Isaiah 26:17,18
17 As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,
She writhes and cries out in her labor pains,
Thus were we before You, O Lord.
18 We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,
We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,
Nor were inhabitants of the world [b]born
She writhes and cries out in her labor pains,
Thus were we before You, O Lord.
18 We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,
We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,
Nor were inhabitants of the world [b]born
Don't ask me why. It doesn't even make sense now. Times have changed so much. But most of my children were delivered by natural child birth, meaning I had nothing to deaden the pain. As I was strolled down the hall there were small rooms with a single bed and a woman in each room, that day. All I could hear were the moans and cries of women in labor.
As I laid on that bed waiting for the next contraction, the pain, to come I would begin my exercised breathing. Months ahead I had been trained how to breath during my labor. It was a panting, cho, cho, cho, wheeo, then relax and rest until the next pain would come. I was just wondering how that breathing exercise helped the pain but it did. It took my mind off what was going on. I was more focused on trying to take breaths and then resting in between, than I was the pain.
The labor of childbirth is compared to the struggles in our life. I believe there is a constant tension to believe, then a resting, a struggle to believe, then resting. God is continually building, strengthening our faith and dependence on Him. I also think God is either testing our faith or proving it, sometimes both.
There were times during that long day I would forget to breathe. The pain would take me over. I would hear the cries of the other women and I would think of my own pain. I would panic. There was no where to run from it. I just had to give into the pain. Stop fighting it and wait until it passed and the "rest" would come. Christ is our rest. His work on the cross, His love for us, His faithfulness. He rescues us when we have no where else to run but to Him. We are but like a new born baby resting in the arms of his mother, helpless and near, totally dependent on its mother for his very life.
There were times during that long day I would forget to breathe. The pain would take me over. I would hear the cries of the other women and I would think of my own pain. I would panic. There was no where to run from it. I just had to give into the pain. Stop fighting it and wait until it passed and the "rest" would come. Christ is our rest. His work on the cross, His love for us, His faithfulness. He rescues us when we have no where else to run but to Him. We are but like a new born baby resting in the arms of his mother, helpless and near, totally dependent on its mother for his very life.
Lord I believe. Help my unbelief. God is the giver of our faith. He is our sense of strength. He brings the tension and the rest. All we have to do is to relax and breathe.
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