Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:1 ESV

One of the most rewarding and challenging times of my life is right now… being a mother of 2 little boys! I certainly have a much greater appreciation for my own mother as well as all the mommies out there! And if you are a single mom, oh my goodness! Seriously, you are truly my heroes!

Each day I pray and hope that I am raising my children with Godly principles. I am certainly not perfect and have made my share of mistakes in just my 4 years of being a mommy. I will be the first to admit that I don’t always know what to do or how to handle certain situations. I try my best to use Godly principles but the hardest part with having such young boys is not knowing if they are really getting it!

I can tell them something over and over and over again…I can discipline them for their disobedience…I can share principles with them about lying, listening to authority, being respectful, sharing, being generous and loving, praying for one another….and the list goes on!

I can read them Bible stories, have them watch children’s Christian videos, and take them to church …but only time will tell if they truly understand these Godly principles that my husband and I are instilling in them. Only time will tell if they will be followers of Christ! Most child- rearing books will explain the importance of consistency. So I try my best to stay consistent…but the reality? …I still have moments of failure.

Have you ever felt this way?

Being a mother is not easy…and one thing it takes a lot of…is faith! And how many of you know…faith takes courage…a lot of courage! It’s not in our human nature to believe in things we can’t see.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 NIV

This courageous faith is the faith that keeps you going when you aren’t quite sure if everything you are doing is right. This courageous faith keeps you going when you raise your children with Godly principles and even though you don’t necessarily see the results right away…you trust God. This courageous faith encourages you when your children grow up and you can’t have them live in your home forever. This courageous faith is in a God who knows what’s on the other side of your faith…a God who will reward and bless you for trusting in Him when you just can’t see the other side.

One scripture that has recently encouraged me to have courageous faith and keep doing what I am doing even though I don’t necessarily see results right away is…

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:1 ESV

Now, this is a principle that alludes to the agricultural practice of throwing seed upon water or soggy ground and then waiting for it to produce a harvest. Some interpreters understand that “bread” is the seed from the produce of which bread is made. (Barnes Notes)

We may cast a lot of bread into the mouths and lives of our children…which may seem like a bottomless pit sometimes! The bread we cast may be in the form of giving food, time, money and love. And according this scripture…when we give this kind of bread there will be a return and reward!

When I think of a mommy of remarkable and courageous faith, I think of Jochebed. This is one woman who can easily be overlooked in the Bible… and if you blink you just might miss how remarkable she truly is!

Jochebed was Moses’ mother. We first hear about this amazing woman in Exodus 2:1 as an Israelite and member of the tribe of Levi. Members of this tribe included the priests and those who would carry out the duties of the Tabernacle and later of the Temple. As members of the tribe of Levi, Jochebed and her husband Amram were evidently very dedicated people of God.

At the end of Exodus 1 in verse 22, we see that the Pharoah of Egypt has ordered that every son that is born of the Jews must be thrown into the Nile River and drowned. As the mother of a newborn baby boy, Jochebed was faced with a difficult and frightening circumstance. How could she let her little baby die? How could she send her precious baby Moses down the Nile? I mean can you even imagine being faced with this dilemma?

What dilemma in your life are you facing right now?

Jochebed, motivated by her love for her son and her remarkable faith in God, hid her son for 3 months. Talk about 3 months of trusting God and believing that her baby Moses would not be found! She was clearly forced to put her faith into action.

Soon after Jochebed put her faith into action by hiding Moses, she had to take another risk of faith.  Do you ever feel this way? Just when you finally bolster up the courage to take a step of faith you find yourself having to take another step faith!

Jochebed was forced to take another very challenging risk with her seed…her seed baby Moses. Because Jochebed could no longer hide a growing baby, she made a basket, laid him in it, and placed it along the bank of the Nile.

But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. Exodus 2:3 NIV

Jochebed was casting her bread…her beloved seed…her precious son Moses….upon the waters! Talk about courageous faith!!!

Now the story gets real exciting! Pharoah’s own daughter finds the basket on the riverbank and has compassion for the baby. Needing a nursemaid for the baby, she then finds Jochebed! Of all people! …Jochebed is reunited with her baby and has been asked to nurse him. If that isn’t God’s sovereign providence, I don’t what is!

She had placed her baby in the hands of God when she placed him in the river. She took a courageous step of faith and trusted God. Jochebed literally cast her seed upon the waters…and it came back to her! Her courageous faith was rewarded.

At times, we too must step out with courageous faith before we can receive God’s blessing…just like Jochebed.

What challenge in your life requires a courageous risk of faith from you? What is holding you back from taking this step of courageous faith?

For the mommy’s out there…Are you sending your child off to school or college, off to a job in another city or state, off to married life, off to serve God in the mission field or in the military? Do you feel like you are losing him or her?

How about a mommy of school aged children? Do you feel that you are losing some of the time you used to spend with them because they are now growing up and wanting to hang out with their friends more?

Maybe you aren’t a mommy but you are facing a challenging situation in your life…Do you need courage to take a step of faith?

Whether you are a mother or not, we all face challenges in our lives that may frighten us and challenge us. We too must have faith like Jochebed…the courageous faith that casts our bread upon the water! And trust God that we will eventually reap benefits and blessings because of our courageous step of faith!

Trust God with your children…trust God with your challenging situation because he knows the other side of your courageous faith!

Reflection Points:

1)      Are you faced with a challenging situation in your life right now?

2)      Does it require you to take a courageous step of faith?

3)      What is holding you back from “casting your bread in the waters?”

4)      Do you trust God enough that he will reward your faith?

 Action Points:

1)      Pray that God would give you the courage to take a step of faith and face your challenging situation.

2)      Find some key faith scriptures in God’s word to encourage you and your faith.

3)      Share your challenging situation with other Christians so they can be supporting you and praying for you as you step out courageously.

4)      Remind yourself that faith pleases God and that he will reward you.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Hebrews 11:4 NIV