I heard the news that I was going to be a mom in a rather unconventional way. My husband and I were waiting to board a flight when we decided to call home to check the answering machine one last time. There was a new message waiting for us and when it hit my ears, it grabbed my heart. The adoption agency we were using to start our family had left a very short message. It simply said, ‘Please call us back. We have identified a baby girl for you.’ The call I had waited years to receive had finally come! It was the moment that changed my life forever.
Because of the path I walked on my journey to motherhood, I love to read about women in the Bible who walked a similar path…Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth, and Samson’s mom. Notice something different about Samson’s mom. We are not given her name.
Samson’s nameless mom received the news that she was going to be a mom in a very unconventional way! She was met by the Angel of the Lord with a message that after years of wanting a child, she would have a son. She would be the mother of the next deliverer, a strong man who would begin the path to freedom for his people from the Philistines. It was a dark time in Israel’s history. The Bible says the days were evil and everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes…
…but it was at that time in history that God raised up a woman, and called her to be a mom.
Raising history’s strongest son would require a strong woman, strong in her faith, strong in the Lord. Proverbs 31 tells us that one of the character traits of the virtuous woman is that she is clothed in strength. The GNT version of the Bible simply says ‘She is strong’. Samson’s mom showed a strength that each of us as women today can learn from and live out today.
Strong women believe God.
When approached by the angel of the Lord with news that the impossible was on its way, Samson’s mom believed God. Where others may have given way to fear or doubt, this woman heard the Word of the Lord, believed it and acted on it. She did not waver in unbelief but ran and told her husband what the Lord had said. Her strong belief led to an active faith. Samson’s mom believed God.
Strong women obey God.
Raising the future deliverer of Israel came with some very specific instructions. This child had a specific purpose and in order to raise him for His purpose, she would need to instruct him in ways that were counter culture. She chose to honor God in her obedience, giving Samson the structure and direction he needed as he grew according to God’s law. Samson’s mom obeyed God.
Strong women create an atmosphere of worship where the presence of the Lord stays.
Later that day, not wanting the Angel of the Lord to leave, Samson’s mom and dad asked Him to stay. They prepared an offering as an act of worship, creating an atmosphere where the presence of the Lord was welcome. Samson’s mom created an atmosphere for worship and the presence of the Lord stayed.
Strong women trust God.
Samson’s mom believed God, obeyed God, and welcomed His Presence, but when it was time for Samson to leave her home, Samson chose to go his own way. He left the ways of his God, the ways of his mom, to live and behave like the world around him. Samson’s mom had to trust the Lord like never before.
Samson’s sin and disobedience led to his eventual capture by the enemy, but in his darkest hour, blinded and bound, Samson remembered the God of his youth, the God of his mom. He cried out a powerful prayer as the walls were preparing to fall down around him.
Then Samson prayed to the Lord, ‘Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time’. Judges 16:28
God remembered this strong woman’s son and strengthened him one final time. When push came to shove, what had been sown in his heart by his mom rose to the top. This strong man, raised to be set apart, turned back to the God of his mom. His physical strength and his spiritual strength were renewed and the enemy was defeated. In one final act, Samson fulfilled his purpose, defeating more Philistines in his death than he had in his whole life.
A strong, nameless woman had been behind the scenes each step of the way, believing, obeying, worshipping and trusting. While the world called her nameless, Samson called her mom.
Are you in the middle of raising children, feeling nameless as you do the day in and day out? God has called you for this time and place to raise strong children for Him. The world may not recognize you, they may not know your name, but be strong, be obedient and keep your home a place where the presence of the Lord stays. The One Who called you knows your name. Stay strong.
Have you done all you were called to do yet your child has gone his or her own way rather than following after God. Trust that the Word you sowed into the heart of your child will grow and flourish. What you sowed was not sown in vain. Stay on your knees. Stay strong.
Are you a woman who is a mentor to others? Are you faithfully sharing the truth of His Word with those coming up behind you? Keep encouraging the next generation to stay the course, to go against culture in their pursuit of following Him. God is using your life to make a difference for the Kingdom! Stay strong!
Our world is shifting. As in the days of the judges, everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes, opposed to doing what is right in His.
It is at this time in history that God is raising up a woman. That woman is you.
This is not the time to shrink back in weakness. It is time to stay strong. We can be confident we will have the strength we need because the One Who has called us IS our strength and the One Who has called us is faithful.
Clothe yourself in His strength today. Believe, obey, worship and trust. Follow the example of Samson’s mom. Sister, stay strong!
‘She is strong’
Proverbs 31:28 (GNT)