Another Mother’s Day is here, and I’ve been thinking about what mothers truly need to hear, not just sentimentality, but sustaining truth that carries us through the hard days of parenting.
This year, my mind kept returning to three unlikely mothers found in the book of Joshua. Their stories aren’t typically associated with Mother’s Day sermons, yet they contain powerful encouragement for every weary mom.
When Your Past Makes You Feel Disqualified
Let’s start with Rahab. The Bible introduces her as “Rahab the prostitute”. Not exactly the maternal role model typically celebrated on greeting cards! Yet when Israelite spies arrived at her door in Jericho, her immediate instinct was protective and maternal: “Save my household.”
With only a crimson cord hanging from her window as protection, Rahab staked her family’s survival on a God she had only heard rumors about. When Jericho’s walls collapsed, her house alone remained standing, a testament to her courageous faith.
Moms, perhaps you’ve paced hallways at night whispering desperate prayers: “Lord, remember my son. Rescue my daughter. Save my marriage.” Maybe you’ve questioned whether your past disqualifies you from boldly approaching God on behalf of your children.
Rahab’s story answers with a resounding “no.” It’s not about your past or your perfect parenting; it’s about who God is. He specializes in reclaiming compromised stories and turning them into safe houses of faith.
Remember: God isn’t looking for mothers with flawless resumes. He’s looking for mothers who will trust Him even when they can only see a thread of hope.
When You See What Others Miss
Then there’s Achsah, Caleb’s daughter. After her marriage, she recognized that the land they’d inherited lacked something essential: water sources. While her husband was caught up in battle victories, she was thinking about sustainable living.
With remarkable boldness, Achsah approached her father: “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” Caleb not only granted her request but gave her both upper and lower springs, abundance beyond expectation.
This story resonates deeply with my own experience of motherhood. How often do we notice what others miss? We see the emotional needs behind our teenager’s anger, the learning struggles behind failing grades, and the fear masked by defiance.
Mothers possess a God-given capacity to see beyond the surface, to recognize not just what is but what’s needed for future flourishing. This isn’t being critical, it’s being complementary. It’s using our unique perspective to help our families thrive.
Like Achsah, don’t be afraid to ask boldly for what your family truly needs. Our Heavenly Father delights in giving good gifts to His children. As Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8).
When You Need to Fight for Your Children’s Future
Finally, consider the five daughters of Zelophehad, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. When their father died without sons, these sisters faced losing their family’s inheritance according to cultural norms.
Rather than accepting this fate, they boldly approached Israel’s leadership: “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brothers.” Their courage changed Israel’s inheritance laws and secured not just their future but generations to come.
Their story reminds me of the countless mothers I’ve seen fighting paperwork, attending IEP meetings, researching treatments, and advocating with doctors and teachers to secure their children’s futures. There’s something fiercely protective about a mother determined to give her children what they need to flourish.
As mothers, we’re not just raising the next generation; we are establishing precedents and patterns that will echo for generations to come. The boundaries we set, the faith we instill, the courage we model, these become landmarks guiding our children long after we’re gone.
From Military Campaigns to Mother’s Hearts
What strikes me most about these stories is where they’re found in a book primarily about military conquest. While Joshua was leading armies, God was quietly working through these women’s faith to reshape Israel’s future.
The same is true today. While the world fixates on headlines and power plays, God is advancing His kingdom through the quiet faithfulness of mothers, through bedtime prayers and Band-Aids, through difficult conversations and second chances, through boundaries lovingly maintained and grace freely given.
This Mother’s Day, remember three crucial truths from these ancient stories:
- Christ finishes what He starts. The diaper-changing years, teenage anxieties, empty nest ache, none outpace the promise that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion” (Philippians 1:6).
- Christ hears before you fully articulate. Those half-sentences whispered over a sink or in the middle of the night, walking down hallways, heaven hears them as a whole. “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8).
- Christ shares His victory with you. The same Lord who allotted vineyards to Israel hands you the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, and resources as inexhaustible as His resurrection life.
So, lift your eyes from the playroom floor, weary mother. You are laboring for a kingdom whose borders will never shrink. Your everyday faithfulness is woven into God’s epic story of redemption, 2a story that began before time and extends beyond our imagination.
The scarlet cord still saves.
The springs still flow.
The inheritance remains secure.
And the God who used Rahab, Achsah, and Zelophehad’s daughters continues His redemptive work through mothers today, through you.
Which of the three women from Joshua (Rahab, Achsah, or Zelophehad’s daughters) do you relate to most in your own journey, and why? When have you experienced a moment as a mother (or from your mother) where you needed to cling to one thread of hope, boldly ask for what was needed, or fight for a future inheritance?
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