We want guarantees, don’t we?

We want to know that if we do A,B, and C, the result will yield children who are what we imagine they should be. Like us, our children are made up of a unique personality with giftings and preferences. They are individuals that are in a battle with the world, the flesh and the devil, just like we are. Our job and calling is to be a living example of what it means to know God, persevere in our faith, and to provide for them a home where they can see God and experience what it means to know Him.

But even when we do that, there are no guarantees that they will yield their lives to God.

My desire is to help free moms from the burden and fears that come along with motherhood when we think that the end result of our children rests on our shoulders. That is a very heavy burden to bear that can result in overwhelming guilt if and when our children go through seasons of struggling (and they will). 

When I was raising my children and someone would tell me that  “there are no guarantees” I would mentally recoil and reject that statement. Then I would think through the list of all the things we were doing that would help my children want to follow God. There was absolutely no place in my plans for them where they might actually not want to follow Him. Today I want to encourage you with some guarantees! I think it’s important that we know what the scriptures say and cling to those things that are true. 

When You Want a Guarantee: 10 Promises of God for Moms

1. He will be with you: 

• Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” 
• Psalm 145: 18-19 “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.”
• Isaiah 41:10: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

2. He will guide you:

• Proverbs 3:56 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
• Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
• Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
• James 1:5-6 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”

3. He is always working:

• ​John 13:7  “Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
• ​Philippians 2:13  “…for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
• John 5:17 “In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”

4. He will accomplish his purposes: 

• Psalm 138:8  “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” 
• Ephesians 1:11-12 “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…”
• Psalm 57:2 “I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.”

5. He will provide all that you need: 

• Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
• 2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”
• Psalm 37:25 “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.”

6. He is always faithful: 

• Psalm 25:8-10 “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.” 
• Psalm 26:1-3 “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.”
• Psalm 119:89-90 “Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.”
• Lamentations 3:22-23 “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

7. He gives us grace in time of need:

• 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” 
• 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” 
• 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” 
• 2 Corinthians 9:8. “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”
• 2 Corinthians 8:9 “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

8. He gives grace to the humble:

• 1 Peter 5:-5,6  “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for  “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”
• James 4:6-10 “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud,
  But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your  joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

9. He will work in the hearts of your children:

• Jeremiah 24:7: “I will give them a heart to know Me, That I am Yahweh. They will be My people and I will be their God because they will return to Me with all their heart.”
• Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

10. He will hear your prayers:

• 1 Peter 3:12  “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 
• 1 John 5:15  “And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.“
• Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
• Proverbs 15:29 “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”

When we focus on what we are guaranteed we are able to rise above our circumstances with our hope and trust placed in the One who is faithful and never changes and who promises that he is able to do more than we think or ask. Let’s thank God together for all that He has guaranteed us that He will do as we are raising our children! 

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.”  Ephesian 3:20,21

Gina Smith is a writer, author, and has been married for 32 years to Brian, a college professor and athletic trainer. For 25+ years she and her husband served on a Christian college campus as the on-campus parents, where Brian was a professor and dean of students. They reside right outside of Washington DC and are the parents of two grown children, one daughter-in-law and one son-in-law. Now an empty-nester, Gina has transitioned her ministry from full-time mom and part-time writer, to being a mom who is available to her adult children as much as they need her and writing as much as she can at her blog.