Mother's Devotion: Delight in God's Word

We are to delight in God's word, which means to read it & meditate on it. Delighting, what does that mean? Think of your favorite dessert. When you bite into it don't you just savor it? If you want to walk in peace, hope, & blessing that is what you need to do with God's word. His word is our dessert. Psalms 34:8 says, "O taste and see that the Lord is good."

"Taste and see" does not mean, "Check out God's credentials." Instead, it is a warm invitation: "Try this; I know you'll like it." When we take that first step of obedience in following God, we cannot help discovering that he is good and kind. When we begin the Christian life, our knowledge of God is partial and incomplete. As we trust him daily, we experience how good he is.

We are like trees & the Bible says that when you plant yourself in His word that you will start to draw life & begin to bear fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is described in Galatians 5:22-23. "The fruit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by-products of Christ's control - we can't obtain them by trying to get them without his help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our life to his. We must know him, love him, remember him, and imitate him. As a result, we will fulfill the intended purpose of the law - to love God and our neighbors. Which of these qualities do you want the Spirit to produce in you?

You want to be a mother bearing fruit for those around you...your husband & your children. You want to be a mother who is joyous even when times are hard, consistently loving, & peaceful in the middle of chaos. Most mothers can relate to chaos! You want to be patient, gentle, kind, good, & faithful. Oh yeah, we need self-control!

Is this impossible? Absolutely YES, in your own strength it is impossible to be that kind of woman. Thankfully, we don't have to operate in our own strength. As we read & study God's word & draw life from it we begin to bear that kind of fruit. If you apply it to your life you will start to see more of these types of characteristics start to exhibit themselves.

Make this your prayer: "Lord, I want to be planted on Your soil so I can stand firmly planted for my children. Take my roots deep into Your Word that I may draw up the wisdom I need. You are my God and I draw life from You. I choose to turn away from relying on myself or the world's advice. I come to You with an open heart. In Jesus' name, Amen."