A Mother's Love:
A Reflection of God's Tenderness
Michael Ryan Stotler
May 7, 2025

Big Idea:

God’s nurturing love, seen through the image of a mother’s tenderness, calls us to receive His comfort and extend it to others.

1. Peace Like a River (Isaiah 66:12)

Reflection Question:

Where in my life do I need to invite God’s peace to flow freely?

2. Comfort Beyond Compare (Isaiah 66:13)

Reflection Question:

How have I experienced God’s comfort in a time of need?

3. Jesus: The Fulfillment of Divine Comfort

Reflection Question:

How can I respond to the comfort I’ve received from Jesus?

4. Extending God’s Tenderness to Others

  • We are called to be channels of God’s comfort to those around us.
  • Encourage, support, and honor the women who reflect God’s heart.
  • Step into someone’s pain this week with gentle, Spirit-led care.

Challenge:

Who in my life needs to experience God’s mother-like comfort through me this week?

Key Verses to Remember:

“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you…”
— Isaiah 66:13

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
— Matthew 11:28

Takeaway Prayer:

Lord, thank You for Your nurturing love. Help me rest in Your comfort and reflect it to others—especially those who need to feel Your peace and presence today.

🌸 Bible Study: A Mother’s Love — A Reflection of God’s Tenderness

Text: Isaiah 66:12–13
Duration: 3 Days

Day 1: Peace Like a River

📖 Read: Isaiah 66:12

“For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream…”

✨ Hebrew Word Study:

Peace – שָׁלוֹם (Shalom)

  • More than just the absence of conflict, shalom implies wholeness, well-being, harmony, and flourishing.
  • God promises to send “shalom like a river”—a never-ending, flowing supply of His wholeness.

💭 Reflect:

  1. What does “shalom like a river” look like in your life right now?
  2. How does a mother’s presence often bring a sense of peace and stability to a home?
  3. In what ways is God inviting you to rest in His shalom?

🧎‍♂️ Application:

Take a moment to sit in silence today. Picture God’s peace flowing through your life like a river. Ask Him to show you areas where you need to trust His provision and presence more fully.

Day 2: Comfort Like a Mother

📖 Read: Isaiah 66:13

“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”

✨ Hebrew Word Study:

Comfort – נִחַם (nacham)

  • Often translated “to comfort,” nacham also implies a deep emotional connection and a movement toward someone in their pain.
  • This word is used to describe both God’s compassion and how a mother instinctively draws near to a hurting child.

💭 Reflect:

  1. Recall a time when someone truly comforted you. What made it meaningful?
  2. How does God’s promise to comfort you challenge your view of His character?
  3. Why do you think God chose the image of a mother in this verse?

🧎‍♂️ Application:

Write a short prayer or journal entry thanking God for how He has comforted you in the past. Reach out to someone this week who is grieving or struggling, and offer them a word or act of comfort.

Day 3: The Tender Love of Jesus

📖 Read: Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34, and John 14:18

“How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…” — Matthew 23:37

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” — John 14:18

✨ Greek Word Study:

Compassion – σπλαγχνίζομαι (splagchnizomai)

  • This word describes the deep, gut-level compassion Jesus felt.
  • It carries the sense of a mother’s instinctive empathy and emotional movement toward her child’s need.

💭 Reflect:

  1. Jesus uses maternal imagery (a hen gathering her chicks). How does this affect your understanding of His heart?
  2. Where in your life do you need to be “gathered in” by Christ today?
  3. How can Christ’s compassion change the way you approach those who are hurting?

🧎‍♂️ Application:

Make space today to rest in Jesus’ compassion. Let Him gather you close. Consider how your life can be a reflection of His nurturing love—especially toward those who feel spiritually orphaned or abandoned.

🙏 Final Challenge:

God’s nurturing love isn’t just for our comfort—it’s for our transformation. Let His tenderness shape your parenting, mentoring, friendships, and service. This week, honor someone in your life who has shown you mother-like love. And above all, trust that in every season, God draws near to you with the heart of a tender, attentive parent.