The joy of pregnancy and childbirth! Mothers are quick to tell me that those two words don't belong together with the word "joy." And here's a helpful tip (from personal experience) for you fathers. When your wife is in labor and the needle on the graph is showing her contractions, don't ever say, "Is that the highest you can make the needle jump?" At that point, she will not see the humor in the situation. It will only make her angry. (Trust me!)

The Bible refers often to pregnancy and childbirth, but it doesn't speak of it as a time of joy. Rather, Scripture refers accurately to the "pains of childbirth."

In  Romans 8, Paul draws a parallel between what an expectant mother experiences and what we (and all of creation) experience as we await the return of Jesus Christ:

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ... We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:18,22-23 NIV)

A mother in labor may feel that the pain will never end. With what you are going through right now in your life, you may feel the same way. Someday, however, the pain will pass for God's children and the joy will be greater than we ever imagined. For that day we "wait eagerly" even though now, we may groan with the pain.

 

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© 2003 Alan Smith. Used by permission. This devotional was reprinted from Thought for the Day.

Title: "The Pains of Childbirth"
Author: Alan Smith
Publication Date: November 22, 2003