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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

HOW Did She Do It?

Do you ever stop and think about the mothers of the great men of the Word?

HOW did they do it?

I mean, seriously!

Think of King David's mother.

How did she raise a man after God's own heart?

HOW, Lord....oh how?

What about Daniel's Mom?

HOW DID SHE DO IT?

How did she raise a young man who, after being taken into captivity by a Godless nation, would stand up and offer HIS LIFE as a living sacrifice to God...at 15 years old!

I confess, I don't even know her name...I haven't studied Daniel extensively. I'm not even aware of whether her name is listed in the Word or not.

Yet still my question remains...HOW did she do it?!

What about King Josiah's Mom?

Is her name listed in Scripture? Anyone know?

Whomever she was, this I do know...Josiah's father was a Godless man, as the Word makes it clear that King Josiah's father was an idol worshiper, who DID NOT tear down the high places in Judah, who DID NOT rip out the idols from the land, as God had commanded.

No...it took his son to do that.

His son, who became the king at the ripe old age of.....

hang on.....

wait a second....

you ready for this.....

EIGHT YEARS OLD!

It was during Josiah's reign that the HIGH PRIEST (hello!) found the Word of the Lord in the House of the Lord!

HELLO!

The Word of God was lost in the temple of God!

You know what King Josiah did when they told him what they'd found?

He tore his clothes!

He mourned.

He knew that the judgement of God was coming because of the grievous sin of the nation and the rulers.

Then, he commanded that every high place erected to a false god, be torn down.

Oh, how I want to meet him!

Can you imagine?!

A boy king with that kind of heart to obey God.

Oh, that I will raise one just like him!

( You can find his story in 2 Kings chapters 21, 23, and 2 Chronicles chapters 33, 34, 35 and also Jeremiah chapters 1, 3, 22, 25...or just go to BlueLetterBible.org and enter "King Josiah" into the search bar.)

What about Paul's Momma....who was she?

HOW DID SHE DO IT?!

Granted, Paul was lost under a false system of "righteousness" for a long time, but when he was called by God, for HIS glory...oh how God used him to impact the Kingdom!

I am the mother of a David.

A Daniel.

A Josiah.

A Paul.

Oh, how I want him to walk as they walked!

Oh, how I want him to choose their path instead of being a Jonah.

I'm sorry. I'm just being honest here..I find Jonah to have been a whiner. Maybe that's just me.

So today, when I was ready to start spitting green goo out of my head because I was so done,
I asked my son...

Whom I just told LAST SUNDAY, that I know he's a David, a Daniel, a Josiah....

I asked him, "Son...how are you going to live? Are you going to be a Jonah? Is it going to take being in the belly of a fish before you choose to walk in obedience? What's it going to take?"

Now mind you, he's such a good and kind little boy on most levels...but DADGUM if he didn't get his Mommy's strong will!

And I gotta say, by comparison, I look like a wimp!

The problems present themselves when he has an idea that is contrary to ours.

He even had the gaul to say to me today,
"Mommy. After the 3rd time, I was going to listen to you and not tell you again what I wanted."

Um. Oh, no you didn't!

Hello!

McFly!

What's wrong with this picture?!

I asked him, "Caedmon, how many times it is supposed to take before you obey?"

"One."

Darn-tootin!

Oh boy...I'm still left asking, "HOW DID THEY DO IT?"

I thank God for His Word, into which I told my son to run today...that is, after I told him that he was taking a nap!

I thank God for my husband, the leader of our home, who leads with a love of the Lord, but doesn't allow his 9 year son to treat his wife poorly.

I thank God for chocolate...I need a piece right now! I'm going to the pantry!

Whew! Tomorrow will be here in T-7 hours!

Love you today,
Jes







6 comments:

Smith Family Updates said...

Jes - I hate to be the one to tell you that Bathsheba was David's wife (not his mom) and the mother of the wisest man - King Solomon...

Jes said...

OK...I knew that. I did know that.

Post to be amended...can you tell I was venting when I wrote that?

Thanks for the accountability, friend...and for offering it quickly, before I posted this link to FB.

:)

Jes

Jes said...

Steph...any chance you'd believe it if I told you that was just a
blog-readers' test?

;)

Nah...me either.

Paula Hemann said...

Dear Jes, you have spoken straight to this Mama's heart today. I, too, am Mama to a strong-willed 9-year old; I, too, stay on my knees, asking God to help me raise my son to "dare to be a Daniel," and to be a "man after God's own heart." (I have to insert a chuckle here: when my guy was 2 or so, and after he heard me night after night praying for God to "mold him and make him into a man after His own heart," my son turned to me and asked "Why do you always ask God to make me moldy (mold me)?" :) :)

I SO HEAR the cry of your heart! I constantly remind myself that my son's strong will can be used mightly of God, but it can also send me to my knees some days :) Thank you so very much for this post. Praying with you and for you, and especially for our precious sons tonight. And while we're praying, let's ask God to burden the hearts of more moms (and dads)to be increasingly intentional in the raising of their sons to be all that God would have them to be. Love and blessings to you, my new friend!

KimG in AZ said...

You know, Mr. C will one day wake up and will use that strong will for the Lord. Nothing that you've prayed for will be in vain. I have NO DOUBT that that boy will be a world changer for the Lord. NO doubt! I have a Mr. B in my house who's will I try to bend towards the Lord without breaking his spirit. He will be ON FIRE for the Lord soon. I can see the little flame already. And he's as stubborn as his momma but when he's stubborn for the Lord it will all be worth it. Lvu!

Anonymous said...

Hey Jes - let me put your heart at ease! You continue doing what you are doing and God will do the rest.

I imagine King David's mom raised him like all of his brothers before him, but God chose David for his anointing.

Ezekiel 3:14 says "The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord upon me."

I read that about 3 times the other day and thought, wow - when Isaiah saw God high and lifted up in the temple (Isaiah 6) and God asked "Whom shall I send and who will go for us" Isaiah said "Here I am, send me!" I had him pictured very Caedmon-like raising his hand above all the others saying, "Choose me! Choose me!"

And then there's Ezekiel being taken away bitter and angry. Go figure.

What about Cain and Abel? Same mom. And Jacob and Esau. Same mom.

Just a thought.

God has a plan. He has already chosen.

Be encouraged, keep praying and hang on! You are doing a GREAT job with both of your kids!

:) Nan