As usual, you can find the transcript of the sermon below.
Nehemiah 8:10b “… The joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Galatians 5:22 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.”
Nehemiah 8:10b JOY IN
THIS GROWING SEASON
Springford Baptist Church: May 10,
2020.
Happy Mothers’ Day! Although
we would prefer a sunny, warm weekend to celebrate Mothers Day, that
does not always happen. This year we’ve even been seeing snow in
the air (which I at first thought and hoped was blossom petals).
There has been frost that has threatened flowers and plants as we
come to the time we honour our Moms and give thanks to God for them.
Every growing season is a little different and has its unique challenges.
One of the things that is very different this season is our inability to gather together as families usually would, to celebrate Mothers’ Day. The ongoing Covid health crisis means this is not possible. Those who have Moms in senior care homes (retirement or longterm care) will not be able to go in to visit. In some cases, window visits or facetime visits will be arranged, but it is just not the same as being able to hug them close and to be with them. Many of our health care workers will not be able to be with their Moms or family this weekend to celebrate Mothers’ Day because the risk is too great.
These challenges remind us that there can still be a deep joy for Moms as they think about how much they love their children (whatever age they are) and for all of us as we think about the precious gift of our Moms and all they have meant to us.
The Scripture we are
reflecting on together for this Mothers’ Day reminds us that,
“…The joy
of the LORD is your strength.”
I
actually think that this verse is an ideal description for mothers of
faith.
When we are very young, we really don’t understand how much our mothers do for us and how much strength they need to love and care for their families.
We see the meals appear on the table, but don’t think about all the work that goes into the preparation and clean up. We see that there are clothes for us to wear but don’t really think about how they get washed and put away. I know that fathers now often have a part in these tasks as well.
It is when we have to do for ourselves what our mothers once did for us that we realize all that our mothers gave us and did for us. And the remarkable thing is that they found joy and pleasure in giving to their families because they loved us so much.
God has given mothers a special joy in giving and serving that comes from Him.
It really is true that as mothers depend on God, “… the joy of the LORD is (their) strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)
This can be inspiration for all of us that we can find our strength in the joy of the LORD.
Joy is another one of the fruits of God’s Holy Spirit.
When joy that God gives is growing in us, then we discover reserves of strength we didn’t know we had.
We need the joy of the LORD to maintain strength in this growing season.
When we are getting tired of all the restrictions we are still living with, we need the joy of the LORD to be our strength.
When we wonder if we will be able to get through these uncertain times, we need the joy of the LORD to be our strength.
When others need us to care and to give and to serve, we need the joy of the Lord to be our strength.
Have you noticed how a Grandma’s face lights up when she is holding her grandchildren?
I think of the beautiful memory of my own Mom holding her grandchildren as babies. She could be so weary and the pain of her arthritis could be crippling, but place one of her grandchildren in her arms and the look of joy on her face was radiant.
When a mother is lifted above herself and her circumstances by joy then a remarkable strength is given.
The joy of the LORD becomes her strength.
I understood this joy of the LORD being a source of strength in a whole different way when I myself became a mother.
We were living in Nova
Scotia when both of our daughters were born. I recall that when our
oldest daughter Geneva was born, my Mom and Dad had travelled from
Ontario to be with us for her arrival. They came early because the
doctor had suggested that she might arrive before her due date. She
was in fact 2 weeks past her due date. As we were waiting for her
arrival, we did a lot of baking, we washed windows, we split and
stacked wood…
My Mom helped with this and there she was in the
kitchen drying dishes and peeling potatoes and happy to do whatever
she could. I knew that she was so excited for the new baby on the
way.
When Geneva was born and I held her in my arms there was an overwhelming sensation of God entrusting her to my care and knowing that in the joy of those moments God would give me strength to be her Mom.
As I was holding her, a
song like a lullaby came to me with these words that I sang to our
newborn baby:
“Geneva, Geneva you are a gift from God.
Geneva,
Geneva may He bless the path you’ll trod.
And give you strength
every day.
As He’s leading you on His way.
Geneva, Geneva you
are a gift from God.”
The powerful life lesson that comes from this for me, that I want to share with you on this Mothers Day, is that whatever God gives to us, He also provides the strength that is needed. It is not just a “grit your teeth” strength to get through. It is a sometimes surprising and unexpected strength that grows in us as the joy of the LORD supplies us with His strength.
All new Moms have times when they wonder how they will be what their children need.
If we are looking for joy in this growing season to come as we find everything easy or having all the things on our list that make us happy then joy will not grow in us.
If we look for the joy that God’s Spirit can grow in us to be our strength when the way is difficult and we feel weak, then as mothers always discover, there are resources we never knew were available.
I am praying for mothers and for all of us that in this growing season, “The joy of the LORD will be our strength.”