Fear of Failure

If I can be honest, sometimes I can get caught up in trying to be a perfect mother to my son—giving him the most nutritious food, limiting his screen time, and raising him to be an emotionally stable and successful man. I never want to “fail” him as his mother, which often leads me to set unrealistically high expectations for myself.

Perhaps you can relate to this fear of falling short in some way. Allow me to offer some encouragement: the goal of motherhood is not to be a "good" mother but to be a godly mother. We shouldn’t strive for success based on the world's standard; instead, we should surrender to the process of sanctification based on the standard of Christ. Motherhood serves as a means through which God shapes us to resemble His Son, Jesus, by purging the sin and selfishness innate within all of us.

We can’t become more like Christ through our own efforts. We must first accept Christ’s righteousness through faith in Him and then allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Only then can we exhibit patience and self-control with our children, find joy and peace amidst challenges, and extend unconditional love and kindness to those God has entrusted to our care. As mothers, we can’t fail when we continually abide in God and invite the Holy Spirit into our lives. So let’s cease striving and embrace surrender.

Prayer,

Heavenly Father, I repent for measuring my success as a mother against worldly standards. I now choose to look to You and Your Word, which sets the benchmark through Jesus Christ. Knowing that You have already accepted me as Your daughter, I realize that I need not strive for approval but surrender to You. Holy Spirit, I invite You to equip and guide me, and to produce the fruit of Your Spirit within me so that I may fulfill the calling of godly motherhood. I am grateful and I love You. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.

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If you found this devotional to be uplifting, I invite you to delve deeper into the discussion by exploring my latest book on motherhood titled, "Completely Surrendered: Releasing Fears, Plans, and Past Hurts to Embrace God's Gifts of Fertility and Motherhood" now available on Amazon.