:Sing O daughter of Zion! Shout O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord your God is in your midst, the Mighty One will save, He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:14, 17
Holidays are often a time of reflection and taking time to celebrate what we have ben given, for that reason, special days like Mother’s Day can bring joy to one woman and pain to another. For years women have felt like they must justify the path they are walking on, whether they have children or not , whether they work at a job or work from home as a stay-at-home wife and mother, whether they should home school their children or put them in public or private schools. Sadly too many women thought they not only had the need to define themselves as a woman, they also entered into a world dominated by men and they felt like they had to prove who they were, trying to prove they can do what a man can do, but they can do it better and the women’s lib movement was born. As difficult as it has been to keep the battle of the sexes out of families and churches, the new culture has even more fuel added to the flame. Women are under a greater attack than any other time in the history of our great nation, now some men are identifying as women and are dominating the world where women were once celebrated and protected, they are taking over things like women’s sports and buying into the lie that a person who identifies as a woman can have babies just like a woman does.
I want to bring healing and acceptance to every woman who reads this whether she is a mother or not. I came across this poem by Amy Young, A Tribute Prayer for Mother’s Day. “To those who gave birth this year to their first child-we celebrate with you. To those who lost a child this year – mourn with you. To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badges of food stains – we appreciate you. To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions or running away – we mourn with you. To those who walk in the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointments, we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. WE do not mean to make this harder than it is. To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms- we need you. To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you. To those who have disappointment, heart ache and distance with your childrenwe sit with you. To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you. To those who experienced abuse through the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience. To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing pf motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst. To those who have aborted children – we remember them and you on this day. To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children – we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be. To those who are step-parent- we walk with you on these complex paths. To those who envisioned lavishing love on grandchildren – yet that dream is not to be- we grieve with you. To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you. For those who have placed children up for adoption- we commend you for your selfishness and remember how you hold that child in your heart. And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising + anticipate with you. This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.”
Throughout scripture, we see the love and concern our heavenly Father has for His daughters. He saw the barrenness of Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Hannah and gave them children. God saw that Leah was unloved and He blessed her with children. God sent Elijah to the widow at Zarephath so she would have food for her and her son. God saw the tears and rejection of Hagar and promised her and her son a future and an inheritance. God protected Moses and allowed Jochebed to raise her own son. God raised the Shunamite woman’s son from the dead. God gave Deborah, a mother in Israel, wisdom, and courage to lead an army and bring about the deliverance of the Israelites. God told Moses to give the daughters of Zelophehad, an inheritance in the promise land. God multiplied the oil for Obadiah’s wife after he died so she could pay off his debt and have money live on. God gave the harlot, Rahab, a second chance and a place of honor in the blood line of Jesus. God gave Ruth another husband when her first husband died. God gave Naomi a daughter in law that loved her better than any son could. God spared Abigail’s life when her evil husband offended King David. God used a woman, one of His daughters to give birth to the Messiah who would save the world. He revealed who the Messiah was to a prophetess Anna who served in the temple.
Jesus restored the value of women when He was on earth. Jesus allowed Mary to sit as His feet, a place of honor. Jesus defended the woman caught in adultery. Jesus talked to the woman at the well, telling her all about her failed marriages and brought her hope again. Jesus stopped funeral processions and raised a woman’s son from the dead. His virtue healed the woman with the issue of blood. Jesus took a mother’s sack lunch she made for her son and fed 5,000 men, not including women with her meal. Jesus cast out seven demons from Mary Magdalene and taught her how to live a free life. Jesus had compassion of Mary and Martha and raised their brother, Lazarus after he had been dead for 3 days. Jesus saw and honored the woman who gave the mite in the offering because she gave all she had. Jesus healed the crippled daughter of Abraham. Jesus had compassion on the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter and delivered her. One of the last things Jesus said before He died was, He told John to take care of His mother for Him. Jesus was very clear that women were valued and loved by Him and His Father. You are cherished and loved by God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit because you are a daughter of God. Your value and worth do not come from your marital status, whether you have children or not, the career path you have chosen, your social status, nor is it diminished by the mistakes and bad choices you have made. Psalm 139:14 tells us, “I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” You are created in the image of God your Father and you ae wonderfully made! His love is unconditional, and you are loved and Ephesians 1:6 “By which He has made us accepted in the beloved.” People may not understand and value you the way they should, but be assured that God the Father sees you and loved you enough to send His Son to earth to die on a rugged cross, go to hell and fight for your freedom and rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for you. Jesus did all that so we could be saved, forgiven and in a right relationship with God the father. There is no sin to big for God to forgive and the blood of Jesus to wash clean. Not only did Jesus died for our sin, Isaiah 53:5 “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our wickedness (our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing), the punishment (required) for our well-being fell on him, and by His stripes (wounds) we are healed.” God sent Jesus to save us from our sins, to heal our sick bodies and to give us peace. Isaiah 61:1-2 prophesied that the Spirit of God would be on Jesus to: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach the good tidings to the poor, He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of prison to those who are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God. To comfort those who mourn.”
On this Mother’s Day, I do not know what you need from God, but rest assured that the sacrifice Jesus made is more than enough for anything you are facing. The most important decision you can make is to ask Jesus to be Lord of your life, ask Him to forgive all your sins and live the rest of your life in a loving relationship with Jesus. If your body needs healing, I pay for your healing by the stripes Jesus bore on His back for you. He is still the God who heals all our diseases. For those with a broken hearted, Jesus came to heal you. Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” I want to speak to the captives and those who are in prison. I do not think people in an actual prison are reading this, but there are many who are imprisoned in their minds and by the words and actions of other people. No matter how many people have hurt you or overlooked you, God is not like that. “God is not a man that He should lie or the son of man that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19 Isaiah 59:1 “Behold the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor is Hid ear heavy that it cannot hear.” Nothing is impossible with God. Jesus came to set you free! Free to be who God designed you to be and fulfill the amazing destiny He has on your life. In the name of Jesus, the Name that is above every name, the Name that every knee will bow to, I bind the lies of the enemy, I command the voices that have told you that you are not good enough to be silent, and I loose you to be all God created you to be, completely whole and at peace with God. I stir up the gifts and callings on your life and call you into the destiny God has for you. On this Mother’s Day, I pray Numbers 4:2426 over you and your family, “The Lord bless you and keep you, The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you peace.”
Cathy Nesmith