My Cup Overflows: Experiencing God's Comfort in Motherhood's Valleys Sample

“your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” - Psalm 23:4

As I write this, my 10-month-old daughter is learning to walk, and let me tell you…we are both getting a workout in the process! As she pushes her little walker and takes wobbly steps forward, I’m right behind her, stabilizing her with one hand and clearing toys or furniture out of her path with the other.

I want you to keep this image in mind as we ponder Psalm 23:4 because it paints a picture of how God shepherds us. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me,” the Psalmist David says.

The shepherd’s tools of a rod and a staff allude to two different aspects of care. A rod is used by a shepherd as a weapon to defend the sheep from potential threats. A staff is used by a shepherd to pull and guide the sheep in the right direction. When applied to God’s care for us, his sheep, we see that as we walk through times of suffering, God is both our defense against harm and against our own wandering.

As I help my daughter learn how to walk, I have to protect her from objects in the way, but I also have to protect her from own tendency to move too fast or veer in a precarious direction. In the same way, God is not only sovereign over the external threats in our life, he also protects us from ourselves. As the lyrics of the cherished hymn “Come Thou Fount” sing, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; here’s my heart; O take and seal it; seal it for thy courts above.”

Psalm 23:4 is not an order to pull ourselves together and shove down our fear, for if the Psalmist wasn’t struggling with fear, he wouldn’t have needed God’s comfort. Rather, this verse is an invitation to accept our fear, our helplessness, our own tendency to wander, and to put our faith in the protection and guidance of God. Rather than simply exerting more self-effort to overcome our weaknesses, we can trust in God’s power within us to bring victory.

In all the fears we hold as moms, we can believe that God is in control. And in the face of our own weaknesses - our lack of faith, our propensity to give into temptation, our struggle with patience or kindness - we can trust that God is sovereignly directing our journeys. In our wandering, he meets us with compassion as he draws us back to himself. As Isaiah 40:11 says, he “gently leads those that are with young.”

It’s ok to fear, mom. Today, be gentle with yourself, as Jesus is gentle with you. Acknowledge your fear, and then put your faith in the protection and guidance of your Good Shepherd.