Did you expect it to be this hard?

Motherhood is not for the faint of heart. At least not purposeful motherhood. This deep giving of ourselves rubs our selfishness raw. And if we choose purposeful motherhood over getting-through-it motherhood, the pruning cuts deep. Experiencing God’s joy in these mom moments does not come easily.

God shines a bright light in the form of sinful little beings on the evil that used to hide away in the crevices of our hearts. He reveals the idols we didn’t realize we were bowing down to each day. 

And in the midst of the pruning, He allows us to find ourselves thrown into a routine we maybe never expected — a routine that overwhelms us with ordinary. With mundane.

How to Experience God’s Joy

Here, in the mundane routine, we desire to stand tall in purposeful motherhood. Yes, we feel like hamsters on that horrible wheel. But we can tell ourselves that it’s all worth it. We are raising little souls who will one day enter God’s kingdom, Lord willing. These souls need clean bottoms, full bellies and loving arms to wrap around them.

It’s all worth it. Yes, this we know and believe. (And if you need a reminder about how your daily obedience brings God glory, this Bible study is for you!)

But despite what we know and believe, this purposeful motherhood leads us on a path of loneliness most days. It’s here, in the loneliness, that joy feels very far away.

Every purposeful mother knows this feeling. What, then, do we do about it?

3 Truths for Experiencing God’s Joy in the Mom Moments

Instead of the endless laments and wallowing that too easily take over our thoughts, words, and social media posts, let us instead take action. Let us look our joyless moments in the face and declare, “You might have a hold of my emotions right now, but Jesus holds my soul — and I receive my joy from Him!”

Here, within this statement, lies a few truths you can cling to for experiencing God’s joy in your “mom moments.”

1. Your emotions do sometimes control you.

There are some days when it proves impossible to rid yourself of the negative, lonely emotions. But those emotions do not last forever. Find joy in knowing the lonely feelings are fleeting ones.

2. Jesus holds your soul, and He loves you.

Do you stop in the midst of your mom moments of loneliness or sadness to truly believe that Jesus loves you? Just like everything within you wants to hold and comfort your wounded child, Jesus wants to hold and comfort you as your heart aches over your difficult days. Find joy in turning to Him and receiving His love.

3. You don’t create joy on your own.

The Holy Spirit provides you with His fruit as you seek after Him. In the midst of those mom moments when joy feels nonexistent, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal His joy to you. Then keep your eyes, ears and heart on the lookout to receive your joy from Him (you can also receive tangible resources to help you experience God’s joy with these Everyday Faith growth boxes!).

What Now for Experiencing God’s Joy?

Those lonely and difficult days drain us. But we must not fall prey to patterns of spiritual idleness. This means not expecting God to immediately speak away our negative emotions and replace them with joy.

This means not wallowing in the loneliness and wishing something would change.

This means not allowing our brains to wander down every pathetic and sad thought-path dangled in front of our minds.

Instead, we must not grow weary in strengthening our faith. When the moments, hours or days lack joy, there is hope found in Jesus. But let us seek that joy instead of expecting things to change just because we desperately want them to change.

We seek out the joy of the Lord by spending time with Him each day, by praying throughout our day, and by speaking Scripture truth into the lies.

In those moments of loneliness, pray. In those moments of facing lies, read Scripture. In those moments of despair, remember your future glory.

While these words may seem easy to read yet too simplistic to make a difference, we should never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit to pour out His joy in our lives when we seek Him.

For God promises that when we seek Him, we will find Him, when we seek Him with all our hearts (Jeremiah 29:13).

If you want a place to start seeking God and His joy in your everyday mom moments, this free prayer devotional is for you!