Faith Over Feelings: A Devotional for Moms

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This devotional explores how to choose faith over feelings by trusting God’s truth over emotions. Discover peace through scripture and encouragement for life’s everyday struggles.

There’s a strange thing that happens after you have a baby. Your heart seems to split wide open, and the entire day becomes a battlefield between joy and worry. The giggle of a baby brings tears to your eyes, and the sound of silence suddenly makes your chest tighten. One moment you’re basking in the miracle of life, and the next you’re panicking over an imaginary worst-case scenario. It can feel like trying to plant seeds in a garden while a storm brews just overhead.

If that’s you—if you find yourself drowning in intangible feelings, struggling to catch your breath through feelings of bitterness, or fearing the “next time” something hard will hit—this devotional is for you.

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Why Moms Imagine the Worst

There’s actually some science behind why our brains spiral into fearful scenarios. Neuroscientists have shown that mothers are hard-wired to protect and nurture their children. Our amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for fear and survival instincts, becomes more active postpartum. It’s God’s design—a divine rewiring—that heightens our sensitivity so we can care for our babies.

We become alert to every cry, every cough, every subtle shift in behavior. It’s a beautiful design, but it can become a jagged knife when our emotions take the wheel instead of our faith.

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We imagine tragedy not because we are weak, but because we care deeply. We are trying to prepare, trying to control what is ultimately not ours to control.

But mamas, we were never meant to hold all the outcomes. We were meant to hold fast to God’s truth. We are meant to trust faith over feelings.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)

Weeding the Garden of Emotions

I recently found myself weeding our homestead garden after a particularly weepy morning. Baby was napping in my Boppy wrap, the older kids were in the mud (again), and I just needed to move. As I yanked weeds from between rows of herbs, green beans, beets, and lettuce, I realized that my heart felt the same—cluttered, overwhelmed, tangled.

Emotions are like weeds. If left unchecked, they spread and choke out the fruit. Tiny little shreds of fear grow roots. Own desires twist into envy. A quiet whisper of comparison becomes a vine of discontent.

In those moments, we must make space for the Holy Spirit to work in us—guiding, pruning, and planting truth.

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” – John 17:17 (ESV)

From Feelings to Faith

We often confuse feelings with truth, but feelings are unreliable guides. They change with hormones, sleep deprivation, social media scrolls, and piles of laundry. But faith—faith holds even in the storm.

When we surrender our season of struggle to the Lord, we invite Him to do something far greater than we could imagine. Instead of chasing the next solution or financial success or book deal or perfectly-behaved children, we get to take the first step into His peace.

And you know what, friends, it doesn’t have to be a season of struggle. It can be the daily trickle of rainwater on our hearts. Feelings of discontent, moments of exhaustion, and frustrations with our kids. It can be the dried-up banana you find wedged between your bedframe and wall that is the last straw in your emotional bandwidth.

Ask me how I know because that’s a real-life example. That silly dried-up banana was the last drip in my emotional mom bucket that made me feel like I finally had enough justification to turn on my children with a harsh tone. That dried-up banana felt like a personal attack. Yet those moments are rarely, if ever, actual moments where our kids are ‘out to get us’. They are just being kids, and it’s our job to train and teach instead of rage and ridicule.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

What to Do in the Garden

So, what do we do when the emotions are too big? When anxiety is your entire day and you can’t seem to move past that “what if”?

Here are some garden tasks for the soul:

• Weed out the lies. Identify what you believe that doesn’t line up with God’s word. Write it down. Replace it with truth.
• Plant Scripture in your heart. Keep verses on your mirror, your coffee pot, and the changing table. Let the good news water your weary spirit.
• Tend to quiet time. Even five minutes. The Holy Spirit doesn’t require silence—just sincerity.
• Compost the shame. You’re not broken because you feel deeply. You’re not failing because you cried during nap time again. Let God use the hard stuff to nourish something new.

Yearly Bible Reading Plan

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” – Isaiah 26:3 (ESV)

The Holy Spirit in the Soil

Here’s the really good news, Mama. We are not doing this alone.

God’s presence is not limited by our tears. He is in the dishes, in the weeping, in the wiping of noses and butts. His Holy Spirit is the master gardener, and He is far better at tending hearts than we are.

Even when our emotions feel like such expressions of chaos, His Spirit brings peace.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” – John 14:26 (ESV)

Your Only Hope in Hard Times

Maybe today feels like a garden overrun. Maybe this week has been one long season of struggle. Maybe you are carrying the weight of motherhood, marriage, and ministry, and you’re wondering if anyone sees how tired you are.

Jesus does. He sees the mess and the beauty. And He’s not asking you to pull yourself together. He’s asking you to trust Him—one messy, faithful step at a time.

He is your only hope. He is your strength when your own has run dry. And He is with you, even now, speaking life over your tired soul.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28 (ESV)

Faith Over Feelings

Faith isn’t the absence of emotion. It’s choosing God’s direction even when your feelings scream otherwise.

It’s holding on to His promises when anxiety whispers lies.

It’s sitting in the dirt, pulling weeds from your garden, and believing that God is growing something beautiful—even here.

So next time the emotions rise, remember: You were created to nurture, yes. But you were also created to rest in the arms of a God who holds every outcome in His sovereign hands.

Faith over feelings, mama. Every time.

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