when Polycarp was told if he recanted he would have his life spared, he replied, "For eighty-six years I have served him, and he has done me no evil. How could I curse my king, who saved me?"². As he was tied to the stake, we read "... he looked up and prayed out loud: "Lord Sovereign God ... I thank you that you have deemed me worthy of this moment, so that, jointly with your martyrs, I may have a share in the cup of Christ... For this... I bless and glorify you. Amen."³ 
As I imagine myself a silent "people watcher" of this man Polycarp, I am amazed at the strength his faith and God gave him. I imagine the lines of laughter etched around his mouth, the wisdom of age showing in his hair, the slight stoop signalling a long-lived life. Yet this man is not telling a story to a grandchild sitting on his knee, he is standing in front of an angry mob, who are calling for his excruciating death. Polycarp considers the opinion of his Saviour King higher than that of the people in front of him. With assurance of his salvation (1 John 5:11-13), he considers it an honour to be martyred alongside Christ. Not only does he not waver in his faith, he so greatly comprehends God's richness of grace (Ephesians 2:1-7) that Polycarp asks for an opportunity to share his faith with the governor. 
How quick I am to miss an opportunity to share my love for Jesus with a friend, fearing their response! How often I think more highly of other people's opinions over that of my Saviour! I so easily lose sight of the temporal nature of this world, getting caught up in the day to day and forget that eternity is just around the corner. In these moments, may I remember Paul's example, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." Ephesians 3:8-11.

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1 B. L. Shelley, Church History in Plain Language, 1995, p.37, Word Publishing^↩
2 J.L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity Vol.1, 2010, p.54, HarperOne:NY^↩
3 J.L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity Vol.1, 2010, p.54, HarperOne:NY^↩

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Fear and Faith

As a mother of two little blessings, fear for my children is one of my regular struggles. It is a battle I go through and one I am finding I need to continue to surrender to God. Unfortunately, fear rather than faith seems to often be my first reaction when I hear about a child's plight- a child gone missing or a child being given a horrible diagnosis. At these times the verse from 2 Corinthians 10:5-6a springs to mind, "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ..." This convicts me of the sin of fear and causes me to lift my eyes to my precious Sovereign Lord. I am reminded that these children were His first and that I need to surrender them, offering them back to God for Him to do as He wills. In gentleness I am aware of the Holy Spirit reminding me that He is at work in me, conforming me more to the image of Christ.

I am reminded of Moses. When oppression of the Israelites in Egypt caused the slaughtering of hundreds of male babies (Exodus 1:15-16), God's hand was still in control. He placed a godly and righteous fear in the Hebrew midwives, "But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live." (Exodus 1:17) A humble mother Jochebed, put her faith above her fear, and placed her three month old Moses in a basket made of bulrushes and sent him off into the river (Exodus 2:3). God, in His Sovereignty, allows Pharaoh's daughter to see the basket, hear Moses' cries and take pity on him (Exodus 2:5-6). But the thing that really amazes me about this story is the way that God extends such mercy upon Jochebed, that through Moses' sister Miriam, Jochebed is reunited with her son and chosen to raise Moses for Pharaoh's daughter. 

I am reminded of Samuel. In 1 Samuel, we read of Hannah pleading with the Lord to give her a child (1 Samuel 1:10-11). God hears her prayer and in His mercy grants her request. Hannah then surrenders Samuel back to Lord, offering him up to serve in the tabernacle. Samuel goes on to hear God's voice (1 Samuel 3:10-11) and as he grows "the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet for the Lord." (1 Samuel 3:19-20).

Finally, I am reminded of Jesus. In Matthew, we see how after quite an eventful arrival (being born in a stable without a midwife no less), Mary has less than two years of delight with her newborn Jesus, before her faith is called to the fore. Joseph, in a dream, is told that Herod has ordered any male child under two be killed(Matthew 2:16-17). Sound familiar? God then sends Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus to Egypt of all places, and Jesus' life is preserved. I imagine the motherly fear that would have been there for Mary, hearing her baby was at risk, yet through faith and trust, Joseph leads them to safety in Egypt. 

Of greater urgency, over that of health and protection for my children, should be that they come to know, love and pursue a living and vibrant relationship with God for themselves. In these years that I have them, my concern for their well-being should come second to my concern for their spiritual health, as this has eternal consequences. May my faith leave a greater impression on my children than my fears and may they see a mother who trusts God's Sovereignty in the joys and pains of life. 

As I was dwelling on this topic this morning, a little hymn my grandmother used to recite to us came to mind and this is what I will leave you with.

God Hath Not Promised

God hath not promised skies always blue
Flower strewn pathways, all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labour, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing kindness, undying love.

God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptations, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.

But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labour, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing kindness, undying love.

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain, rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deep.

But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labour, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing kindness, undying love.

[ by: Annie Johnson Flint -- from Aiken Drum ]

Poem taken from: http://www.skywriting.net/inspirational/poems/god_hath_not_promised.html

photo credit: Aurélien Désert via photopin cc