One year, while talking with a friend, she was telling me how she wanted to homeschool her children but she knew she wouldn't be able to do an efficient job so her and her husband put them in private school. She expressed to me that she felt a little worried about her and her husband's decision because of all of the school shootings that were being reported across America, especially at public schools. Then she said something that really stood to out me. She said that she just had to remind herself that God will take care of her children because He had given them to her and that His will be done in all things.
Sometimes trusting that a family member, teacher, friend, and even your spouse to keep a watchful eye on your baby can be difficult because you feel you can do a better job. And sometimes, you may feel like you can do a better job than the Lord. Sadly, I'm extremely guilty of that way of thinking, but God showed me over the past couple years, the women in the Bible that had faith that God would take care of their children. Now, if you have never read the stories of the women I'm about to mention, I highly encourage you to read them!
Hannah (I Samuel 1-2)
Hannah was a woman who struggled with infertility because the Lord had shut up her womb. After receiving lots of criticism from her husband's other wife for not being able to bear any children, Hannah fell into a state of depression and would cry often and she wouldn't eat. Eventually, she went up to the house of the Lord and prayed her heart out to God. She asked the Lord for a son and vowed to God that she would give her son unto the Lord all the days of his life. Soon enough she became pregnant with Samuel. She cared for him up until the time that he was to be weaned and then went up to the house of the Lord and left him there. Because Hannah kept her promise to God, He was able to use Samuel in a mighty way and God blessed her and her husband with more children.
Jochebed (Exodus 1-2)
In Egypt, the Pharaoh became intimidated by the children of Israel because they were multiplying more and mightier than the Egyptians. So he spoke with the Hebrew midwives and told them to kill all the male babies that were born. But they didn't obey because they feared God. So the Pharaoh told his own people to throw all the male babies of Israel into the Nile river.
After witnessing the tragic things the Egyptians were doing, Jochebed hid baby Moses. However, after three months, she couldn't hide him any longer. So she wove a basket and made sure it was waterproof so that it would float when the baby was placed inside. Once the basket was finished, she went down to the river, placed her baby in the basket, put the lid on, and allowed it to drift off down the river. Moses' big sister, Miriam, curiously followed the basket down the river. She watched, from afar, the basket float near Pharaoh's daughter who was bathing in the river. Pharaoh's daughter spotted the basket and sent her maid to fetch it. The maid brought the basket to Pharaoh's daughter, she opened it, and there lay crying baby Moses. Miriam approached Pharaoh's daughter and asked if she should fetch a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. She agreed, so naturally Miriam chose her mother to nurse her own baby.
Can you imagine being in the position of these women? Bringing your firstborn son, after he was weaned, to the house of the Lord and then leaving him there? Or going through the whole process of making a basket, placing your three month old baby in the river, all the while thinking that this will possibly the last time you will ever kiss and cuddle your baby? To be honest, I don't think I ever want to imagine.
These stories that the Lord had shown me have really been on my heart because He was showing me that I really don't have an inch of the faith that these women had. I'm over here getting worried about every little thing that may go wrong or not be done properly in an hour of not being with my children, while these women are dropping them off for good only to see them occasionally. The faith these woman had is absolutely astonishing to me. They really understood that the children that they were given were not theirs, but the Lord's, and that the Lord's will will be done in everything. And because of that type of faith, God blessed them and He was able to use Samuel and Moses for His honor and glory.
Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. -Psalm 127:3
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