“Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.” —Psalm 127:3
The self-centered fallen nature inherited from Eve and the me-centered society with its focus on self and subjectivity has made this incredible process all about “me.” Therefore, since my experience of labor is pain, now it’s all about pain! What a perversion: It’s not about you, it’s about the baby. And it’s not about having pain, it’s about having a baby. And having a baby is not about your comfort and convenience; it’s about raising a person. That will be at the expense of your comfort and convenience! And hallelujah- the wonderful sanctification and maturity that you need will come!
Joy
First, the tremendous joy of pregnancy.
It is the promise of a baby coming – what great joy that a baby is coming! Think about Hebrews 12:2: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” There is a great joy set before you; what small things we endure/go through to give another life.
Awe
Consider the awesome way we are formed – all by God! And with such mystery – the complexity of how we are formed astounds even the medical community. And all this is happening to me!
Psalm 139:13-16 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body…”
Whatever we know or hope to know through continued research, it is still “the secret place” where God “weaves us together.”
Privilege
“Who am I?” I am a wicked and terrible sinner!
As David said before God, in 2 Sam 7:18,
“Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: “Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?”
Or Elizabeth in Luke 1:43
“But why am I so favored, that … (this) should come to me?”
There is a great joy set before you; what small things we endure/go through to give another life.
That God would use a wicked sinner like me to be a part of His great plan to bring a new person into the world – to serve Him! We are but stewards in His plan, in this parenting thing; it’s the Lord’s creative work in our sinful bodies! What a privilege to have a part in God’s work of creating a new human being with an eternal soul! It is God’s work: bringing a new human being into the world to serve Him! Mal 2:15
″Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring….”
So, consider pregnancy a time of GREAT Joy, Awe, and Privilege. Don’t let the thief with his doubts, fears, and worries come to steal, kill and destroy these wonderful things!
All glory to God from whom ALL blessings flow!