Inviting God into your pregnancy and labor
I am a needy person. I need God. I need His strength, mercies, and power every single day of my life. Looking back on my four pregnancies, I recall feeling vulnerable. Being pregnant brought on a season of unknowns, anticipation, wonder, and even a bit of worry.
I have had the privilege of helping many moms and the common thread they all share is uncertainty and fear in some form. One of the first things I share with moms is that God's strength is made absolutely perfect in their weakness. As children of God, we are assured that God takes delight in filling in the gaps where we are most weak, vulnerable, and uncertain. Pregnancy is an opportunity to grow not only physically (ha!) but also spiritually as we learn to fully lean on a faithful God who whispers the simple words "Trust me".
I believe that one of the most effective tools for pregnancy and labor is scripture. I often encourage moms to put these scriptures up around their home to encourage confidence as they approach labor. It's important for a mom to speak these words and to let them soak into her spirit in the days leading up to her baby's birth. These scriptures can also be written on note cards and brought as a help for labor.
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6-7
"In God I have placed my trust, I will not be afraid." Psalm 56:11
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it." Psalm 37:4,5
"I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears." Psalms 34:4
"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for HIm." Psalm 37:7
"Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind." II Timothy 1:7
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride." Psalm 46:1-3
"Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world." John 16:21
"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." I Peter 5:7
"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1,2
"Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10
"He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power." Isaiah 40:29
Thank you, God, that you can be trusted...that you have not designed labor to be experienced apart from You. Will you hold me and guide me from the very beginning to the moment I hear my newborn's first cry. Holy Spirit, come. My life and the life of my baby rests in the hands of the Almighty. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
