Labor Pains

Not too long ago, I spent a week at a lake house with my brothers and sisters, their wives and children.

We all had a great time except for maybe my sister-in-law, Maggie. Our family purposefully rented a lake house near Maggie’s home because, you see, Maggie was 39 weeks pregnant.

She was a trooper, though. Despite the fact that her legs, feet and back hurt, there she was walking up and down stairs, playing with her three year old daughter by the dock, laughing and joking with my crazy family.

You could see, though, she was tired. She was tired of being tired. She was tired of the pain and discomfort. She was tired of being pregnant.

I honestly don’t know what it is like to be pregnant. I don’t know what contractions feel like. I don’t know the pain of childbirth. I watched my wife go through it, but I personally haven’t groaned those groans.

Yet, we all have groaned in pain, haven’t we? I remember years ago, I got home from playing basketball one evening and quickly downed two large glasses of cold orange juice from the fridge. I was so thirsty I didn’t even taste it as it went down. That was a mistake. The orange juice had gone bad.

That night I felt pain I had never felt before. I still remember lying on the floor next to the toilet groaning in pain, praying to God to just take me. Have you ever felt that kind of pain? Have you ever laid there at two o’clock in the morning, groaning in pain?

Or maybe your groans come from a different kind of pain. Maybe your groans come from a hurting heart. The love of your life cheated on you, lied to you or left you. Maybe your heart aches for a friend or a loved one who has died.

If you have a chance this week, read Romans 8:18-27. There the Apostle Paul compares the pains we feel with the pains of childbirth. Because we are sinners living in a sinful world, we will have pains and problems in this world. Those pains may last months and maybe even years, but just like labor pains, they are only temporary.

Because Jesus came and suffered the pain and punishment you deserve on the cross, the day is coming when God will set you free from every pain in your life. And not only will you be free from all your pains and problems, you will experience a joy and glory which words cannot even begin to describe. Paul tells us, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

On Friday, August 2 at 8:25 PM, the doctors placed Everett James Schroer on my sister-in-law’s chest. As she held her new son in her arms, all the pains of the pregnancy disappeared. They were replaced by pure joy.

When you get to heaven, the worst pains of this world will seem like an insignificant mosquito bite compared to the glory and happiness you will enjoy. On that day, your pains will disappear and be replaced by pure joy.

Are you in pain right now? Does your heart ache? Never forget your pains are only temporary. It may take a while, but one day you will be free. So wait for the Lord. Be patient. The day is coming when your pains and problems will be replaced by a joy and glory that are well worth the wait.