I’ve been holding off writing on this topic because I know it’s a controversial and sensitive topic. It addresses our role as mothers and who God has designed us to be. It goes against everything this world deems is acceptable and normal, which is always in opposition to God.
Since the beginning, Satan has manipulated and tricked women with his lies. He’s twisted God’s words and led us to believe God does not have our best interest at heart. As Christian woman, we know that God only has our best interest in mind and designed us to fulfill His good purposes. Satan is a thief and a robber. His lies are stealing women from experiencing the joy that God has planned for them. He’s robbed women of so many precious moments and experiences, and has left us feeling weak, inadequate and consumed with guilt.
Lie # 1: Women are Weak
Biblically, women are strong and revered; however, somewhere along the way Satan has deceived women into believing that they are weak. There’s so many incredible Bible stories of strong women like Sarah, Deborah, Ruth, Ester and Rahab to name a few of my favourites. These women did not try to act like men, but rather they used their unique gifts and traits to do great things for God. God created man and woman differently, yet together they are perfect and complete. Man and woman complement each other to fulfill all that God has planned for them. God created man to be the strong protector and provider for his family and woman to be the soft, attentive, nurturer. Just because a woman’s physical strength is not equal to that of a man, does not make a woman’s role weaker in God’s eye.
For thousands of years, women found contentment in their role and position. They did not consider their physical weakness something needing to be proved to the world. Over time though, Satan’s lies took hold and generation after generation of women began to see a need to prove themselves to men. They needed to not only be physically strong, but take on role of provider and protector, while maintaining all areas of the household. There’s been such a paradigm shift in today’s society, where women are waiting later and later to have children, the amount of children are fewer and fewer, while a growing number of women are choosing not to have children at all. Careers and social freedom are becoming more desirable and favored amongst today’s generation of women. It’s so unfortunate to see so many women missing out on the incredible experience of motherhood, simply because they have chosen to believe Satan’s lies to indulge into the temporal over the eternal. Women are striving so hard to be men only to realize too late that the joy and contentment they were seeking was stripped from them by Satan’s lies. Although, motherhood can be so incredibly difficult most days, it is also the most rewarding and humbling experience. We must remind ourselves how blessed we are to experience motherhood and share this truth with other women. We need to fight against Satan’s lies and speak God’s truth to younger women. We must remember that motherhood is a gift that only we get to experience and requires great strength unlike the physical strength of our male companions.
Lie # 2: Women are Inadequate
The second lie Satan tells women is directed more so at the women who rejected his first lie to choose work over children. Satan doesn’t want us to have children. Throughout Scripture, we see references to children being a blessing, a reward and an inheritance from the Lord.
“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth” Psalm 127: 3-4
Our children are a weapon that can be used against Satan, and he is very aware of this threat. He is telling us lies to deter us from having children, so that they will not be used against him. In Psalm 8:2, it says, “Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” We often underestimate the power and influence of our children, but God sees them for all their worth and significance. Our children’s praises silence the enemy. We mustn’t forget these truths.
Our children are greatly valued in the eyes of the Lord and He even tells us to come to Him as little children do (Matthew 18:2-6). He reminds us numerous times that we are responsible for teaching and training up our children in the Lord (Proverbs 22:6). But somewhere along the way, Satan twisted these words and deceived women into believing that children are not a blessing, but rather a nuisance and that children are best taught outside the home by individuals trained in the profession.
God speaks to us on the importance of training up our children to know Him and His laws. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Start children off in the way they should go and when they are old they will not turn from it.” In Deuteronomy, the Lord reminds the people of Israel to “teach them [the laws] to your children, talk about them when you sit in your home, walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise” (Deut. 6:7 and 11:19). No where in Scripture does God speak on our inadequacy to raise our children, but rather He reminds us that He has a plan and a purpose for us and our children (Jeremiah 29:11). He will give us what we need to fulfill His purpose and will (Luke 12:31). Even on the most difficult days and days where you feel like a failure as a mother, the Lord will sustain you (Psalm 55:22). He will give you exactly what you need when you need it. Our children are important to Him and He wants the best for them.
In Luke 6:40, Jesus says, “But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.” We must let this verse sink in and evaluate what this means for our children. If we believe Satan’s lie that we are inadequate as mothers to teach our children and that our children require schools to be taught, then who will our children resemble? If we take a hands-off approach to teaching our children, then they’ll take on the belies and traits of the school system- a system that denies the very existence of God. Some how we’ve forgotten that we are adequate enough to teach our infants to sit up, eat, walk, speak, play, interact and so much more all within the first few years of life, but then after a certain age we begin to think that we are no longer adequate enough to teach our children. This mindset is resulting in children going to school earlier and earlier. The Lord has given us our children for only a short amount of time and Satan has fooled us into giving them over to him. We mustn’t feel inadequate. We must be confident in our role as mother and trust the Lord will walk alongside us every step of the way. He has given us this very precious gift, so let’s be responsible for it.
Lie # 3: Women are Unproductive
This lie often goes hand in hand with the second lie of inadequacy. Historically, a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) was a highly valued role, but somewhere along the way it is now a position of lowliness.
Motherhood holds a bag full of guilt. Mom’s often feel guilty for staying home with their children, as well as, placing their children into childcare to return back to work. It feels like a lose-lose situation and this is exactly what Satan wants you to feel. I remember the amount of guilt I felt as my maternity leave was coming to an end after my first child was born. I couldn’t imagine putting him into childcare and being away from him all day, but on the other hand I felt incredibly guilty and selfish to even think about staying home to raise our child rather than to return to work. It took me quite some time to even verbalize my desire to be a SAHM to my husband. I look back now and see how foolish I was to think that way, but at that moment the guilt was very real and a very heavy burden to carry. When I finally had the courage to bring it up to my husband, I had a list of alternatives to provide income for our family to help ease him into agreement with me. Again, how foolish I was to think I needed to justify my desire to stay home. I know it’s not easy for everyone to live off one income, but I believe there are quite a few families with mothers who felt guilt tripped into thinking they needed to work rather than stay home with their children. My husband was raised with a SAHM and he understood the significance and sacrifice a mom makes by staying home with the children. I’m so blessed to have him in full support of this decision for our family.
There is nothing wrong with women working, but I do believe there is no rush to get back to work after having children. Our children are small for only a short amount of time. When our children no longer require us to supervise or provide for them throughout the day, then there is the opportunity to return to the workforce. There are also many job opportunities for women to do from home now-a-days, especially with the prominence of the Internet. For our family, opening a day home to supplement our income for a few years was such a blessing. I was able to work from home and raise our own children at the same time.
As mothers, we must also be on guard against Satan tearing apart the family unit. He has established a way of life that creates division, busyness and stress. We no longer spend the majority of our time together, as we are all running off in different directions- school, work, extracurriculars. The idea of family time together to discuss each others day, spend quality time together or simply enjoy a meal together is interrupted by all the busyness. Ultimately, this leads to frustration, stress, brokenness, chaos and doubt. Satan wants to see our families crumble, because God has ordained this relationship. Anything that goes against God’s desire is a win in Satan’s books. Mothers lets take back hold of our families. Let’s pray powerfully over them to ward off Satan from tearing us about and creating division. Make a choice to step into your God-ordained role and be the Proverbs 31 woman He desires you to be.
Many Blessings!
SHARE: Have you ever fallen captive to Satan’s lies? How have you overcome it? How can you guard yourself and your family against Satan’s lies?
The Sweet Taste of Grace 