Magnificent Mothers
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Me
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When it comes to people in society who are under appreciated, at the top of the list has got to be mothers. Because moms do great things. They created us, they fed us, they taught us, they showed us how to love and how to show kindness, and they built us up into the men and women we are today. But all of that is expected. Its normal. Well for mothers its normal, but for everyone else it is extravagant.
Mothers are magnificent.
In fact we could learn a lot from our mothers. We could learn about struggle and faithfulness.
God
God
God rewards those who are faithful. Those who are faithful. That can be hard. It can be difficult. Faithfulness is easy when life is fun, enjoyable, and when things are going our ways. But when it seems like nothing is going our way, faithfulness can be the most difficult thing we encounter.
Leah
Leah
Rachel was beautiful and desirable. Leah was hard on the eyes and unwanted. Jacob was promised Rachel but was given Leah. The day after the wedding, when Jacob found out he had married Leah instead of Rachel, he was disappointed.
Leah’s whole life was filled with disappointment, constantly living in her sister’s shadow. We truly get a picture of Leah’s heart when she becomes a mother. In her children we find her greatest hopes and dreams.
Leah names her first son, Reuben.
32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.”
Genesis 29:
Now, maybe my husband will love me.
Her second son is named Simeon.
33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.
The Lord heard that I am hated.
Her third son is named Levi.
34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.
Maybe, my husband will be attached to me! Be close to me.
Leah’s first 3 sons shout out the conditions of her heart. She longs to be loved. She loathes that she is hated. She wants to be close to her husband. Will her situations ever change?
Her joy is obviously placed in her husband. But suddenly there is a shift. Leah has a fourth son. She names him Judah.
35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.
Genesis 29:
This time I will praise the Lord.
What happened? Where is the sobbing woman who desires to be close and intimate with her husband? Where did this joy, happiness and praise come from?
Leah realized something. Something great and marvelous. True happiness comes only from God. Not from her ability to have children. For if God wasn’t listening, she wouldn’t have any children. There is no sign of her husband Jacob changing or showing her any love. Her joy and happiness came from the love of God.
Transition Statement:
Hannah
Hannah
Hannah could be the greatest mother in all of scripture. She was blessed to have a husband who loved her even though she had no children. But her Husband, Elkanah, had another wife who had many children, her name was Peninnah. Peninnah would harass Hannah because Hannah was barren.
Hannah felt worthless. But she was loved. But sometimes even though you know you are loved, won’t hide the sense of your worthlessness. Hannah wanted value, she wanted a child. So Hannah being the wise woman she is, doesn’t give her husband a maidservant, but she becomes one of the only women in the bible to be faithful till the end and she does what we should all do. She seeks the presence of God.
Hannah goes to the tabernacle. The place of God’s presence. And it is there that she pours out her soul.
Instead of complaining to her husband, striking out against her rival, Hannah goes to God. And she doesn’t hold back. Because if Peninnah can have kids and Hannah can’t, its not Elkanah’s fault, something must be wrong with Hannah. Hannah goes to the only person who can help her. God.
We should be more like Hannah, because God is the only one who can help us as well. God is the only one who has the answers, we too must go to God.
In Hannah’s prayer, she holds nothing back.
10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”
12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman.
1 Samuel 1:10-
We know that she is holding nothing back, not because she is crying bitterly which is a good sign, but because Hannah does what we all do, when we have no more options. Hannah makes a deal. Hannah is so desperate to have a son, the one thing in life that she wants most, that she is willing to donate, to give her son to God.
This is exactly what we do when we become desperate. When we’ve tried every other source for an answer and come up empty, lastly we come to God. We pour ourselves out to him and we make a deal. But what could Hannah offer? She is so desperate to have a child that her first offer is her best one. Her only son.
Hannah’s prayer is answered. God keeps his end of the bargain and Hannah keeps hers as well. Hannah doesn’t struggle and try to keep Samuel, as soon as Samuel is weaned, she brings Samuel to the tabernacle. How easy would it had been to keep him for herself.
But faithfulness was who Hannah was. She brought Samuel to the tabernacle and that would be his new home.
Samuel would live at the tabernacle in Shiloh with Eli the high priest and his two sons; Hophni and Phineas. What happens next in the story is remarkable. Eli has been a terrible father to Hophni and Phineas, and because of it, Eli’s two sons are absolutely terrible. They are cheaters, liers, and abusers.
Yet the whole time Samuel is serving at the tabernacle, Samuel is never influenced by these two older boys. How many children everyday fall to peer pressure? How many of us have done so? Samuel becomes greater than any who served at the tabernacle at this time. Why? How?
Because of Hannah. Just how Hannah poured her soul into God and gave him everything she had, before Samuel went to serve God at the tabernacle, Hannah poured all of herself into her son. She instructed and taught her son to honor and love the Lord, so that when he was a little boy, he would stay faithful to God.
You
You
So don’t neglect the mothers in your life. Pay attention! Our mothers work hard, doing a job that is expect of them. They could feel like Leah, feeling under appreciated and unwanted.
Our mothers, like Hannah have poured out there souls to their children. They have sacrificed much! Don’t neglect your magnificent mother and all that she has done.
Just like God’s creation is God’s greatest treasure, so Mothers treasure their creation, their children.
Take some time every week to express just how much your mother means to you.
We
We
Imagine what our families would experience if our mothers were well taken care of. If our mothers were uplifted and encouraged? Would they be less exhausted when they came to church?
Lets make it our focus to take care of those who fill our lives with such blessings! Take some time tell the mother in your life today just how much you love her for her sacrifices, her effort, her love, and her presence.