It’s so easy to worry. We all do it. After all, there are so many things we can worry about on this earth! Financial worries, relational worries, health worries, future worries, etc.  Now, with the Coronavirus affecting our entire world, the natural reaction for many is to worry. “Am I or somebody I love going to get the virus?” “Will we lose our jobs?” “Will we make it through this very difficult time?”

As “human” as it is to worry, God tells us in the Bible that we should not worry about anything. Not one thing! Philippians 4:6-7 (NASB) says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Matthew 6:34 mentions, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” And Matthew 6:27 adds: “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” Of course, some might say, “That’s easy for you to say! But how am I to be anxious for nothing, or not worry about tomorrow, even if worrying doesn’t add a single hour to my life, when I have a loved one who is dying? Or I lost my job? Or I can’t pay my bills? How am I not going to worry about those things?”

The simple but profound answer is this: “Rest.” We need to rest in God, and His promises for our lives. Worry and Rest cannot coexist at the same time. Resting in God actually pushes out worries we may have. And it brings us the peace we long for. We need to make sure we are resting in God, and His promises, and not the lies of the Enemy. Some people may have the mindset of, “When I see it happen, then I’ll believe.” Or, “I won’t believe until I am healed from this disease. Or until I get a new job. Or until I find the spouse God has for me.” However, God wants us to believe in His promises, and rest in them. Are we believing in them? What are some of the promises of God?

One promise is found in Isaiah 40:29: “He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power.” Another promise is in Isaiah 40:31: “Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” And Psalm 34:17 adds, “The righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all these troubles.” Are we believing these promises? We need to be. We need to be resting in them, as we ultimately rest in God.

Psalm 116:7 says, “Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.” That is what we are supposed to tell ourselves, when we find ourselves worried. “Return to your rest, O my soul! For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you!” Psalm 116:8 says, “For You have rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.” And Psalm 116:9 adds, “I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living.” Are we trusting that the Lord deals bountifully with us? That He rescues us from the worries of this world? And that we shall walk with the blessings God gives us, in the land of the living? If not, we should be!

Matthew 11:28-30 says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Maybe one reason God gives us the Sabbath day, and asks us to keep it Holy by doing no work on it, is because He knows how valuable resting in Him and His promises are for our lives. Exodus 20:8 says, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” And Hebrews 4:9 says, “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” In reality, this command for resting on the Sabbath each week is a good model for what we should be doing with the worries of this life. Giving those worries to God. Not being burdened with them, with the type of anxiety one might have with trying to make a paycheck each week. But to take a second. Pause. Breathe. And rest in God. Know that He provides for all our needs. He is ultimately in control.

Exodus 33:14 says, “And He said, ‘My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.’” Isaiah 26:3 mentions, “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.” Matthew 6:25 says not to be worried about our lives. So, why be anxious or worried about anything? I pray that we indeed trust God with our lives, as we Rest in Him and in His promises!

     By what name do you call your mother? I am not sure why, but from the beginning my sister, my brother and I have called our mother, “Momma.” I am so blessed that my mother is still living, and at age 87 she often tells me that one of the most beautiful sounds for her to hear is that all her children still call her “Momma.” For me, one of the most beautiful sounds for me to hear is when my mother tells me that she loves me. Each time we end a conversation, Momma always says, “I love you sooooo much.”

     Mother’s Day is a special day for remembering our mothers and to remember all that they have done for us, all they mean to us, and who we are because of them. God knit us together in our mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13-14: "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." What a joy and blessing it is for a mother to hold her newborn child and then to hold her child’s hand throughout life. The love of a mother for her child is the closest thing to the love of God for mankind and especially His love for His children.  From the time of conception, there is a bond between mother and child that is sacred in God’s eyes.  

     The Bible tells us about the special relationship that Jesus had with his own mother. Luke 2:51-52 “Then Jesus went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Even on the cross he cared for his mother by asking John to take over her care. John 19:25-27 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother…When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

      My sister and I are only 18 months apart in age and my brother is 18 years younger than me. We grew up on a farm in north Missouri and our mother was given to us by God to care for us, provide for us, to teach us His ways, and to love us even in our ups and downs. She was always there guiding and praying, comforting and protecting, cheering us on, and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. She taught us how to work hard work, live frugally, give generously, save, build, dream, and rely on the Lord. As her children we boldly declare with Proverbs 31:28 "Her children rise up and call her blessed.

     God also placed three other amazing mothers in my life, my Grandma Baugher, my Grandma Berry, and my mother-in-law. I cherish the time, love, and devotion they invested in my life up until God called them home to glory. This scripture passage describes the kind of love these special women demonstrated on a daily basis. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

     The endless love of one’s mother is best understood when a daughter becomes a mother herself.   When I became a mother and experienced my love for my own child, I had a much deeper understanding of a mother’s love. God blessed Chuck and me with one son. He was such a joy to us as he grew up. When our children are young, we often wonder if we will make it through the lack of sleep and exhaustion we experience when they are little. We often joked that we were known as Greg’s parents, not our own identity during his teenage years. Now that our son is grown, I treasure all the stages of his maturing to adulthood and now as he leads his family to trust and obey God. My most important job as his mother was to help lead him to put his faith and trust in Jesus and demonstrate to him my love for God’s word each day. Deuteronomy 6:6–7: "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Proverbs 1:8-9: "Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck."

     I could sum up my love as a mother with this scripture, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in truth. 3 John 4
     Now I have taken on a new role as a grandmother, I cherish the opportunity to witness how God is using my daughter-in-law as an amazing mother in my grandchildren’s lives. Proverbs 31:26: "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." 1 Peter 3:4: "You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."

     My prayer as a grandmother is, “Jesus please help me to inhale your grace and pass it on as a legacy of faith.” Deuteronomy 4:9: "Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them."

     Sometimes not all mother and child relationships weather the storms of this life and many are broken.  Maybe you did not grow up having good role models or maybe you were in situations you never wanted to be in. Maybe you have a wayward child who does not want a relationship with you. We know that broken relationships grieve the heart of God. There’s no perfect mother and there’s no perfect child.  All relationships need forgiveness and a readiness to give grace to each other.  Apologizing to your children when you lose your temper or make a mistake shows them what grace and forgiveness look like. Colossians 3:13: “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you”.

     In addition to celebrating our mothers who are with us, we also remember our mothers (and grandmothers) who are no longer living, and now dwell only in our hearts. We also remember women who do not have the child that they so desperately wanted to love. You may have lost a child through death or through miscarriage, and we seek God’s comfort for you. You can rest in the promise of God’s unconditional love for you and for your child lost through death or miscarriage.

     Please take time this Mother’s Day to let the mothers around you know how special they are. Whether a mother by birth, by adoption, by love, or by grace, today we celebrate the women who love us through it all. Today we celebrate all they are and have done, their endless sacrifice, and their unconditional love.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO EACH OF YOU

And HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY MOMMA—I love you soooo much!