Gen 1:3 “Let there be light and there was light.”

Stories moved around the room as each of us took our turn sharing our experience.  The overwhelming majority spoke of how the delivery after later children went easier than the last.  Tales of babies seemingly flying out with little to no effort, before a doctor could arrive, sometimes without time for an epidural or with little warning offered a sense of relief and calm  as I caressed my stomach holding my second child.  This pregnancy had already been easier in some ways so surely the trend would continue into delivery I assured myself.  When the day came, I entered the delivery room confident this baby would come arrive within hours and we’d be laughing and giggling over him by lunch because that’s what happens when you’ve been down this road before, right?!  I mean surely, the body has been through the process so it just goes right into action and does what it knows it must do.  Boy was I wrong, as the hours ticked past lunch time with little progress made. Dinner time was on the horizon and this baby, this delivery was not nearing an end.  I think if I had offered a give up, let’s go home option, I would have hit that button and waddled out of the delivery room saying let’s try this again next week maybe the stars are not aligned right!  Unfortunately, like many things in life we do not get the opt out option and if we are not careful, we will use the experiences of others to color our expectations setting ourselves up for disappointment.  This is a trap of the enemy.  The testimonies of others can set us up to miss God if we are not careful.  Let’s explore that further here.

Your story is not my story

Testimonies are powerful illustrators of what is possible with God’s power.  I have heard you cannot have a test without a testimony.  Just as in school, the tests of life are personal and tailored to where you are at that moment.  Testimonies serve as a witness statement to what God can do and who He is not as a prophecy for our own journey or a script to how He will do it.  God wants a relationship with us so our time in His presence is personal.  His presence moving in our life is distinct from all others.  Look around a sanctuary during worship at any given time and you will see people in different positions of worship, some sitting and swaying, others with hands raised, other lying on the floor and still others standing with arms lifted up because it’s personal.  God’s plan and purpose for each of us is unique.  Our Christian walk is personal so He would not do us the disservice of giving us a cookie cutter response to our situation.  Therefore, the testimonies of others are meant to be celebrated, to encourage, to excite, to comfort and to convince us in our faith walk.  The way God shows up in your life will be unique to you because He has a unique plan for you.  Likewise, your motherhood journey will be different. The process, the timing, the type of deliverance, the direction and instruction will be tailored to your needs and the needs of your child.  God’s plan is that we all prosper, have a hope and a future (Jer 29:11) but the way we get there will be different.

The oldest trick in the book

If we are not mindful, we will attempt to make another’s testimony our own.  We will take steps that seem right because it is how the other person did it with favorable results.  When we do not get those results, then we set ourselves up to doubt God, doubt His deliverance, doubt His working in our lives.  This is literally the oldest trick in the book.  When satan approached Eve in the garden, his response to her word from God was He didn’t really mean that.  When our story does not fall into place like the other mom’s then we can fall victim to thinking that God isn’t really there for us because of our past mistakes or current missteps.  That He is not hearing our prayers leaves us to wonder why keep praying.  Those seeds of doubt if not dealt with will sow into weeds snuffing out the fruitful life God has planned for us.  Your story and your child’s story are not tied to, implied by or modified because of the other mom’s. Do not let the devil deceive you into thinking if He doesn’t do it the way He did it for her then He must not plan to do it.  Instead, choose to believe that if He doesn’t do that way then the way He has planned will be much better for you.  Through His grace He will offer us evidence of His presence along the way to nurturing a seed of faith for refuge.  Under the covering of His grace, ask Him to reveal Himself so you can lean into His presence to know it better and see Him moving distinctly in your life. “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” Matt 7:7.   

Don’t be fooled. 

The enemy deceives us into believing God only shows Himself with an obvious sudden change in our circumstance or some sort of grand gesture.  We will miss Him when we think He will always appear in grand fashion.   He does not always show Himself with seven plagues or the parting of the red sea even though He could.  We will miss Him when we look for Him in the earthquake instead of the whisper (1 Kings 19:12-13).  We will also miss Him by looking for Him to show up the same way every time, the same way He did for us or someone else in the past.  If He did this, we would fall into a habit of not actively seeking Him.  We would fall into a pattern of following the same steps, routines expecting Him to show up.  This leads to practicing religion instead of developing a relationship.  Religion governs by rules and laws but relationship develops grows and evolves with a deeper connection, a more intimate knowledge from purposefully journeying together through the ups, downs, twists and turns. 

If we rely on grand gestures to chart our course, we become susceptible to the tricks and schemes of the devil.  He disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14).  As we get to know Him better, we will also not be fooled by imposters.  Those moments or events that look similar to that of others or prior experiences will not serve as a course to distract or detour us from the unique plans God has for us.  As we learn to know Him and become familiar with His presence, we grow from knowing the difference between right and wrong to discerning the difference between right and almost right.  The more we study the word the better able we will be able to discern Him in what appears to be gray areas.  My sheep hear my voice, no other’s will they follow (John 10:27-30).  As we become better acquainted with knowing who He is, we equip ourselves with the tools to discern our paths on our motherhood journeys along the path and to teach our children to do the same.

As we learn to connect every part our being Him, we will come to know Him better.  We will become more aware of other ways to sense His presence.  He imparts a refreshing of your spirit (Acts 3:20), joy beyond all understanding (Ps 16:11) and rest for our weary souls (Ex 33:14).  As we spend more time in His word, with Him, we will know Him better and then when He calls, when He speaks, when He reveals Himself, we will know it is Him without having to look. 

Sow the seed:  Others’ testimonies are not God’s template for your life. They are a testament to who He is and what He can do not to how He will do it for you.  

Nurture the seed:

·       “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; not it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a new way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”  Is 43:18-19