The Hard Places That Make Us Holy
Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. —DEUTERONOMY 8:2–3
The word holy sounds intimidating, but it simply means to be set apart. When God commanded us to be holy, He means we are to be set apart from sin and set apart for Him. He loves us, pursues us, and saves us, and He desires to continue the work of setting us apart from sin. To say it another way, God wants each of us to grow up and become more mature—more like Christ.
One of the ways He does this work in us is through the hard places of life—and that includes parenting. In fact, God is using parenting to make us holy. God will often lead us to hard places to make us more like Him.
We’d all probably like to fast-forward through trials. Sometimes in the hard places it feels as if God is taking things away from us when He’s actually giving us a good gift:
He’s teaching us to depend on Him.
To trust Him.
To rely on Him.
He causes us to hunger and thirst for Him, but then He feeds us with what we need most.
God gives us the gift of Himself.
The hardest places can often be the holiest places—the spaces where God does some of His greatest work. Will you let Him do the heart work even when it is in a hard place? Will you keep trusting Him, obeying Him, and seeking Him even when it is difficult?
xo-Ruth
Father, our greatest need is knowing and treasuring You. We want to surrender to You, not resist You. Fill us with Your Spirit and help us grow, becoming more holy, even when life is hard. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Here are a couple of questions to think through:
• Why are hard places necessary for your growth and maturity?
• As you are raising your kids, how is God using motherhood to make you more like Christ?
This is an excerpt from my brand new devo. With 100 devotions, The Better Mom Devotional offers you a calm way to start your day, deepening your faith on this lifelong journey towards becoming more like Jesus. If you are ready to discover what God wants to do in you, you can grab your copy of The Better Mom Devotional today in so many different places!
Barnes & Noble (or run to your local B&N and grab one!)
or anywhere books are sold.
I am delighted to share this devotional with you, but here’s the thing… I don’t want to just tell you about this resource, I am asking you to join me in sharing this with others. I'm 99.9% sure that you know at least one mom (besides yourself) who could really use some encouragement right now. We have all been there. Would you kindly join me and share TBM Devotional with her, or better yet, if you have the means to do so, grab her a copy too.
I pray this devotional is a blessing to you as you join me on this lifelong journey of becoming. ❤️
p.s. I announced the release of this brand new devo and my heart behind it yesterday. You can read “For the Mom Who Feels Overwhelmed” HERE.
p.p.s To celebrate the release of TBM Devo I am doing some fun giveaways starting today! Join me on Instagram and so you don’t miss out when I announce them!
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