A Joyful Mother: Motherhood Ministry

By: Samantha Brown

Psalm 113:9, “He maketh the barren women to keep house: and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.”

If you had asked me growing up if I wanted kids, the answer would have been a hard, swift, and firm “no.” But after being saved, the Lord softened my heart and changed my desires. He changed them so much that I left my teaching career and passion to serve my husband and children better. Full-time, so to speak. 

At the time, it was a leap of faith because so much of my identity was in being a teacher. After resigning, I realized my identity isn't in teaching, being a wife, or even being a mother. My identity is in Christ. All of the other stuff is just a bonus.

Staying home with my kids to be a homemaker, helpmeet, and mother has taught me many things. Society today often views stay-at-home moms in a negative, oppressed light. I'm here to tell you that I have never been more free because of what I know in Christ!

There are hard seasons. But, friend, we can find joy! Marriage is more than a wedding, romantic dates, and all that lovely stuff you often dream of as a little girl. And, well, motherhood is more than snuggling babies, cute clothes, and baby smiles.

Being a wife and mother is a God-given ministry.

I like the quote from Charles Spurgeon, “You are as much serving God in looking after your own children, and training them up in God’s fear, and minding the house, and making your household a church for God, as you would be if you had been called to lead an army to battle for the Lord of hosts.”

The Lord wants us to be encouraged and joyful in our ministry as mothers!

What your children learn at your house should reflect what they learn at God’s house from His Word.

Motherhood is a ministry — an assignment from God, a high calling, and a job we’ve been entrusted with. It is a ministry that has eternal souls at stake. Our children should be our greatest converts.

Ladies, sometimes we need a mindset change to view motherhood properly. The days can be long, but the years are short.

Serving at home, sharing the gospel to our children, discipling them, modeling for them the love of Christ — these are all parts of the job that can so often be overwhelming. With God’s grace, Mamas, we can shift that overwhelm into joy.

II Corinthians 12:9, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Psalm 113:9, “He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.”

It is a serious call. With all the ministry work the Lord calls us to, it is as much for us, the minister, as it is for the people we are ministering to. And in this ministry especially, you can’t ever fake your faith the way you can (but shouldn’t!) with a ministry that happens outside of the home.

Your family sees who you really are day in and day out. Would they consider you a “joyful mother of children” or would they have a different perspective of you?

Ministry work is hard work. Marriage and motherhood are no different. Every time I serve my husband and my children, I can claim the truth that I am able to lay up treasures in heaven. I’m serving them with gladness, and God sees that as an important work.

Colossians 4:17 is one of the verses that I reflect on often; it says, “..take heed to the ministry in which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it.”

“To heed” means “to care, to regard with seriousness, or to take notice.” God designed the family. Each person in the family unit has an important job. Being a wife and mother is a job. Our husbands need us to set the spiritual temperature of the home when he’s away. Our children need us to rear them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Our testimony, our walk with the Lord, matters to them.

For our husbands, our testimony should be a crown unto him. Proverbs 12:4, "A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones."

For our children, especially when they cannot read, we are their walking Bible. They should see Jesus in us. The way we talk to them, the way we handle stressful situations, the way we serve, love, and submit to their Daddy, and how we mother them.

Colossians 3:23 says, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the LORD and not unto men.

Being a wife and mother isn’t always easy. Sometimes the laundry and dishes pile up. The baby gets fussy. The kids are bickering. Dinner needs to be made. It would be easy in these moments to serve in the flesh, struggling to do all that needs to be done but not doing it “heartily, as to the LORD.”

The Lord has been reminding me lately that all of those mundane things can be done unto Him, for Him. Every piece of clothing I fold, every meal I make, dish that I wash, and diaper that I change, I can do it for Him. Even more so, through Christ's strength, I can choose to do it heartily unto the Lord. My countenance in serving my household matters to the Lord.

God created the wife to be a helpmeet to her husband, to keep house, and to care for the children. Psalm 113:9, “He maketh the barren women to keep house: and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.” 

Did you catch that? Yes. God says that a woman who keeps house and cares for her children can do so joyfully. He made us that way. She can find joy in “just” serving her family. She can even go as far as saying praises to the Lord. That’s convicting. 

Am I finding joy in keeping house? Am I finding joy in mothering my children? On the days when I'm not, I'm praying and asking the Lord for forgiveness, asking Him to help me to find the joy in every chore, every meal I get to prepare, and every little hand I get to hold.

Our contribution to the Kingdom of God may not be something we do, but it might be someone we raise! We might not conquer the world or be successful businesswomen, but if our children grow up learning the love of God while serving Him, it will be worth it all!