Mother's Day 2021

The Joys of Being Mom

MOTHERHOOD The mother of three notorious kids was asked, "If you had it to do all over again would you have children?" "Sure," she said, "but not the same ones."

MOTHERHOOD An overzealous little boy was pledging his devotion to his mother when he began to brag of what he would do for her when he grew up.  "Mom, when I grow up I'm going to buy you an electric can opener, an electric toaster, an electric stove, and an electric chair."

MOTHERHOOD "The joy of motherhood is what a woman experiences when all the children have gone to bed."

Jochebed: A Woman of wisdom, courage and faith!

In the life of Jochebed we see three principles that are foundational to all good mothers:

She was a woman of great courage

She was actively defying the most powerful man on earth! To be caught was certain punishment and death for her and likely her family. She had courage to honor God and obey Him instead of man.

Courage – the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.

Illustration: One dark night outside a small town, a fire started inside the local chemical plant. Before long it exploded into flames and an alarm went out to fire departments from miles around. After fighting the fire for over an hour, the chemical company president approached the fire chief and said, "All of our secret formulas are in the vault in the center of the plant. They must be saved! I will give $50,000 to the engine company that brings them out safely!"

As soon as the chief heard this, he ordered the firemen to strengthen their attack on the blaze. After two more hours of attacking the fire, to no avail, the president of the company upped his offer to $100,000 to the engine company that could bring out the company's secret files.

From the distance a long siren was heard and another fire truck came into sight. It was a local volunteer fire company composed entirely of men over 65! To everyone's amazement the little fire engine raced through the chemical plant gates and drove straight into the middle of the inferno. In the distance the other firemen watched as the old timers hopped off of their rig and began to fight the fire with an effort that they had never seen before.

After an hour of intense fighting the volunteer company had extinguished the fire and saved the secret formulas. Joyous, the chemical company president announced that he would double the reward to $200,000 and walked over to personally thank each of the volunteers. After thanking each of the old men individually, the president asked the group what they intended to do with the reward money.

The fire truck driver looked him right in the eye and said, "The first thing we're going to do is fix the brakes on that truck!" Courage to do the right thing doesn’t always come easy!

Courage to discipline your child Courage to say no Courage to offer unsolicited advice when you are convicted of God to give it Courage to stand up and challenge your child to deeper and stronger faith...Courage is something the Holy Spirit gives us! 2Timothy 1:7

2 Timothy 1:7 CSB

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.

God gives us courage…the ability to face danger, hardship, difficulty and pain without fear!

Courage is available to those who have the faith…to those who believe and trust God and His promises…anyone who has been a parent knows parenthood is not for the faint of heart!

She was a woman of great wisdom

Jochebed was no fool! She kept Moses in her home as long as she could but once he hit 3 months old he was a bit too noisy and obvious to keep a secret any longer. She could not risk her other children…it was time for further action and a plan to unfold!

No doubt Jochebed had seen the daughter of Pharaoh going out to the Nile to bathe and cool off. She knew when and where the woman would take her bath…and she planned to be there at just the opportune time!

She put Moses in the basket at a strategic place…a place that would be seen by Pharaoh’s daughter…and told her own daughter to keep watch over the boy and see what happens.

I don’t doubt for a moment that Jochebed had told the sister of Moses to go to Pharaoh’s daughter once the boy had been found…Jochebed had a plan to provide for not only the safety and future blessing of the boy but also for she herself to be a part of the boy’s life as his nurse!

Wisdom -- knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; discernment, or insight. We don’t have to depend upon our own insight or discernment…we have the ability and privilege of praying to God who reveals to us His wisdom, insight and discernment!

We are not limited to what we can see…we have the blessing of God’s vision and direction for our life!

Illustration: A young man loaned an acquaintance $500, but failed to get the borrower's signature on a receipt.  When the guy hadn't paid him back a year later, he realized he had probably lost the money due to lack of proof.  He asked his father what to do." The answer is simple," his father said. "Just write him and say you need the $1,000 you loaned him." You mean $500," his son replied." No, you need to say $1,000.  He'll immediately write back that he only owes you $500, and then you'll have it in writing!"

James 1:5

James 1:5 CSB

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.

God desires that we live by a knowledge beyond our own! God really does desire to give us direction and answers so we might live our life to His glory!

Being a parent isn’t easy…no child is born with an instruction manual taped to his or her chest! To be a wise parent you must walk with God…seek His answers and follow His direction when He speaks! To be wise we must lean upon and seek the guidance of God!

She was a woman of great faith

Her courage and wisdom came to her as the result of her great faith! She believed in God…believed in His character, goodness and compassion for His people…she believed God loved her and her little boy Moses.

Jochebed believed God and it was credited to her as righteousness…she was God’s kind of person…doing things God’s kind of way!

This passage demonstrates her strong relationship, reliance upon and love of God. She was not content to take the easy road…she decided to follow God no matter what!

Without faith you cannot be a good mother or father to your children…they need Jesus for themselves…but they also need a parent led by Jesus…parents empowered and enlightened by God’s Holy Spirit.

It may be one of the most difficult things in life to let go of control and place faith in God for your kids! You cannot control where those kids will go, what they will do, what crazy stunts they might try!

You cannot be there for every major life decision they will make…the time they are offered drugs, to ride in the car with a friend that has been drinking, to cheat on the test or to go past the moral boundaries you have taught them.

Parents who seek to control their children eventually find themselves brokenhearted when they realize it is easier to catch the wind with their hand than to control the behavior of another human being.

You can teach them, pray for them, encourage them, love them, watch out for them and guide them but in the end you can never control your children!

There comes a point in time when you have done your job as a parent and all that is left to do is have faith in God…believe and trust that He will take care of them, love them, guide and direct them beyond what you could ever have the ability to do!

Jochebed had given birth to Moses, protected him, loved him and provided for him in every way she could…when she put him in that basket she let go of her little boy and put his future in the hands of God…whatever was to happen she had to trust God and His decision for her little boy’s future!

Illustration: When G. Campbell Morgan was a young Christian he used to visit several elderly ladies once a week to read the Bible to them. When he came to the end of Matthew's Gospel, Morgan read, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age." He added, "Isn't that a wonderful promise?" One of the ladies quickly replied, "Young man, that is not a promise. It is a fact!"

Conclusion...

God is always with us, is trustworthy and loves us dearly…God loves our children too. We can trust Him with that which is most precious to us! M

“He is no fool who gives that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” (Jim Elliot) We cannot keep our children but we can give them to God…the one who can keep them for eternity! To attempt anything else is to enter a crushing heartbreak.

Jochebed knew her hope was in the Lord and placed her faith in Him! God’s recipe for a good mother finds it’s most important ingredient in faith!