When I look past the never-ending, daily,
mundane, do-I-have-to-do-it-again tasks of my days as a mom….
when I really look past them, I am struck with an
overwhelming sense of urgency. An urgency in my being to “prepare” my
children for life. Real life.
Sure I prepare them for life in the everyday circumstances. But do I
REALLY prepare them???
I mean lets be honest. Life is hard. Really hard. We all learn that
at some point. As moms, we do everything we can to prevent our
children from learning that hard truth, but instead of preventing
maybe we should focus on preparing.
Follow along with me as we join Joshua in the Bible. Moses has just
died and Joshua has the enormous responsibility ahead of him to lead
the Israelites across the Jordan River (and they weren’t always the
most compliant, if you know what I’m sayin! 
). At this point I
would say “Ummm are you sure God? There is no way…”
And God says this to Joshua:
“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to
inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give to them. Be
strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant
Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that
you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the
Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you
may be careful to do everything written it. Then you will be
prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and
courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord
your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:6-9
God was encouraging Joshua. He was standing beside him, cheering him
on. When every circumstance seemed against Joshua, God told him to be
strong and courageous! Be strong and very
courageous! Be strong and courageous!
This may seem simple to you, but I think it can be life changing for a
small soul.
In our home we have taught our children a simple phrase.
Hazaq V’ Amatz! (Hahzahk Vah Amahtz)
Sometimes we say it quietly, sometimes we shout it, and sometimes we
pump our fist in the air as those words roll from our tongues.
It is Hebrew. It means Be Strong and Courageous. Hazaq V’ Amatz!
Our children NEED those words. And do you know why I know they need
those simple words? Because I do too. I have had to
whisper them to myself in the dark moments of despair just to remember
that He. is. there.
One thing I want my children to know is that God is fighting for them.
He is beside them. He won’t give up on them. As they face trials
that will surely come their way, I pray this simple phrase that
carries the freedom of God’s promises with it, will give them hope, as
it has given me.
Mom, will you teach this simple phrase to your children? Will you
instill in them a hope and trust that God is with them no matter what
the circumstances? Will you remind them that His strength
will make them strong? And will you remember that this promise you
are teaching your children, is for you too?
Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
By Ruth, The Better Mom
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Flickr Photo Credit: Laserguided
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
This is such an amazing post! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you Genevieve! So nice to meet you
I love this! Three of my children are grown now and I just have one little still here. I can testify that life can be very difficult, but to realize that the Lord is sharpening the arrows in my quiver is a comforting truth!
Thank you for writing this. We will continue to declare this in our home and in our ministry!
Hazaq V’ Amatz!
Oh I love that.. sharpening the arrows in my quiver.. so true! Blessings to you and your family Robin.
LOVE THIS!
Beautifully written. THanks!
This encouraged my heart so much. I will declare this in my home and teach this to my children. Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Oh yes. We need to be courageous. Mothering is not for the faint of heart. We must recognize where our strength lies and it is not within ourselves. It is in the God who carries us – who walks with us as He did with Joshua. He will not promise victory without delivering.
Great post, Ruth!
I love this concept because my oldest son is now 16, and as the parent of 5 awesome kids, I have experienced enough parenting to see the results of Joshua’s command. God has revealed to my son that obeying authority(Obey all the law of Moses) and that adding understanding to know why your authority has required specific things from you (meditate on it day & night) produces great strength & good courage. That speaks of the quality of strength. He’s lived long enough to realize that the great strength God so badly wants him to walk in, empowers him to reach his full potential! I love having strong kids in my house!
Wow Kimberly! Thank you so much for sharing… I love what you said in regards to obeying, understanding, producing. Such a rich truth.
Thank you for posting this. I needed it, not for my daughter, but for my son. His name is Joshua. His name flowed out of my mouth unbidded early in my first trimester. He’s due in November and will need all the courage and strength that God promised his namesake because he has spina bifida. We all have a long road ahead of us, but I’m sure it will be full of blessings all along the way. I will surely teach all of my children, but especially Joshua this wonderful “secret” phrase.
Oh Jennifer I am praying for you right now. I pray that God would help you and your family Be Strong and Courageous, as well as sweet Joshua in the uncertain times ahead.
It is such a scary thing knowing as moms (and dads) that we have to prepare our children to face all sorts of things in this world! Sometimes I cannot fathom it because I don’t always feel prepared, so how can I be one who prepares? It takes a lot of courage to just be able to tell myself I can do it, I can prepare my child! It takes a lot of leaning on God and trusting Him too…because if we want to prepare, then we know that He will give them things that they need preparing for and that is hard! I want to protect my sweet little boy from all the hard things…I never want him to hurt or feel any pain, yet I ask God for help… ahhh parenting is definitely a hard thing, but God has prepared me and still is..its a daily thing!
Amen! How true! More than ever, our kids need encourage to be bold and strong and courageous in the power of the Lord. Bold to share the Good News and to stand for truth in a time when truth is relative. Strong in the faith that Christ alone saves. And courageous to be willing to count the cost of serving the Lord and making the decision to lay down their life to serve Him! I love that you shared the Hebrew words “Hazaq V’ Amatz!” Thank you for this inspiration and encouragement! Love and blessings in Christ, Kelly
I believe the Lord lead me right to this post this morning. I needed these words. I (with my 18-month old son) am about to take a trip to Ukraine (leaving my husband and 2 of my daughters behind) to pick up our newly-adopted son and daughter. I feel so small for the task. Thank you for reminding us of what God says in His Word. Ironically, the verse I chose and painted for our sons’ room is “Be Strong & Courageous”.
This is one of my favourite passages in the Bible. Wonderful
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