Held by Love

by Becky Thompson

The truth is, when life has been a lot and your heart has carried so much, it can be hard to feel safe or settled enough to rest. Yet throughout Scripture, we see evidence of God’s desire to hold His children securely in a world that is anything but safe.

In Exodus, we read the story about a baby boy named Moses who grew to become the deliverer of the Israelites, God’s chosen people. He was born during a time when the king of Egypt feared God’s people, who were living as slaves in his kingdom. This king was concerned God’s people would fight against him and win because they were so numerous. So Pharaoh decreed that all baby boys would be put to death. Pharaoh may have been afraid of God’s people, but Moses’ momma, Jochebed, feared the Lord. She hid her baby boy for three months, stifling his cries, concealing his very existence, likely praying and trusting God for her son’s safety daily. Exodus 2:3 tells us that when she saw she could hide him no more, she still didn’t give up. She waterproofed a small basket and put her baby inside.

I’ve heard this story since I was a young girl, and sometimes the reality of what Jochebed did seems like a tale from long ago in a land far away. The truth is that a mother, just like you or me, put her tiny infant in a basket and put that basket in the river.

Can you imagine your own child, at just three months old, blinking into the bright sun as he lies helplessly in a handmade boat at the edge of the water? Can you imagine how intensely you’d want to pull him to your chest, wrap your arms tightly around him, and keep him safe? I can’t imagine the pain or fear or anguish in Jochebed’s heart as she let go. I cannot fathom the ache of slipping away, hand over my mouth, trying not to draw attention, stifling my own sobs while silently pleading with the Lord to spare my baby’s life.

I can’t imagine what Jochebed experienced that day, but I do know what it feels like to trust the Lord with my children and plead with Him on their behalf. I do know what it feels like to have done all I can in a trying situation and realize that I must release it to Jesus. I do know the ache of a momma who wishes her love was enough to keep her children safe.

Just as Moses’ momma was not just trusting her own waterproofing work to keep her baby secure, neither do we trust only our own efforts to uphold our families. Just as Jochebed was trusting the Lord to carry Moses, we can trust the Lord to care for our kids. In a situation far from safe, we can trust that even when we can’t hold our babies securely with our love, they will be safely held by God.

Moses was pulled from the water by Pharaoh’s daughter and grew up in the palace as a prince of Egypt. The Lord led Moses throughout his life and used him to set God’s people free from bondage. Surely the Lord carried him safely on the water, but the Lord’s hand to uphold Moses was evident in Moses’ life beyond the small basket boat, because we have a God who upholds.

Can I remind you of something? The Lord has you. Really. He has your children. He knows the water from which you will be pulled. He also knows that you’ve been trusting your own waterproofing to keep yourself and your family afloat. You’ve been doing all you know to do to keep yourself and those you love from sinking.

I know the world feels unsafe. I know pain is real, and the problems of life keep coming, and your heart may feel heavy because you’re stressed out, anxious, and tired. That tight grip you’ve held, doing your best to protect everyone and everything, is so exhausting. Isn’t it? It’s hard work holding your whole world in your own hands.

Momma, here is some heart-healing truth as we begin. The Lord is close, and while the situations you’re facing may feel far from safe, you are safely held by arms that were once spread out on a cross so they could wrap you up in eternity. That’s your present position. In this very moment, you are held by the arms of Love.

Can you close your eyes for just a moment and imagine what it might feel like to rest in His arms? Imagine how your tension would release; the pressure that makes you feel as if you should rush or worry would ease; and your thoughts would still like a stormy sea going suddenly silent. Really pause to picture it. What would it feel like to be held by Jesus? I often picture leaning into the love of Jesus because I have a daughter, Kaylin, who waits for me in Jesus’s arms. She would have been fifteen this year. When I experienced her miscarriage years ago, I couldn’t imagine a time when the events that surrounded her story wouldn’t be unbearably painful to tell. I couldn’t imagine thinking of her without grief stealing my breath and causing me to choke back my words. But as the Lord began to whisper to my heart about the message of this book, I thought of Kaylin. I thought about the little girl I never had the chance to hold myself, scooped up in the arms of Love, beaming with heaven’s light, wrapped in an embrace of peace. I pictured her hugging Jesus’s neck, fully trusting Him, without any fear or pain or sadness.

I could almost imagine Kaylin smiling, saying, It’s time to tell our story, Momma. I have told a lot of stories, but the testimony Kaylin and I share is this: She and I are both held by Jesus in this very moment. The same God who holds her in eternity, holds me right here today. Her testimony, even though she never took a breath outside my body, is the testimony all God’s children have in Him: “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart” (Isaiah 40:11). That’s your testimony too, Momma.

I know life has been a lot and you feel a little bit of everything these days. I know you carry so much. I know it has been heavy. I know you’re tired. I know you haven’t had a chance to stop and fully heal. I won’t pretend to know your story, but I do trust that the One who does know everything has so much. He wants to tell you about what it means to live carried close to His heart. I know that is where we find true rest.

Becky Thompson is a USA Today bestselling author and the founder of the Midnight Mom Devotional online community, a ministry gathering almost 2 million women in nightly prayer. Her ministry focuses on restoring peace to the anxious momma's heart, inviting women into an encounter with God's presence, and teaching about the life-changing power of prayer. Through her ten published books, public speaking, and online courses, Becky connects the hearts of women to the hope found in Jesus alone. Becky resides in northwest Oklahoma with her husband, Jared, and their three children. Becky’s new book, Healing Rest, released April 1, 2025.

Taken from Healing Rest by Becky Thompson. Copyright © 2025 by Becky Thompson. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.harpercollinschristian.com