Daily Devotions

In Isaiah 49:15 God is compared to a nursing mother, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”

Here, Isaiah in his poetry expresses that God is far more than all of created things. God’s love is unspeakably far greater that any metaphor we can use. God reminds us that even the beautiful love of our mothers, while it points to the divine love, it is inadequate at fully representing the perfect love God has for us.

God bore us like a mother to physical life, 

but even more than that. 

God causes us to be born again 

of his Spirit to receive everlasting life.

God protects us like a mother bird, 

but more than that, God protects us perfectly.

God has wrath like a mother, 

but perfectly, never doing so abusively.

God refuses to let us go like a mother, 

only God has laid down his life for us 

so that we can not only live this life, 

but for ever and ever in heaven afterwards.

There was a teenager who didn’t want to be seen in public with her mother, because her mother’s arms were terribly disfigured. One day when her mother took her shopping and reached out her hand, a clerk looked horrified. Later, crying, the girl told her how embarrassed she was. Understandably hurt, the mother waited an hour before going to her daughter’s room to tell her, for the first time, what happened. 

When you were a baby, I woke up to a burning house. Your room was an inferno. Flames were everywhere. I could have gotten out the front door, but I decided I’d rather die with you than leave you to die alone. I ran through the fire and wrapped my arms around you. Then I went back through the flames, my arms on fire. When I got outside on the lawn, the pain was agonising but when I looked at you, all I could do was rejoice that the flames hadn’t touched you. Stunned, the girl looked at her mother through new eyes. Weeping in shame and gratitude, she kissed her mother’s marred hands and arms.

God of Goodness, I come into your presence so aware of my human frailty and yet overwhelmed by your love for me.  I thank you that there is no human experience that I might walk through where your love cannot reach me.  If I climb the highest mountain you are there and yet if I find myself in the darkest valley of my life, you are there.  Teach me today to love you more.  Help me to rest in that love that asks nothing more than the simple trusting heart of a child. Amen