An Exhortation for Moms

We're celebrating Mother's Day in church today, so open with us to Second Timothy, Chapter One, as we consider some excerpts from my mom. Good morning and happy Mother's Day! Moms, this is a good day. Amen. You can be seated.

It's a great day, a day for us to honor and express appreciation to our moms. We are so grateful for the moms of our church and thankful that you would come here today to worship with us and worship the Lord.

There was a recent study that found eighty-five percent of moms would rather receive a word of appreciation than a dozen roses. So, we want to give you a word of appreciation today, but we will also have a rose for you when you leave. We'd like to give you a red rose. Since I get to do what I do standing up here, I get to give a couple of roses first because my wife and my mom are sitting right here in the front row.

Mother's Day is special. We have award ceremonies for athletes and actors; it seems like there's a new award ceremony for actors every single week. They do one every three days now, I think. However, as far as I can tell, we don't really have an award ceremony for moms, which is unfortunate because I think they have one of the most difficult jobs around. I know this by observation, not experience, obviously.

Moms have very difficult work, and some moms have it more challenging than others because some moms have kids like me, which makes the job a little bit more difficult. But the reward is good. I hope there's a good return on investment somewhere, right?

We want to express our gratitude and appreciation to all the moms in our church today. In just a moment, we want to pray a blessing over all the moms. One of the traditions for us here at Cross-Connection is that we want to acknowledge the sorrows of the day. I've heard over the years that there are a number of women who don't really want to come to church on Mother's Day because it's difficult. They wake up on Mother's Day with a dryness in their throat and a pit in their stomach because of the sorrows associated with this day.

Sometimes those sorrows, such as the death of a stillborn child or the loss of a little one due to cancer or some other illness, can be overwhelming. It may also involve the loss of an adult child or a child who has gone astray, leading to estrangement. This can make for a very difficult day. I know that for some, this is the first Mother's Day you are celebrating without your mom in your life, and that can be hard.

The white roses up here are meant to acknowledge the sorrows of the day. If you are experiencing one of those sorrows, we would like to offer you one of these roses at the end of the service. Please feel free to come up and take one. If you see a lady with a white rose, perhaps you could offer a prayer to the Lord for them. We recognize that this can be a tough day for some, and there are members of our church who have desired to be mothers but have not had that desire fulfilled. For them, coming to church on Mother's Day can be particularly challenging.

However, for all the moms who are here today, we want to say a prayer over you. Moms, please stand up so we can acknowledge you. We are truly grateful for you. Please stay standing as we pray.

Father, we come before you today and ask that you pour out a blessing on the moms of our church. We thank you so much for them; we would not be the church we are without them, and we would not be the people we are without them. God, we ask that you bless them today and that they know we appreciate them, even if we sometimes fail to express it as we should. Remind them of our appreciation, Lord. We honor them today because we know you have placed them in our lives. As they have blessed us, we ask that you bless them in return. We ask this in Jesus' name. And everyone who agreed said, "Amen."

You may be seated.

At the beginning of each year, I map out where we will be in the Scriptures throughout the year. I have this teaching schedule on my computer, and for today, May 14th, it indicates that we are supposed to be in Hebrews chapter 7 as we go through the book of Hebrews. However, as I was studying Hebrews chapter 7 over the last several weeks, I found myself conflicted because the entire chapter is a lengthy discussion about a figure named Melchizedek.

I had a hard time seeing how I could, in some way, bring motherhood and Mother's Day into the whole thing of Melchizedek. Pastor Mark tried to explain a way that I could weave it in there, but I sat there thinking it wouldn't work. So, I decided to take a quick deviation from the big book of Hebrews.

If you've been with us as we've been going through the book of Hebrews, you know that it's my opinion that Timothy wrote it. Today, I want to take a moment to look at Timothy, but more than that, to consider Timothy's mom and Timothy's grandmother.

If you would, open your Bibles to the book of 2nd Timothy. It's just before the book of Hebrews, near the end of your Bible. If you open to the very last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, and turn back to the left, you'll pass a whole bunch of little small books like 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, 1st and 2nd Peter, Jude, James, and Hebrews, the big book. Right before Hebrews, you'll find 2nd Timothy, chapter 1.

If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will gladly bring you one. As you're turning there, if you wouldn't mind standing with me for the reading of the Scriptures today.

2nd Timothy 1, beginning at verse 1, reads: "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, a beloved son: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind."

God, as we open the Scriptures today, would You speak to us? Give us insight and application. The exhortations that we find here, I pray that they would be an encouragement to us and maybe even a challenge. Your word is a great comfort to us, so would You, by the instruction of Your word, guide us?

Holy Spirit, who is called the Comforter, would You encourage and strengthen us in our lives this week. Pour out a blessing upon Your church as we study Your Word. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

The Apostle Paul is writing here in Second Timothy. This is his very last letter. In fact, in the not-too-distant future, after we finish Hebrews, we'll be going into First Timothy and Titus, and then Second Timothy on into next year. So, we'll get to this letter not too far down the road. This is the very last letter that the Apostle Paul wrote before his death. He was killed in Rome in the late 60s AD as a witness of Jesus. He was martyred for his faith in Christ.

As he was contemplating the soon things that were about to befall him and looking back over 25 to 30 years of ministry and serving God, he wrote a series of letters that we call the pastoral epistles, and this is one of them. This is the second letter to Timothy, whom he calls his son in the faith. Not a biological son, but the fruit of Paul's ministry, Timothy came to faith in large part due to the ministry of the Apostle Paul in a part of the world which is modern-day Turkey.

In this letter, Paul writes to Timothy, and there are a lot of heartfelt good words in this passage of Scripture. He mentions, interestingly, Timothy's mother and grandmother. We are first introduced to Timothy back in the book of Acts during Paul's second missionary journey. If you follow the book of Acts, you know that the bulk of that great book chronicles the life and ministry of this man, Saul of Tarsus, who would become the Apostle Paul.

During his life and ministry, he traveled around the known world of his day on three major missionary journeys and planted churches in various places. On that second journey, which is chronicled in Acts chapter 16, it says that Paul came to this region of the world, modern-day Turkey, and he came to the cities of Derbe and Lystra. Acts 16, verse 1 states, "Then Paul came to Derbe and Lystra."

A certain disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but Timothy's father was Greek. Timothy was well spoken of by the brethren who were there at Lystra and Iconium. This certain Jewish woman, who was the mother of Timothy, is named in Paul's last letter in 2nd Timothy when he calls her out by the name of Eunice. Eunice was a Jewish woman who lived in the city, probably Lystra, which is in modern-day Turkey. At the time, it was called Galatia.

In Paul's first missionary journey, recorded in Acts chapters 13 and 14, he and another individual named Barnabas left where they were living in southern Syria and went up to this area called Galatia. They planted churches in Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe. Paul's typical pattern of ministry was to go into the Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath day and preach the gospel to the people there. No doubt, one of the people seated in that Jewish synagogue was this woman named Eunice and her mother Lois. Young Timothy, the first time Paul was in that area, was probably pretty young, maybe 12 or 13 years old. It is believed that when we see him again in Acts chapter 16, he is in his late teens, about five years later.

When Paul came to that place and preached the gospel, this Jewish woman named Eunice and her mother Lois heard the gospel and became followers of Jesus. Eunice was in a mixed marriage; her husband was not Jewish but Greek. That's all we are told about Timothy's father—that he was Greek. However, there was something in the life of this woman Eunice and her mother Lois that served as a huge example to her son. Paul speaks about it beautifully in this passage in 2nd Timothy chapter 1. He says in verse 5, "I call to remembrance the genuine faith, the authentic, true, and sincere faith that is in you, which was first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that it is in you also."

This clues us into something that every parent knows very well, although most of the time we recognize it in a negative way: children are incredible imitators. How many of you here today have, at least once or twice, been embarrassed by the imitation of your children?

Time we think of this in the negative way that children are imitators of their parents. Most of the time, that comes to mind because our kids have done something that, as we're watching them, we're thinking, "Where did that come from?" Even as we're pondering that question, we are reminded, "I know exactly where that came from," and I'm not exactly excited about what they're doing right now.

However, this truth that children are incredible imitators can be for the bad and for our embarrassment many times, but it is also for the good. We have a really important exhortation here in the fact that this genuine faith that Timothy had first dwelt in his mother and his grandmother. This is a very important exhortation specifically for moms here on Mother's Day.

Point number one, exhortation number one on your sermon guide: live with genuine faith. Moms, might I encourage you today to live with genuine faith? Your kids will see that genuine faith, and by God's grace, because they are incredibly good imitators, they might actually begin to imitate that. It might actually begin to rub off on them.

On this whole thing of children being incredible imitators, several weeks ago, my wife and I were taking care of a couple of kids for a little while. My wife was driving with our children and these kids in the car. As they were driving along, someone honked the horn. The five-year-old that was there heard that car honk and said, "My daddy honks his horn at people, and then he sometimes says, 'You idiot, you're a bad driver.'" Except that he didn't use the word "idiot," but I'm in church, so I'm going to change the word. It was more of like a King James word for "donkey" that he used.

Of course, my wife, trying to hold back her laughter, said, "Yeah, we don't say that." But they're incredible imitators. She texted me to tell me about it, and I had quite a laugh from it as well. I'm just glad that was not my kid. Thank God that one wasn't mine, but they would do that too. I mean, I can't say it wasn't my kids, of course, because sometimes we're just not perfect. Our kids see it all, and they take it on.

What to God that they would see us, specifically moms, because you have an incredible influence over your kids. They would see you live with genuine faith and sincere trust.

Childlike faith in God can manifest in very simple ways. I remember, as a young child, around five or six years old, driving around with my mom. She was one of those people who would stretch out the fuel tank as far as she could. She would watch for the low fuel indicator and see how far we could go beyond the line. We lived a little farther away from the gas station, which probably made it more interesting. I can recall my mom saying, "Let's pray that we have enough gas to get to the gas station."

That simple faith impacted me. I can't remember us ever running out of gas; maybe we did, but I don't know. On my birthday, she remembered, which was impressive. There was that simple trust in God for simple things, but it also showed me from a young age that, although I had a father and a mother, they trusted that we had a Father in Heaven who knows our needs. There was a genuine faith expressed in those little areas.

It wasn't just in the small matters; it extended to the big areas as well. When significant challenges arose, the first step was always to go to God in prayer and say, "God, we need Your help in this situation." I witnessed a genuine faith in my parents, especially in my mother, and I know it rubbed off on me. For you as well, moms, when you live with genuine faith, your kids will see it, even in the simplest things, like praying for a parking space. Let's be honest; most of us do that, especially in November and December when parking can be a challenge. Your kids observe your trust in God amidst the little things.

Amid all the challenges they might imitate, may it be that they see in you a genuine faith that might just rub off on them. While you work to live with genuine faith, remember the second exhortation: don't grow weary in the long, hard work of mothering. As I mentioned a moment ago, Timothy was brought up in a part of the world that...

During his day, Galatia was a significant region. Paul, during his first missionary journey, went to Galatia and planted churches. One of those churches was in the city where Timothy, his mother, and his grandmother lived and grew up. After that first missionary journey, Paul left, and a year or two later, he wrote a letter back to those churches. Timothy's mother, his grandmother, and even Timothy would have been the first recipients of the letter that we still study to this day, a letter called Galatians.

In the last chapter of the book of Galatians, there is a really important and good exhortation for us. Paul says in Galatians chapter 6, verse 9, "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Let us not grow weary in doing good. Parenting, specifically mothering, is good work. It's hard work; it's exhausting work. That's my observation as I see my own wife. Obviously, a father and a mother are both important, as God created the ideal situation of having both in the household. However, even in that ideal, it is often the mom who bears the greater burden of time with the children. She tends to have more of the work in the area of parenting and mothering.

This work is long, hard, and exhausting. Paul’s exhortation, while not specifically about parenting or mothering, certainly holds true: let us not grow weary while doing good. Moms, you are doing a very good and important work, a work that, if it were not being done, would devastate our entire civilization and society. We see the devastation of that in certain areas of the world and at certain times in history. Without the important and incredibly awesome work of mothering, we would see the effects of it.

So, don't grow weary while you're doing that good, hard work. In the midst of that good, hard work, there is exhaustion, and there comes a point at which you can begin to lose heart. I have heard my own wife's heart at times, and I have counseled with and prayed for other people here in the church. I have read the prayer requests of some moms because we receive many prayer requests. In those requests, you can see some moms on the edge of losing heart as it relates to their kids, wondering if they have done a bad job.

Have I not done what I could have? Was there more that I could have been? There’s so much that weighs upon a mom, and during those times when it’s hard work, He says, “Don’t grow weary while you’re doing that good hard work.” Well, how can you not lose heart? How can you not feel weary? Paul says, “For in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

In those words, "in due season we shall reap," I see an important truth: we need to maintain the long view. Mom, you’ve got to maintain the long view. This whole thing of parenting is a lifelong process. I don’t know this yet quite well because our kids are still young; our oldest is only eight and a half. However, I hear from parents, from moms whose kids have grown up and moved out of the house, that the stress, the strain, the concern, and the care of a mom for her children doesn’t end when they graduate or move out. It continues. It’s a lifelong journey, a lifelong work that you’ll be doing until the day that you go home to heaven.

So, don’t grow weary in that hard work of mothering. You’ve got to maintain the long view. You’ve got to understand, as has been said of so many other things, that this work is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. It keeps going. You’ve got to look out further to the finish line. You’ve got to look out further to the finished work of Christ, trusting that He who began a good work in your children will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.

You’ve got to keep that mindset. The work of raising those children is something you have a large part to play in, but ultimately, He who began a good work in them will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.

So, how do you maintain the long view? Well, in the book that we’re studying through right now, the book of Hebrews, there’s a good exhortation towards that end found in the twelfth chapter. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2 says, “Looking unto Jesus.” I think those three words are a huge help in any hard endeavor, but especially in the work of parenting, the work of mothering.

Looking unto Jesus, living with a genuine faith, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the hard work of the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus had the long view as He was going through the hard work of the cross. He could see the joy that was awaiting Him there in eternity on the throne in heaven.

I want to encourage you to have the long view of looking unto Jesus. He’s there at...

The finish line is enduring in this hard work, looking unto Him and trusting that He who began a good work in your kids will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. You have to have that genuine trust and faith in Him. There is so much that you do in this work, but ultimately, He is working in ways that you may never see and may not know until you step into His presence in eternity. Therefore, do not grow weary in the long, hard work of mothering, for in due season you shall reap if you do not lose heart. There is a return on investment; it's a hard investment and hard work, but there is a return as you trust in the Lord.

Running that work with endurance is only possible as you look unto Jesus. This brings us to the third exhortation: faithfully teach the Scriptures. I want to exhort you, parents and moms, to faithfully teach the Scriptures. The Bible is filled with these exhortations to parents, and most often, the word comes first to the father. However, remember that in Timothy's life, his father is only mentioned once in the Bible, and he was Greek. He did not have a Jewish background, and there is no indication in the Bible that Timothy's father ever became a follower of Jesus. But his mother and grandmother were.

That exhortation, like what we read in the book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 6, verse 4, states, "Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." This was not coming from Timothy's father, but you can be certain that it came from Timothy's mother. When Paul came to the city of Lystra on his second trip, he found a disciple, a follower of Jesus, who had a good reputation among the leaders of the church. Where do you think that faith in Timothy came from? Where do you think that building up in the Scriptures came from? It was being built into him by his mom and grandmother.

So much so that when Paul came back to that town and saw this young man, who was probably 17 to 19 years old, he said, "I want this guy to come with me and serve with me." For the rest of Paul's life, Timothy was there by his side, faithfully being a co-laborer in the ministry. He became the pastor of the church called Ephesus, to which Paul wrote that letter. Timothy was a faithful church leader.

As a planter and minister of the gospel, where did the foundation of that come from? I guarantee you it came from Lois and Eunice. Their impact in his life was great, and I know the impact in my life has been significant as well, stemming from my own mom, who faithfully sought to live after and clearly loved the Scriptures. I can hardly remember a time growing up when I didn't see my mom in the morning, sitting in the living room with her Bible or some other Bible study open, studying through the Scriptures.

As a child, I sometimes felt a bit frustrated that every time there was some sort of issue or problem, my mom always had a Bible verse. Of course, she always had a Bible verse. What do you expect? Her son always has a Bible verse too. I'm sure it drives somebody not knowing math, probably my life, but I don't know. There was always a Bible verse, and there was that faithful grounding in the Scriptures. There was a trust and a love for God in His Word that I saw in my mom.

One of the ways that this is represented in you is by your commitment to place yourself under the teaching of God's Word faithfully here at this church. I commend you for seeking God in a Bible-teaching church. Your kids see it, and we want to invest heavily in the children of our church as well, so they would know the Word of God too. That's why we have the children's ministry that we do. That's why we have the Vacation Bible School that we have. That's why we have this class coming up next Saturday. It's free! If you're a parent or you know that someday you're going to be a parent, this is a great opportunity to come next Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Pastor Jason is going to be teaching a class. He's already shared a little bit with me about what he's going to be teaching, and it's going to be a great class to help you do what the Scriptures say: to bring up your children in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Now, for some of you whose children are older and you raised them in the church and under the Word, but they don't seem to be walking in that today, it can be a grief to you. Mother's Day might be hard for you. I want to encourage you: He who began a good work will be faithful to complete it.

In some seeds, like those found in a pinecone, you know about the pinecone, don't you? The seeds are there, and it is the hot heat of a fire that often releases those seeds and causes them to germinate and grow. You know what? There are some seeds, some pinecone seeds...

And your prickly kids, some of you may feel like they are never going to blossom and grow. However, it might be the fire of trial that brings them out. If you've been faithful to plant those seeds, you can trust that He who began a good work in them will be faithful to complete it.

So, be a person who faithfully teaches the Scriptures. In Deuteronomy chapter 6, we read, "You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children. You shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

What that describes in Deuteronomy chapter 6 is not literally that you should wear them on your hand or put them on your forehead. Rather, it describes a person whose entire life is surrounded by the Word of God. It's there; it's a part of your life at every turn. I guarantee you, if you teach your kids in that way and they see that in your life, you will reap a great reward on that investment. There is hardly a better example that you can give to your children than to have genuine faith and a love for God's Word.

This brings me to my fourth and final exhortation. Although this applies to all of us, there is a way in which this is specifically for moms. Point number four: pray more than you worry. In my observation, this is a difficult one specifically for moms because moms worry. Amen. Now, it's not that dads don't worry, but they don't worry like moms worry.

I'll give you a specific example from just yesterday. We were driving in our car, and our littlest one was sitting in the backseat, telling us how he wants a motorcycle. My wife responded, "Over my dead body!" I think she missed the point.

For me, I'm thinking about little motorcycles. That would be kind of cool; I think it would be fun. Elliott, that would be great—a motorcycle that kids feel excited about. However, she doesn't want to leave an example that they might imitate. There is a level of worry, anxiety, and concern that moms have that dads don't understand. I don't understand it. I recognize it's real, and God created you this way; I get it, but I don't understand it.

In fact, from the moment of conception, a woman begins to worry about the child in a way that a dad could never understand. The entire time my wife was pregnant, I thought, "Yeah, that's fine. This is normal; everything will come out to be fine." My wife didn't look at things like that. Everything was a concern—every movement, every non-movement, every hour where there wasn't a movement. For me, it was just like, "It's cool; it's just millions of these every year. No big deal." For a long time, I thought it was no big deal, but there is a level of concern that I will never understand.

It's kind of hardwired in your code, ladies, to worry for your kids. I want to encourage you to develop a new habit. There has been a lot of study done over the last several years on habits. A great book I read earlier this year called "The Power of Habit" talked about three basic components to a habit: the cue, the routine, and the reward.

I want to encourage you to develop a new habit, ladies. The cue is when you begin to worry. There will be something to worry about for your kids every single day of your life, and probably many times throughout the day. When that cue comes, I want to encourage you to develop a new routine: to pray. I guarantee the reward will be great.

The typical response when the cue comes is to begin to dwell upon that worry, to look at it from every possible angle, and to deconstruct that worry. You think about it, and then that worry gets bigger and bigger. Or maybe it doesn't even get bigger; you just get closer and closer. As you get closer, it consumes every aspect of who you are—that concern, that worry.

I've had people ask me over the years, "What exactly is biblical meditation? How do I believe meditate?" Well, there is a very simple answer for what biblical meditation is: if you know how to worry, you know how to meditate.

It's true that when we focus on our worries, concerns, and problems from every possible angle, we end up meditating on them. If we meditate on our worries and concerns, we'll just become more anxious, and those feelings will grow larger. However, there is a great word for us, and some of you may already be thinking of it because you've contemplated it and memorized it. It's found in the book of Philippians, chapter 4.

I would like you to turn there because it's so important. If you're still in 2nd Timothy, it's just a few pages to the left. You'll pass the books of Thessalonians and Colossians before reaching Philippians, chapter 4, verse 6. This verse opens with an imperative, which is a command: "Be anxious." Now, if the command stopped there, every one of us would be really good at it. But it continues: "Be anxious for nothing."

How many of you have broken that command a time or two? You might wonder how it is possible to be anxious for nothing. I have found, and perhaps you have seen, that when God gives us commands, He also provides the enabling ability or power to fulfill those commands. In the case of this command, as with every other command He has given us, there is one very awesome component that enables us with the power to fulfill this command: the presence and power of His Holy Spirit.

We saw this in 2nd Timothy, chapter 1, verse 7, the last verse we read at the beginning of this message. It says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. He gave us His Spirit, which brings us power, love, and a sound mind so that we can fulfill this command to not be anxious.

But He gives us a little bit more. Philippians, chapter 4, verse 6 continues: "Be anxious for nothing." How do I do this? "But in everything by prayer and supplication," which is a specific kind of prayer where we ask for God's supply, "with thanksgiving," which is another kind of prayer. "Let your requests be made known to God." So, He says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer."

Prayer is essential, and the result is the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. This peace will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Worry attacks us in our hearts and minds, but God's peace, which surpasses all understanding, will protect you through prayer.

In this routine of worry, the cue is often some issue or concern—something you read online or hear on the news. These triggers cause worry, and the normal pattern is to fixate on all those things, meditating on the possibilities, outcomes, and issues. This is especially true as your kids begin to move out from under your close care. When they are not always right there, you start to puzzle through all of this.

In those moments, I encourage you to stop and pray. Meditate on something else. As we look at Philippians 4:8, it says, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report—if there is anything virtuous, if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."

I give you permission to worry, but only about things that are lovely, noble, true, good, and praiseworthy. You can worry about those things as much as you want, just as long as you fulfill this exhortation: pray more than you worry.

Mothering, from everything I can see, is hard work. It begins at the moment of conception and continues until you leave this world. You won't worry anymore when you're not here, but the challenges of mothering will persist until the day you breathe your last. The only way to survive this hard work is to live with genuine faith, to not grow weary in the challenges of mothering, and to maintain the long view by faithfully living and teaching the Scriptures.

And to pray more than you worry, and make God, by His grace, able to do that. Amen. Would you stand with me as we close in prayer?

Father, I thank You for the exhortations of Your Word. You want us to live in a way that is glorifying to You but also satisfying to us. Lord, I'm convinced that as we apply these things—whether we're moms, dads, or don't have any kids today—there will be an incredibly awesome return. A return of a reward with You in heaven, but also a return of a reward right here and now. We see even a simple return of the reward of prayer instead of worry, being that Your peace will guard our hearts and minds as we meditate upon those things that are lovely, good, true, noble, and praiseworthy.

God, would You, by Your Spirit, enable us to do that? You've not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind. So, God, I pray once again, as we already have for the moms of our church, that You would enable them by Your power and grace to sincerely and simply trust You. Stir up a love for the Scriptures in them, and encourage them during those times when they're about to lose heart. Help them not to grow weary in the good work that they're doing.

Lord, help us to pray every single time we're triggered to worry. Help us to bring our concerns and cares to You, to cast our cares upon You because You care for us. It is very clear from the Scriptures that You love and care for our children more than we ever could. It's hard for us to even imagine that that's true, but it is true.

So, God, I pray that You help us to put our kids in Your care and trust that You, who began a good work, will be faithful to complete it until the day that we see You. Thank You. We praise You for the encouragement of Your Word. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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