A Mother's Walk

Intro; To preach the perfect Mother’s Day sermon, the text would no doubt come from Proverbs 31. This scripture reveals the ideal family with the ideal mom. Listen to her attributes;

A virtuous wife and her husband trusts her [Virtue- high moral standards, Ruth]

She willingly works with her hands and provides meals for the family

She also works outside the home to help with the family finances

She’s involved in the community, PTA and missions ministry in the church

She clothes her family well and gives to others in need

She is well respected and not a gossip

She is a blessing to all and her family calls her blessed

She is a woman who fears the Lord

Now we all would like to be a part of a family like that. But life doesn’t always work that way for various different reasons. So today on this Mother’s Day, I want to look at some mother’s in scripture who didn’t have the best of situations and see how they prevailed as we look at “A Mothers Walk.”

The reason I entitled this message “A Mother’s Walk” is because the word walk means to advance forward with both feet on the ground/grounded. These women we will look at stayed grounded in the Lord through some of the toughest times that you can find in scripture.

1. The Single Mom;

The first single parent identified in the Bible is Hagar. She was an Egyptian slave who became pregnant with Abraham’s child as a result of Abraham and Sarah running ahead of the Lord’s instruction (Genesis 16:1–4). She was to be a surrogate, which was never God’s intent. After she became pregnant she was despised by Sarah and sent away but God came to Hagar in her distress and let her know that He was with her (Genesis 16:10–12). She returned under the instruction of God and bore a male child to Abraham named Ishmael.

When Isaac was born to Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael were sent away into the wilderness, and that’s where we pick up the story of the single mom.

Genesis 21:15–21 NKJV

15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. 16 Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. 20 So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Hagar became a single mom by no fault of her own, yet she still had the responsibility of her child.

Taking care of children in a two parent family is hard enough, but to be the mom and dad both can many times be overwhelming.

Single moms can learn what Hagar learned. When she cried out to God, He drew near.

Psalm 18:6 NKJV

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

Psalm 34:17 NKJV

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.

1 Peter 5:7 NKJV

7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

God can bring hope and help through the church, friends and family. I know this for a fact because God sent these people into our lives and helped my mom!

2. The Widow Mom;

The widow is in a similar situation of the single mom except that the widow always had a companion/provider for the family but all of a sudden he is gone. Often that puts the widow in some difficult situations financially, becoming vulnerable to scam artists, and raising children alone.

1 Kings 17:8–16 NKJV

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ ” 15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.

God has deep compassion for those who are left alone, especially the widows and children. If you are that widowed mom today, I want you to know God is there for you.

Psalm 68:5 NKJV

5 A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.

Deuteronomy 27:19 NKJV

19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

The church is here for you as well under the authority of God

Isaiah 1:17 NKJV

17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.

James 1:27 NKJV

27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

If you are that widow and a mom, God will provide through His church [Sherry {Kowatch} Jordan]

3. The Selfless Mom;

The last mom I want to share with you this morning I call the selfless mom. Now all moms to a certain extent are selfless. Always thinking of their family first. But this mom I’m talking about goes above and beyond. This is the mom who gives up her child because she realizes she can’t take care of that child as she desires.

Exodus 2:1–10 NKJV

1 And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. 2 So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. 4 And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. 5 Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. 6 And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the maiden went and called the child’s mother. 9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

Jochebed gave up Moses to spare his life from the Pharaohs order to kill the male children. She gave him up to the “Lord” to take care of him, and He did.

Often there are mom’s who give their children up for adoption because they don’t have the means to take care of them theirselves and they know that they would be better off with another family. If you are that mom, that is a selfless act of pure love!

Giving children up for adoption can also be an answer to prayer for many couples who have not been able to have children of their own. [Paisley, Hunter, Lilly Jo]

God demonstrates His selfless act of pure love by giving up His only Son for us that we could be adopted into the family of God by means of His grace through faith!

Romans 5:8 NKJV

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

John 1:12–13 NKJV

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Romans 8:14–17 NKJV

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Close;

A Mother’s Walk is a tough walk regardless if she is in a ideal family environment, or if she is in a situation of extreme hardship of being a single parent, widow or has given her child up for adoption.

The reason I say it is a tough walk is because regardless of their situation, a mom is always giving to make other lives better. To this we say thank you, mom!

But a Mother’s Walk is also a walk of encouragement and blessing. For if she will walk with the Lord, she will see the fruits of her labors.

Proverbs 31:28–31 NKJV

28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.” 30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.

Mom’s, if you will walk with God and you will be blessed and rewarded!