{This morning our little family of six is waking up jet-lagged in a hotel room on the other side of the world. I’m “considering” and trusting God for my impossible! Thank you for your prayers for us during this time of transition back to the mission field…}

It’s one of those days.

I wake up to the boys bickering, to yesterday’s unfolded laundry, to our emotionally troubled child having a melt down, and all 4 children wanting breakfast. I feel it creeping in, the feelings of being overwhelmed, sucked plumb dry before the day even gets started. I know I’m inadequate for this job of juggling and training and nurturing and soothing and educating. I feel the fear.

And I’m like Sarah, that mother of nations, standing in the shadows. She just laughed at the likelihood of her calling, like she was really capable of all *that*.

Yes, sometimes God calls us mothers to the right impossible.

A mother’s unbelief is expressed with laughter. Or internet surfing. Or avoidance of responsibility. Or busyness or shopping or friends. Or even hard work, striving like Abraham and Sarah to fulfill God’s promises for Him. But at the core, in the shadows of the heart, there is unbelief in God.

Eventually, we must allow the impossibility of our calling lead us out of the shadows and into the exercise of faith. We must follow in the steps of Sarah.

Faith is how the impossible takes on flesh and becomes tangible. It’s how the dead places inside us are brought to life. You know that, right? That faith takes on flesh?

It’s how we face the bickering children with a soothing word, how we walk an anxious child through a melt down, how we meet demands and needs with a playful laugh, how we roll out of bed with a smile instead of a groan (yes, even before we have our coffee! It is possible!)

You see, faith is forged in daily life. Faith is real-world, not Sunday-only. Faith is how God’s Word~ His promises for our children and future~ takes on flesh and dwells amongst us.

The mother’s day is full of opportunity for faith. From the moment I roll out of bed I have a choice… to stumble through the morning as best I can, or I can step out in faith, believing that God is with me and is giving me an abundance of grace for every need. I can push my children away or I can draw them close and sing “Hungry” as we ask God to fill us. I can retreat from the demands however I can or, in faith, I can soothe raw emotions and lean on Jesus to give me heart and strength and love and grace and I can see miraculous conception of the divine in this barren womb of a day.

God has called us to the impossible and we have to trust Him to make it happen in real, practical, tangible ways. In ways that give birth to flesh, to Isaac, to the fulfillment of promise in our every day.

After a day of faith living, a child climbs in my lap and whispers in my ear, “I see Jesus in you, momma,” and isn’t this what mothering is all about? Allowing Jesus to incarnate Himself in us? Seeing the Word take on flesh before our eyes?

It all begins with faith.

Following Abraham’s Process to Faith (Hebrews 11:19)

Abraham “considered”…

Consider means “to count, to calculate, to press your mind down upon.” It’s an accounting term that means to crunch and come to a solution.

This is the activity of faith, this considering. This vital engagement of the mind, to sit down and consciously choose to believe God. It is a choice and must be made every day, every minute, every second. Reject apathy and choose trust.

“He considered that God is able”

Biblical “considering” focuses on the nature of God. Our faith is only as good as it’s object. Is your God too small? Is your understanding of God accurate? Time spent considering the attributes of God is time well spent.

A. W. Pink said, “The incomprehensibility of the Divine nature is not a reason why we should desist from reverent inquiry and prayerful strivings to apprehend what He has so graciously revealed of Himself in His Word. Because we are unable to acquire perfect knowledge, it would be folly to say we will therefore make no efforts to attain to any degree of it. It has been well said (by Spurgeon) that, “Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued, investigation of the great subject of the Deity.”

Click here for a 30 day prayer guide of His attributes

“He considered that God is able even to raise the dead”

This little phrase is important because it shows that Abraham actively applied the character of God to his specific and individual circumstances. It does us the most good when we too, take the nature of God and apply it to our situation.

Let me provide a personal example. When I wake up in the morning and feel the stress, here’s how I can follow the steps of Abraham and choose faith: “Lord, I know that You are with me wherever I go. I also know that You are helping me. (And here I might recite Isaiah 40:10-13)

“I come to You to quench my thirst and satisfy my hunger. I trust You to direct my paths. You are my righteousness because I am all out of goodness on my own. You always lead me in triumph and my adequacy for this day comes from You. As I step out into today, I believe that You are here, nourishing, sustaining, giving me abundant grace for every good deed.”

Then I put a smile on and confidently greet what awaits.

What does your “impossible” look like? How can you apply faith in your every day life as a mom? What attributes of God do you need to trust Him for… in your specific situation? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!