Encouragement for Today - May 6, 2005

May 6

Encouragement for Today

“A Mother Who Said ‘Yes’”

Glynnis Whitwer, Senior Editor, P31 Woman magazine, editor@proverbs31.org

Key Verse:

Luke 1:38, “‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May it be to me as you have said.’ Then the angel left her.” (NIV)

Devotion:

Mary, the mother of Jesus, had a heart that was ready to say “yes” to anything God asked. And God knew that.

God knew the trials His beloved Son would face, and God had to choose a woman who was strong enough to endure. I believe He chose the best mother on the planet at that time. Wouldn’t you?

I imagine God had a list of requirements for the mother of Jesus. She had to be a woman of great character,

a woman committed to personal righteousness,
a woman humble enough to put God’s wishes first,
a woman who would faithfully raise her son and teach Him about God,
a woman who wouldn’t fall apart at the first sign of trouble,
a woman who would stand by Jesus when He was falsely accused of heresy,
a woman who wouldn’t shrink away when her son was beaten and forced to carry a cross through the streets with people spitting at Him,
and, the woman who would raise God’s Son must be willing to let Him die so that the world would be saved.

God knew that Mary had the character and fortitude to say “yes” to all He would ask.

I’ve asked myself, would God trust me with something that important? Would God trust me to raise a child for whom He had great plans? Has God already done so?

God chose me to be the mother of my three boys. It wasn’t a roll of the dice, and it wasn’t random. It was an intentional choice on the part of a God who knows all. He knows my potential, He knows my strengths and He knows my weaknesses. He knows His plans for Joshua, Dylan and Robbie Whitwer.

My part is to choose to align my will for my children, with God’s will for my children. As I look at Mary, I know I need to walk in humility, seek personal righteousness and trust God’s plan in greater degrees. I also see that I need to allow my children to walk out their faith, even when it seems scary to me (like a mission trip to Honduras).

God loves my children even more than I do. I can trust them in His hands. The other side of the coin is that God also trusts me to raise them. I pray that I can be like Mary, with a heart predetermined to say “yes” to whatever God asks. Then, I pray that God is able to accomplish His plans for my children, with me as a willing servant.

My Prayer for Today:

Precious Lord, I praise you for your awesome power and majesty. You are above all things and created all things. I thank you for creating my children and trusting me to raise them. I know I need your help to do so. Please help my heart say “yes” to all you have planned for my children. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application Steps:

Consider your children one by one. Identify their personal characteristics and skills that are obviously God-given. Ask God in prayer how you can help develop your child to become all that God intends.

Reflection Points:

Imagine God has chosen you to raise His son. What would you do differently as a mother?

It’s easy to slip into the mundane routines of motherhood. How can you elevate its importance?

Read Luke 1:36-37. If “nothing is impossible with God,” what area of your life do you need to turn over to Him?

What are some characteristics Mary must have had that made her a good mother?

Is there an area of your child’s life where you need to say “yes” to God’s plan, and stop enforcing your own will?

Power Verses:

Psalm 139:13, “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (NIV)

Matthew 18:5, “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (NIV)

Proverbs 31:28, “Her children arise and call her blessed …” (NIV)

Proverbs 22:6, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” (NIV)

1 Corinthians 1:25, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.” (NIV)