Purpose | 10 Bible Promises for Mamas
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
Psalm 86:12-13
Have you ever found yourself wondering “what’s my purpose” as a mama? Whether it’s amid the sleepless newborn nights, in the middle of a toddler’s tantrum, as you pick up the food thrown on the floor or when you find yourself in a season of discipline, boundary setting and constant reminding. As mamas, it’s a constant thought that runs through our minds as we embrace the mess, mundane and magic that creates this beautiful and sanctifying journey of motherhood.
How many times have you thought to yourself or heard mamas say, “My purpose as a mother is my children.” I find that this is often my answer when I think about my purpose for each day as a mama, to be the very best mama I can be for my child. But, as I’ve been praying over God’s promise to mamas regarding our purpose, I wonder if we are actually missing out on the promise He has for us that is beyond our identity in motherhood?
When our children become our purpose, we elevate them to a place that was designed for God. And, without realizing it, we can idolize our children and begin to carry the weight of all the things that were never ours to carry. Whether it’s our children’s salvation, development, health, empathy, the list goes on and on. If you think about that one thing for you as a mama that feels of utmost importance in the way you are raising your children, I wonder it’s become a burden you are carrying that was never yours to carry?
God is inviting us to come to Him, to lay down our burdens at His feet and to exchange what we thought was our purpose for the purpose that He calls us to as mamas – to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. This purpose fills our lives with joy, delight and thanksgiving, leading us to live the lives of abundance that God has created for us.
Mama, that thing you are carrying is not your purpose and it’s not yours to carry, it’s God’s. Our children belong to the Lord, and He has a perfect plan and purpose for their lives that we can trust in His faithful hand. He is sovereign over their salvation, their development, their health, their empathy and kindness to the world. He is sovereign over every detail of their lives.
Our only purpose is to respond to who He is and what He has done, which leads us to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The product that results from living out this purpose is the fruit that God will produce in our children, as He graciously chooses to use mamas as lights in our children’s lives.
1. God is our purpose.
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
Psalm 115:1
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.This is the great and first commandment.
Matthew 22:37-38
As we meditate on the steadfast love and faithfulness of God, our only response is to give glory unto His name and to love Him with all our heart and soul and mind. All of who He is, what He’s done and what He’s promised to us leads our hearts into glorifying Him and enjoying Him forever. This commandment that He gives is not of our own doing, but simply our response to Him.
As God calls and has created us to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever, this is an invitation and not a burden to carry. To glorify means to praise, exalt, magnify and honor, and to enjoy means to feel or perceive something with delight or to take possession of something with satisfaction. It’s easy to glorify and enjoy God on the mountaintops, but what about in the valleys?
Even in the days and seasons when life feels heavy and motherhood feels hard, glorifying Him means that we praise and honor by coming to Him and enjoying Him means that we delight and find satisfaction in what He has promised to us in those valleys.
2. God uses mamas as lights for our children.
You are the light of the world, A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:14,16
As we live out our purpose, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, God delights in using our lives as lights that invite our children to experience His goodness and grace. We’ve all heard the phrase, “it’s what you do, not what you say,” and as we abide in Christ, the Holy Spirit does the doing and draws the hearts of our children to God.
Even when you feel tired, weary, messy and broken, like you have nothing else to give, your children see the light of Christ shining through you when you run, cling and surrender to Christ. God is faithfully using every piece of our stories to exalt His name, and we can rest in knowing that God is the one shining His light through us…we are simply vessels as we abide in the Vine.
3. God has a purpose for our children.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
As mamas, we have such a deep love for our children, that surrendering the plans we hold in our hearts for them is one of the hardest things God calls us to do. It’s in our trust and belief in who God is and what He’s done that we can truly lay the plans we hold for our children at His feet.
We may not see the fruit of what God is doing in the lives of our children until eternity comes, but God’s love for His children is far beyond what we will ever know or comprehend. Even when we may wonder where God is and how He is moving, our God is trustworthy, faithful and sovereign over all things.
Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
Proverbs 19:21
God has a plan for our lives and theirs, and we can trust that God’s purpose will always prevail.
So Mama, let me ask you…what’s your purpose as a mama? What’s that thing you hold of utmost importance in raising your children and do you trust God to lay it down at His feet in surrender?
God is inviting us to embrace the purpose He has for our lives, to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever, and this purpose will radiate the light of Christ to our children and lead us to the abundant lives He has created for us to live.
May we be the mamas who choose to take hold.
As a way to celebrate these 10 Bible Promises for Mamas, I have collaborated with my dear friend, Annalisa Sawtell, who is an incredible artist with an inspiring love for Jesus and a heart for seeking beauty where truth and grace collide. Each week, she will be releasing a floral art print that captures the heart of each promise. Our hope is that mamas would download these weekly prints as a way to reflect on the weekly promise and embrace the scripture that reminds us of each truth.
Purpose | Tulip
Follow along with Annalisa as she shares more beautiful artwork and inspiring words on Instagram and at annalisavsawtell.com.
Join us for this ten week series as we unpack each one of these 10 Bible Promises for Mamas! If you missed the introduction to the series, click here to read. God has promised us peace, joy, presence, strength, guidance, deliverance, rest, purpose, mercy and hope in all things. I pray that His word is our stronghold and His promise is our hope. I’m praying for you, mama!
