Giving Birth
Is your heart breaking today? Can we pray for you?
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
What joy to hold your new born after the pain of child birth! What love flows from a mother’s heart as the nurse gently lays this precious gift of life into her arms. What joy I felt as I held my sons in my arms and kissed their sweet faces. As I rocked them and thanked God for them I imagined great things. I dreamt of success and happiness as I knew they would impact the world for Christ just as they touched my heart.
As our eyes met I prayed for God’s divine protection and plan to prosper in their lives and my heart rejoiced over their future. God’s Word warns us of the evil seeking to destroy and kill all that is precious in His sight! And yet, we hold these precious lives God has entrusted to us in such innocence, thinking it can never happen to us, to our families, or to our children.
Letting go of sin: Exhale sin, inhale the Holy Spirit
Needing a timeout with God?: Take our Life Lesson
At an early age I began praying for children and a family of my own, and God was faithful to answer those prayers. Never, not once did I imagine I would be visiting my son in a prison institution. Not once did I dream one would have a drinking problem and find himself in a dark and lonely place with all of his dreams crashing down on him.
There was never a time or a thought of my son’s not being all I knew they could be or fulfilling the plans God had for them. And yet, in all of the sin, temptations and disappointment this world throws at us it happened…it became a tragic reality. The overwhelming sorrow from divorce, court rooms, prison cells, visiting centers, counseling, and the reality of what Satan seeks to do to us and our families is more than any parent’s love can fathom.
There were many weekends I cried all the way home from my visit with my son over his circumstances and loss. There were days it felt as if it would never end and we would be in this state forever. With every New Year I would hope and pray for healing and freedom from worry, stress, disappointment, and fear from what had become of us – our family. As I stood by watching my sons throw their lives and dreams away crying out to God to save them I realized I would have to surrender them and my dreams, and allow God to work out their salvation and bring them home again.
They had accepted Christ at an early age, I knew they were saved and God would not let them go. We are born into this world but we don’t need to become the things of this world. As I thought more about this process my heart was touched with the truth of God’s love. He holds us dear to his heart as he births us into existence with great plans for us.
As he releases us into this world his concern for our well-being is dear to his heart because he knows of all the evil that awaits us. As he watches from above we become more independent and self-sufficient as he peers down with great concern for our safety. In his love for us he provided a perfect plan for our salvation through his precious Son, Jesus Christ. With each day I cling to God’s promises found in His Word, and to His faithfulness and mercy he lovingly lavishes upon parents crying out for their children and families salvation.
“Praise to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (I Peter 1:3-7).
Questions: Are you struggling with a deep pain in your life? How are you involving God in this pain?
20 Responses to “Giving Birth”
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I know it is not easy to have sons or daughters go off the path, but you know we have all gone off the path. We need to be patinet and pray for them that God our Father would protect them and bring them to Himself so that they can turn the tide and be the people that God made them to be.
Dear Tammy,
My heart is touched by those who have read my devotional and have been reminded of how we’re not alone in our heartache. I praise God for providing the strength to share the heartbreaks and disappointments in life as it is not always easy when it hurts so much. However, our God is a mighty and powerful God whose love reaches into our very soul providing all we need to make it through the seasons of life. May you find strength and comfort always in the arms of Jesus. God bless you, Lorna
I’m so glad that you found our site and this specific devotional. Isn’t it neat that something that was posted over a month ago could be just what you needed to hear today!You are so right Tammy, God is so good, all the time. Even when we don’t understand all that we have been going through. There is a song that is sung by Laura Story that says, ‘Cause what if your blessings come thru raindrops, what if your healing comes through tears/what if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near? what if trials of this life are mercies in disguise….. God knows what you are going through and is at work even now.
God knew I needed this devotional. He is so good. I shared the devotional with my husband. He agreed that this could have been been written by me. I took it very personal. But truly I believe it was a treasure sent to me and others who need reminding of God’s love,especially for the lost and hurting. Thank you so much for sharing and may our Lord bless you mightily, as you have blessed others with your encouraging words. Tammy
Hi Jane,
Yes, I believe all those who have responded to the devotional realize their children are a gift from God and ultimately all things belong to our Father in heaven. To Him be the glory, Amen!
Let us remember that these children are not truly ours, but entrusted to us for a period of time by our Heavenly Father. They belong to Him and He cares for them more that we can even imagine…..
Thank you all for your response to a devotional that was birthed through trials that left scars only the Savior could heal. And let us praise God for His mercies that are new every morning! I pray our Father in heaven will comfort you as you continue to trust in Him for all your heartache and concerns re your children and families. May His love and peace surround you in every moment of every day so the lies of the enemy will not impact you and your thinking. It is a discipline of applying the Word, trusting Him for it and then walking it out in life for those around you to see, especially our sweet children no matter what their age. We must never forget that no matter where our children are, God is there also. Let’s never give up believing and that they too will hear His voice and answer the call!
May God bless and comfort you always, Lorna
Hi Diane,
I am terribly sorry to hear about your daughter. I can only imagine how devastating that must be for you. At Power to Change, we have prayer mentors who come along side you and pray with you through your situation. I have passed on your prayer request to them and they will contact you and pray with you. I would also like to pray for you: Dear Lord, please be close to Diane today. Thank you that she had the courage to ask for prayer. Show her your comfort and peace. May you work in her situation today. Amen.
Lorna:
Thank you for sharing! My husband and I were in the ministry for over 30 yrs and raised our 5 children to know and love God. Yet, divorce, drugs, alcohol and children born out of wedlock have also been part of their lives. Two of them have come back to the Lord, for which I am grateful every day, but my heart continues to break for the other three. I still find myself asking how this happened. I wonder what we could have done that we didn’t, and what we did that we shouldn’t have. I suppose that’s a normal response. Many years ago God began giving me scripture promises concerning my kids to which I hold with a very tight grip. My prayer now is, “When, Lord?” However, I know that even if I am not here to see it with my physical eyes, God is faithful to keep His promises and they WILL come to pass! Thank you again for being so transparent!
Thank you for this devotional. It is encouraging to know that I’m not alone in this case as a mother who watches her sons suffer. The oldest now is going through an unwanted separation as his wife suffers with mental illness and the Doctors have told her separation would be healthier for her. The devastation has caused him to loose faith as he can’t understand how our God would allow this to happen to him and their two small girls.
God however has not left me to suffer on my own.
He is my Rock.
I could have written this myself. From the prison and drugs to the absence of God in my beautiful brilliant son’s life. This morning I awoke with Martin weighing heavily upon my heart. He is no longer in prison or on drugs but he struggles so with life and belief. We are far from each other by distance and I cannot afford to visit him very often , or him me – I miss him so! Thank you to whoever wrote this devotional – even though it caused me to cry my heart out – I know that I am not the only one – and I am so fortunate and blessed that God spared him and that there is still hope for my Martin. God bless you all!
Spoken straight to my heart. My dreams for my son are distant memories but God has laid claim to him while in prison and has resurrected my son’s life for HIS plans, not mine. God has held on to me tightly thro every step of this process. I’m so thankful for that new birth in my own life and the hope and promise in the future.
Ya know, all those Fairy Tales growing up really messed up our heads for Reality didn’t they? i notice when it comes to devos like yours, Lorna, there are always the “greater” responses. ALL of us know heartache and temptation and have always wondered, “where is the knight on the white horse?” Even the stories from the Bible…Ruth and Esther…how many times have we asked “where is MY Boaz or a King for me?” As for me, it’s about total surrender and trying to understand God. Obviously, HE didn’t put us here for OUR goals, dreams and desires did HE? Every one of mine fell flat. Including the ones with my son who was born again AND baptized at the age of 12 who has now gotten his girlfrien pregnant OUT of wedlock and has no intention of marrying her! Where did his choice come from? i raised him in the ways of the Bible! So, we all know this life here on Earth is so disheartening. The only thing we can do is every moment keep our eyes on HIM and Heaven. More and more, as i surrender what i want, i can allow Jesus to take care of things. This life down here is HARD! No debate there is there? Why God made such a plan is beyond all our understanding and logic…to make the Earth experience so miserable at times with being made to wait for Heaven for “no more tears and no more pain”….yep…just this HOPE for Eternity and true completeness to the image of His son Jesus Christ. Forget about the “WHYS”…God’s purposes are higher than us. Everyone reading this be blesses and see you all in Heaven one day!
This was a very timely reminder of God’s love and faithfulness, even in times of despair. For myself, it was comforting as we struggle with our son’s situation.
Thank you Jesus. I so needed this devotion today as Satan has been buffeting me. Sometimes I feel so alone in my struggles but I know that there are others out there who would have never dreamed that their would get so caught up in the enemy’s web of sin, drugs and alcohol. Just today I was talking to my husband about the events that are taking place with one of our son’s and we both stated that we don’t understand “Why?” But thru it all I know that my God is my strength and I know that he will help me.
What a testimony! Your story really touched me and I reminded me of my own parents, on how they have to carry their own burdens but the ones of their children too. First, thank you for sharing. Yes, I struggle with a deep pain in my life and make my best to involve GOD in this pain. I am still learning to trust Him because I recently realized that I actually didn’t do it completely. I had plans for my life and often question Him about events in my life. I also have a loved one in prison and my deepest desire is to see her free. I feel as I will finally be free too. I also desire to have a family of my own but the Lord is asking me to wait so I wait…I am just learning to trust Him completely like you did.
this rings true for me, who would have thought my beautiful daughter, who has two children, the love of my life, would be in a mental hospital at the age of 37, as of all the dreams I had for her, now she does not even know me or the children. My heart is broken in so many pieces, I pray so much I cant sleep at night. The fear of her never knowing me again, or calling me Mother again, scares me so much, I shake with fear. I want to pray that she return to us a whole person again. I as for prays for family and me in the names of Jesus , Please help my child?
Yes my heart is breaking today. This brought back to me how I carressed my babies and daily spoke God’s promises over them. Today my eldest son suffering from a severe mental illness and the younger an alcoholic.
But– praise the Lord He is faithful, MY YOUNGER SON HAS ASKED ME TO TAKE HIM TO CHURCH TOMORROW.A scpiptural promise from the Lord Years ago’ ‘All your children will be taught by the Lord and great will br their peace
This devotion is very encouraging to me this morning as is so fits what I am struggling thru with my 2 children this morning . Not the drinking or prison thing but thier distance from God in thier life and thier broken homes,thier health and jobs . So its an every minute cry out to God to help us thru it . Thank you all you do and sharing Gods word every day . God bless you alwaya.
Alma
Thank you for sharing!!! How fortunate we are to have our God to lean on. We can call on Him 24/7 and NEVER get a busy signal.