Jochebed was the mother of Moses. She gave birth to her son Moses at a time when the Egyptian Pharoah was ordering the death of any Hebrew boy born. Amazingly, Jochebed was able to hide her son for three months. The Bible says, But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. (Exodus 2:3)
Jochebed trusted God. She had no other choice. You and I must trust Him too.
Today, as mothers, we are not placing our infants in baskets to float down a river, but we do send them off to kindergarten, middle school, high school, college, the military, and into the future life our children choose. As mothers, we are not naïve. We know the world is filled with deception and dangers. Yet, life forces upon us a time and place in which our children cannot be under our protection and personal guidance. We can fret, worry, and struggle to shield our children or, like Jochebed, we can choose to let go and trust God.
When my husband and I received the news of the birth of the little baby boy who would become our son, I had to trust God because my heart’s desire was thousands of miles away in another country being cared for by a woman I did not know. Added to this distance was the hard lesson I had already experienced, which was that the outcome of every adoption is uncertain. Trusting God was my only choice.
Hear me. I did not have a great faith, but I did have a great God. So great is my God that He knew the best way to move my heart to trust Him was to give me no other options. Eight months later, when I held my son in my arms for the first time, I was humbled and awed at how good God is.
I know the rest of my days I must trust God. I just pray that I have learned to choose to trust rather than stumble down the path of insecurity, fear, and worry.
“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 your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB)
