3 Truths These Verses about Breastfeeding Moms Can Teach Us All
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There are some topics which we assume would not be highlighted in God’s holy Word. However, He never ceases to surprise and amaze us that He takes the mundane tasks and opens our eyes to His glory.
If you were to ask 10 moms about their breastfeeding experiences, the answers would vary greatly. God’s original design is beautiful for the bonding and provision for a child, but we honestly live in a broken world and so there are mishaps, pains, tears, and infections. However, we can take time to look at what God says about breastfeeding and how it shapes our understanding of the gospel and Himself.
Today, we will learn what Bible verses about nursing moms can teach us.
Total Dependence
Psalm 22:9 - “Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.”
The need for a newborn to be nourished and loved is great. That baby eats every three hours, eight times per day. The baby cannot walk to the fridge for food, much less even lift his head. He is completely dependent upon his mother for survival. How often do we forget this in our walks with God? We strive for independence and self-sufficiency. We pride ourselves in our own human abilities, yet the Lord invites us to be totally dependent upon Him.
John 15:5 – “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
Isaiah 41:13 - “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”
Psalm 121:1-2 - “I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
God Remembers Us
Isaiah 49:15 - “Can a woman forget her nursing child. And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.”
A woman who has a baby not only loves her baby and remembers that sweet infant, but she has physical reminders to nurse that baby. She is constantly thinking about the needs of her child and how to love him well.
Think about the vast sacrifices of motherhood. The sleepless nights, the breastfeeding challenges, the healing postpartum, the life changes, the body changes, and the emotions. As much as a mother loves her nursing baby and remembers him, Jesus loves us more. There is no greater sacrifice than being a faithful and loving parent. God uses this vulnerable and tender example to us as a lesson on His abundant love for us. He has such compassion, and He is always thinking about us, always praying for us, and always loving us.
Romans 8:34 - “It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”
Psalm 115:12-13 - “The Lord remembers us and will bless [us]. He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron; He will bless those who fear the Lord - small and great alike.”
Psalm 103:13-14 - “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.”
Close Proximity = Growth
So are we the “baby?” Essentially yes. We are completely dependent on Him for life. He tells us in John 3:3 that in order to be His children we need to be born again. The moment we accept Jesus as our personal Savior, we are born again. This is a spiritual birth. We begin a journey learning about God and understanding who our Savior is and how He cares for us. We study the Bible and learn the foundations of Scripture and the gospel message of hope.
Ponder another passage in Hebrew 5:12-14, which says, “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
It is through the Holy Spirit and growing in our relationship with the Lord that we mature in faith. It is by His strength that we go from milk to solid foods. Although the depth of what we understand is greater, our dependence on God is still the same. As believers in Christ, we are invited to be constantly growing in our love and relationship with the Lord, knowing that we are fully in need of His mercy each morning. He is our Savior, our Father and Friend, and we grow by being close with Him.
Just as an infant physically grows by the closeness to a mother in nursing, and then by being fed solid foods, we too grow more and more as we invest greater time with Jesus. He is always with us, but He invites us to draw near to Him (James 4:8).
Where have you felt the need to control your life? How have you been focusing on growing by your independence from God instead of your reliance on Him? It is easy to look at others and point the finger, but as we embrace humility, let's take time to think about how God is refining us to be countercultural and to be kingdom-minded. He is the King and He is perfect in being sovereign over all. We can relax, rest, and trust Him to be our rock and foundation as He has promised each and every moment.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/tatyana_tomsickova
