The Pains of Labour

The Pains of Labour Monday, September 14, 2009     The discomfort of early labour hoodwinked this first time Mom into thinking, “Well, this isn’t so bad.  The woman screaming on the prenatal video must have been…delicate… not tough like me.”  Three hours later when the HARD labour kicked in, I felt my sister’s pain (literally)!  I flip-flopped my staunch position regarding “no drugs.”  When I informed the nurse of my decision, she sweetly smiled, “Honey, we are way past the drug option.”        You may not be familiar with the labour pains of childbirth but all of us have experienced the labour pains of life.        A difficult working environment.      A loss of income.      Aging parents.      A difficult marriage.      A cancer diagnoses.      A suicide.        As childbirth labour comes unexpectedly and grows in intensity, so too can the labour pains of life.  In truth, they can rock our very faith foundations.  Labour pains cause us to doubt both God’s love for us and His ability to be in control.  They immobilize us to the point where we can barely spit out an S.O.S prayer, let alone read The Word!        Floundering beneath wave after wave of pain, we scold ourselves for not being strong enough.  We berate ourselves because we are questioning, despite the fact we watched the video, read the manual, and had a well thought out plan.  We struggle with guilt, as our hearts seem only able to handle a spoonful of truth, rather than the bucket full well-intended people bring and pour on us.        On such an occasion in my own life, all I could do through the pain and tears was sing repeatedly, “Jesus Loves Me.”        A friend, lying with her face to the wall, could hear only the voice of someone singing, “Jesus Never Fails,” over and over again.        Have you been there, friend?  Are you there now?        Asaph, an organizer and leader of the temple’s choir during the reign of King David and Solomon, was familiar with labour pains (Psalm 73).  God’s goodness, the very thing that Satan called into question in the Garden, was Asaph’s struggle.  It is often ours today.         Asaph knew the truth of God’s goodness.  He had seen it in the past!  At this moment, however, because of labour pains, he admits he almost stumbles and loses his footing.  He starts to battle disbelief.  The demons of doubt descend not when the sun is shining but pounce the moment darkness falls to devour the shepherd’s sheep.  I do not know why some sheep live a life marked with the scars of constant labour pains.  Yet, I have often noticed, they are the sheep most like their shepherd.        How many times, as Asaph, have painful circumstances caused our feet to slip, to stumble, and to question God’s goodness?        I am so thankful for the word, almost!  Asaph regained his footing when his battle with disbelief failed to defeat him but forced him instead to God.  Though we may experience times of stumbling and doubt, like Asaph, we can be assured we need not fall!        Why?        In those times when I am too weak, too overwhelmed to hold onto to God, Jehovah Shammah never looses His grip on me (vs. 23)!  He holds us not just until we get to the place where we can stand and move on, but continues to hold us until we reach glory (Isaiah 46:4, Psalm 48:14).        May those of us in labour rest in his capable hands, with the confidence that in spite of the numbness, despite the pain, one day we will say,   “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73: 25-26   http://www.stephrobbins.com/index_files/MMM_September142009.htm