Mama, You Be the Differenceਨਮੂਨਾ

The Confident Mom

Do some days seem like you’re working so hard? Whose strength are you working from, your own or God’s? I so want to be walking in the will of God, but it seems sometimes, I get in front of Him and need to rely on His strength rather than my own. Maybe you can relate.

Now don’t get me wrong, we’re to do our work as though we’re doing it unto the Lord (see Colossians 3:23–24), but there are many times when we try to do the work in our own power and don’t allow God a chance to show His strength. It is His adequacy . . . His competence . . . His confidence that we can tap into. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). The message here is that we don’t have to stress so much about our own weaknesses. We don’t have to be the smartest, the most successful, the most productive, or the most anything. Our job is to do our best and trust that the Lord will work through that.

Jeremiah 17:7–8 gives us the remedy for moving forward despite any inadequacies or doubts that arise: “The man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed. He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit” (HCSB). Jeremiah likens believers to thriving trees planted next to the stream of God’s living water. Their roots—which represent their confidence and trust—are sent out to be nourished by the stream, which represents the life found in God. What a beautiful image of flourishing and peace!

Mom, you’ll want to drink from the living water each day. Cozy yourself up, read from God’s Word, and let it sink into your core so that it’ll bring you the needed peace and comfort to help you battle anxiety, stress, and weariness. When we trust God with our future and find our confidence in Him, He will bless our efforts. This isn’t the case when we trust in mere human effort and turn our hearts away from Him—that person’s life will be cursed (see Jeremiah 17:6). We all need to trust God when our human thoughts want to take us in a different direction.

Put your confidence in God, not man. Your security in Jesus’s finished work on the cross will be a strong foundation when all else seems to be crumbling around you. Putting on His armor will give you the strength you need for the situation in front of you.

Reflection:

Paul’s impactful words to the Philippians are also for you today, Mom: “For I am confident of this very thing, He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6) You are a work in progress. God doesn’t give up on you, so you shouldn’t give up on yourself either. Is your foundation based on God’s confidence?