Hope for Weary Moms: A 5-Day Devotional Sample

Have you ever lived on an animal farm or visited one? If so, you know that animals need someone to care for them and clean up after them. The farmer’s work is hard and continuous, sometimes draining him of all strength. He gives of himself for the good of his animals, but he also receives much good because of them. Proverbs 14:4 explains: “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.”

Likewise, our children need us, and they’re a lot of work! Often, we may feel like an exhausted farmer as we care for them. But our children are more precious and valuable than the most prized cattle or flock. Charles Spurgeon commented that our children are to be understood as an inheritance, not an incumbrance. They’re to be seen as an enrichment, not a regret.

Proverbs 127:3 highlights that our children are a blessing from the Lord—a heritage and reward from his hand. In this verse, to say that our children are a heritage means that they’re a good portion from God, providentially assigned, or passed on, to us. The word reward means they’ve been given to us as an honor for our labors and faithfulness. What amazing grace is that! For there’s none among us who truly deserves such a gracious gift from a holy God.

The Lord is sovereign over the growth of our families. He’s given us our children, whether they’ve entered our families by birth or adoption. Scripture repeatedly emphasizes that children are a good gift from the Lord. Jacob described his children as those whom “God has graciously given” (Gen. 33:5). Hannah said “the Lord has granted me” a child (1 Sam. 1:27). King David acknowledged “the Lord has given me many sons” (1 Chron. 28:5).

God looks upon children as an honor and a blessing, and it’s a worldly, sinful mindset to think of them as burdens or inconveniences. As Christ-followers, we can fall into that type of thinking, especially when we’re overwhelmed by the many responsibilities of motherhood. But we must confess and repent of that sin, knowing that in Christ we’re forgiven and empowered to honor him with our thoughts and the actions that flow from them.

Weary mom, remember that God gives you grace for your race. Like the apostle Paul, when he prayed in 1 Corinthians 12:9 that God might remove his thorn of suffering, you’ll find that God’s sustaining power is sufficient in our weariness. His strength is displayed through your weakness. His grace to you is evidenced in both the gift of children and the gift of Spirit-empowered perseverance.

How do you view your children? Be strengthened with a renewed vision of what they are—a cherished inheritance and a priceless reward.