11 Powerful Verses to Encourage Stay-at-Home Moms
Parenting
Audio By Carbonatix
5:04 AM on Monday, May 25
By Lisa Loraine Baker, Parenting
Stay-at-home moms are part of the threefold lifeblood of a Christian family. Of course, the Lord God is the Life-giver. The husband/father is the head of the household, and he provides the spiritual headship of his family as ordered by the Lord (Ephesians 5:23). Moms have the distinct privilege of not only birthing children but also nurturing them in a way unlike God uses fathers. While both parents are important in the mission of raising their children, according to God’s order of a family, a father as the head works to provide for his family.
The mom is then able to stay at home to be a helpmate to her husband and the one who closely orchestrates and supervises the children’s physical, emotional, and educational growth. Both parents see to all aspects of the growth of their children, but the impetus always comes from the Lord via the father.
In these days, however, stay-at-home moms are often berated by career-focused women and men who claim they aren’t contributing to society and are languishing in a thankless position. But our holy and perfect God created woman for purposes that far outweigh any conceived societal mandate that insists women offer more value to humanity as wage earners and organizational leaders. How can we then encourage stay-at-home moms?
How Women Were Created
God created woman because, He said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18). God took a rib out of Adam and created the first woman from it (Genesis 2:21-22). When Adam saw his wife, he exclaimed, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:23). Adam had immediate delight in her.
God blessed them and told them to be fruitful and multiply. Hence, the Lord God decreed the earth would not be full of people without women (Genesis 3:20).
Following are twenty Bible verses to encourage stay-at-home Christian moms. These verses and passages will sit well with Christian women. My prayer is that you are encouraged and can share the truths from God’s Word not only for your believing friends’ encouragement, but as a witness for unbelieving friends who are or wish to be stay-at-home moms.
11 Verses to Encourage Stay-at-Home Moms
1. Genesis 3:20
“The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.”
What an incredible and yes, daunting privilege given to Eve. You, as a mother, are a continuation of the mandate God gave to Eve through the words of her husband, Adam. To be a mom is to be a blessing to your husband and to your children.
“Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The work done by a stay-at-home mom is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. It’s hard, yet it’s fruitful because it’s eternal work. If you get anxious (and you will), pray to our Lord, who is at hand. He’s never far from you. Let Him know how you’re doing and what you need. Yes, He already knows, but He blesses our dependence upon Him. Thank Him for everything, even the seemingly unending work. Then enjoy the peace only He can bring.
“I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”
Your ministry as a stay-at-home mom is a strong witness to your family, friends, and neighbors. As you live out your sincere faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, your children can’t help but see and take note of your love for your Lord, your husband, and them. Just as Timothy extended the legacy begun in his grandmother and mother, you too can leave a legacy of love for Jesus Christ with your children.
“She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.”
No encouragement for stay-at-home moms would be complete without a reference to Proverbs 31. It’s often regarded as the “impossible to keep up with” list for godly women, but God has a deeper purpose for this passage. In this wisdom poem, a Hebrew acrostic pattern is revealed as an “alphabet of womanly excellence.” The first and last verses tie the passage together as one which describes a woman’s excellence. As a Christian, the Lord Christ is taking you from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18), and He is sanctifying you every day to be more and more like Him. And you know what? We won’t achieve this perfect description given in Proverbs 31 until we are in complete glory—fully sanctified. Regard this example with hope, because one day you will be perfect.
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
Society has its ideas of what a woman should be and do. Vast media empires tell women their roles in their homes aren’t enough. Women are told to strive for more and to rule over their households and make a lasting mark via an outside career.
Don’t let them fool you, only the word of the Lord remains forever (1 Peter 1:25). The world’s missives will pass away into nothingness, while the gospel you proclaim and the works you do to make an example of your faith will endure eternally. With God’s Spirit dwelling in you, you have power, love, and self-control the world will never possess.
6. Titus 2:3-4
“Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children.”
Hopefully, you have an older, godly role model or mentor who has discipled you in Christ. If not, pray and ask the Lord to bring you one. Reverent behavior doesn’t mean stiff (as some like to call God-fearing Christians). Reverent behavior is acting in faith and love and reverent fear of the Lord. He is our Creator and Sustainer. Why would we not bow to our awesome God who has our eternal destiny in His hands?
Older godly women know this and teach younger women. You are in training to be such a one. Your first call to action is to love the Lord. Then love your husband and children. God first. Husband second. Love them well, but don’t let your children supersede your love for your husband or his role as the head of your household.
“However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”
What a great exchange — love for respect for love. As you stay at home to care for your husband, children, and house, you are showing your husband great respect. This verse is not a suggestion, it’s a command which reaps happy benefits. Submission is not a hardship, for when a wife submits to a godly husband (godly is the key word here), she does so because she loves the Lord and her husband. It’s truly a win-win situation.
8. 1 Peter 4:10
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
The spiritual gifts imparted by God to each believer are varied. As a good steward, a stay-at-home mom can utilize her gifts to great effectiveness as she maintains the house (those things she is able to) and shepherds her children. The main use of the gifts is to build up the church. What better way to provide a foundation for her children than to use her gifts for God’s glory and the betterment of her household.
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Accountability. Fellowship. Spiritual Growth. The Lord gave us to be His Church, and we are united in Him. The church is our forever family, for one day we will be in heaven together. Some may bristle at this truth, but our church family is more important than our biological family. Yes, we love, pray for, and witness to our unbelieving brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and extended family, but God has called us into His kingdom as part of Jesus’ Church.
Stay-at-home moms have an abundance of family resources through the church, most notably other moms who stir each other up to love and good works. They are there for you to counsel, pray, physically help, and even to watch your littles when you have other pressing tasks. Your unbelieving family and friends will experience your love, too, but they cannot appreciate the joy of Christian fellowship. Therefore, pray for them and perhaps one day you can say, “And they glorified God because of me” (Galatians 1:24).
“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
The washer quit working. The refrigerator stopped. The meat burned to a crisp as you consoled a crying baby. These scenarios are real, and if they haven’t yet happened to you, hang on. But it’s going to be okay; actually, it’s going to be better than okay. The Apostle Paul wrote this passage. You know, the Apostle who was beaten countless times, shipwrecked, imprisoned, stoned and near death on numerous occasions? And still he was content because he knew he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him. So can you. That’s a promise from the Lord.
11. Proverbs 22:6
“Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
This verse is often misapplied. One may read it and think, “Okay, I don’t have to worry. God’s got it.”
Not so fast. You know being a mom is very hard work. You can’t just give birth and let your children grow up on their own. Raising a godly child takes wisdom and much prayer.
Correct application of this verse means a parent observes their children and, according to their personality and talents, directs their path toward the best way the child can eventually serve the Lord. It is not a decree your child will be saved, but if they are (and that’s up to the Lord), they will have been trained to use their talents to glorify Him. Author Heather Riggleman tells us, “It wasn’t about raising obedient kids, it actually means to help your child discover her talents and gifts. It means to help your child discover the path God has for them.” It’s possible God will use a child’s natural inquisitiveness and his parents’ loving guidance to direct their path and help them come to faith and repentance in Jesus Christ.
We should add one note. There are times when a wife and/or mother needs to work outside the home for various reasons. A strong church community is vital to a godly life and will come alongside a mother to aid her toward being able to stay at home, if that is the desire of her heart and the path God is leading her towards. A stay-at-home mom is truly a valuable treasure.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/monkeybusinessimages
Lisa Loraine Baker is the multiple award-winning author of Someplace to be Somebody, which is being adapted and brought to the stage by the Karamu House Theater in Cleveland, Ohio (Winter, 2027). Lisa writes fiction (Christmas stories) and is currently writing a novel titled “Refuge.” She also writes non-fiction, including articles for BibleStudyTools.com and Christianity.com. She and her husband, Stephen, live in Lexington, Kentucky with their Kentucky wild cat, Lewis.
