Who Didn’t Know She Could Be This Strong - Tonight We Pray for the Momma
Who Didn’t Know She Could Be This Strong
She got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River.
YOU MIGHT NOT RECOGNIZE the name Jochebed immediately, but this momma in Scripture had faith that ultimately brought freedom to her nation and her people. Jochebed was the mother of Moses, an Israelite boy born during the time in which Pharaoh decreed all male Hebrew children be put to death.
Pharaoh feared that the Israelites would rise against the Egyptians, so his plan was to put an end to the next generation of boys before they could grow into warring men. He demanded that each male newborn be thrown into the Nile River. But the Hebrew mother Jochebed did not fear Pharaoh. She revered God, and when she gave birth to her third child, a baby boy, she defied the Egyptian ruler.
Jochebed hid Moses for three months until she knew she could no longer conceal him. Then, Exodus 2:3 says, “She got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River.”
Can you imagine that with me for just a moment? Jochebed, holding her newborn baby, hushing his cries, knowing day and night they could be discovered. Can you imagine her constantly swaying and rocking and holding and calming and daily trusting God to protect her and her son? Can you picture her as she carefully coated a basket, making sure no water would seep inside, because she was preparing to put her infant into this small boat? Can you see her slipping the baby from her shoulder, down into the ark, securing the ark in the reeds, and walking away? Can you imagine the cries she heard ring out loud and clear for the first time, those sobs that she had muffled for three months?
Moses was rescued from the water by Pharaoh’s daughter and grew to be the man who would lead the Israelites out of Pharaoh’s grip and right into the hand of God’s good and merciful freedom. Moses’s momma didn’t just save her baby; through him, she saved the nation of Israel.
The truth is, you and I are a lot like Jochebed. We obviously face different circumstances, but we also are women willing to do whatever it takes to love, protect, and provide for our children. We are also women seeking to trust God even when we face impossible circumstances. My friend, I don’t know what you’re dealing with. I don’t know to what extent you’re placing your children into the ark of God’s presence, asking Him to take care of them, but I believe that His arms will keep them afloat. His arms will strengthen yours. You might not have known you could be this strong, but God sees and knows every outcome, and you can trust Him.
Tonight we pray for the momma who didn’t know she could be this strong. Lord, she didn’t know she had this in her. She didn’t know she could push herself to this point. She might have thought she was strong before, but this strong? Lord, tonight we ask You to help her and remind her that she doesn’t have to rely on her own strength. You are there with her. Help her rely on You. Lift off the heaviness. Hold back the fear. Blow away all the anxiety. And pull her near.
We ask in Jesus’s name, amen.
Father, please fill me with faith and fortitude so I can . . .
