BARREN NO MORE
He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyfulH8056 mother to her children. Hallelujah!
Psalm 113:9
Think about the barren women in the Bible. Sarah conceived in her old age and gave birth to the child through whom all nations would be blessed. Rachel’s sister outdid her in the giving birth category, but when the Lord opened Rachel’s womb, he blessed her with Joseph who would save his people from famine. Hannah prayed for a son and promised to give him back to the Lord, and Samuel became the last judge and a prophet who would anoint Israel’s first and second kings. Ruth thought she might never have children not due to her own barrenness but because her husband died, leaving her childless. God provided the kinsman-redeemer Boaz, and she gave birth to the grandfather of King David. God directed Samuel to choose David as Saul’s successor. Elizabeth was barren, and like Sarah, was too old to conceive. However, the Lord opened her womb, and she gave birth to John the Baptist, the one who would prepare the way of the Lord!
There are many ways God can create a family. Paul called Timothy his “son in the faith.” Susan has no children of her own, but she has numerous goddaughters and one godson, the lone prince. The traditional means of having children was not God’s plan for her, but God chose another way to minister to her need to nurture others. God brought godchildren into her life to fulfill her mother’s heart. Joy comes through relinquishing our own plans and accepting God’s far superior plan. Susie was “adopted” by children she served as a nanny during their teenage years. She, too, had been single and childless, and at one point she felt God gave her the verse above as a promise. It was not fulfilled until she was forty years old, but that was God’s perfect timing to bless both her and the children she came to love. God can miraculously open a woman’s womb as He did for those women in the paragraph above. We have a dear friend who has been blessed with three children after six miscarriages. She is definitely a joyful mother of children!
Perhaps you are feeling “barren,” not literally but in your usefulness to the Lord. We both felt “barren” as far as using our gifts for God’s glory and kingdom until He brought us together to work as His team. Keep praying! When He does give you a mission, obey Him, and be prepared for Him to do great things! God is the source of joy. He is the source of life. He is the source of purpose. He is the source of all good things! If you feel like there is anything of import missing in your life whether it be children, a job, a spouse, a ministry, or whatever, seek the Lord in anticipation of His perfect provision for your life.
Father, thank You for fulfilling our need to nurture people even as we are nurturing each other. Thank You for helping us to see that we could serve You better together than each of us could alone. We are learning to trust Your timing and Your way of answering our prayers.