Devotion: Flying High (Meditations on the Vocation of Motherhood)

I'd like to share some encouragement with all of you mothers out there, by providing a few devotions from my book, or my upcoming book, for free distribution. Please read, be encouraged, and share the love of Christ! This devotion is from Meditations on the Vocation of Motherhood: Volume One. It is brief, keeping in mind "mom-sized-moments" between all of our callings.

Flying High

“The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:28–31

The lives of God’s people were filled with uncertainty. Would they be invaded? Would they be taken captive to a strange and foreign land? Fear and uncertainty can be draining. Motherhood often has moments of fear and uncertainty, like when it comes to health, finances, or education.

Even if there are no major uncertainties in your life, the physical demands of motherhood itself can be exhausting: growing or nursing a baby (or both!) who depends on your body for nourishment, getting up (and staying up!) with sick children at night, trying to find a balance between one’s own self-care and selfishness. We grow weary of both the uncertainties and the physical needs around us. We sometimes feel like we can’t go on.

You can go on, however, but it isn’t by mustering your own strength. It is only through the gift of God’s strength. When you are falling, He comes underneath you, lifting you up and soaring like an eagle, giving you rest and refreshment for whatever tomorrow’s uncertainties and physical demands may be. Don’t rely on your own reserves, but trust in the Lord’s providence and Christ’s certain forgiveness.

Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Who, as on wings of an eagle, uplifteth, sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen
How thy desires all have been
Granted in what He ordaineth? (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary 65:2)

For Further Reading: Isaiah 40:12–31; Hebrews 4:9–10

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or Devotion: Direction and Protection