"Your sorrow will be
turned to joy."
John 17:20
While trying to prepare his disciples for his death, Jesus used the analogy of a woman in childbirth. A woman giving birth has pain, and at the time, that is all she can focus on.
Others around her may remind her to hang in there because her baby will soon be in her arms, but that is not foremost in her mind; it is the pain. Yet, right after giving birth, she forgets the anguish and pain because of the joy she feels. Jesus said to his disciples,
"So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy."
Jesus told them it would be just a short time,
"a little while," just like labor.
The process is definitely painful, and it does seem long while you are in the midst of it, but in the light of the life that will come from it, labor is relatively brief.
This is God's pattern for bringing forth life.
He takes us through a painful process to produce a beautiful and lasting outcome. Sometimes, when we are in the middle of a painful experience,
we cannot focus on the end result, and all we can feel is the pain of the moment.
What you need to focus on is what the pain will produce. For the child of God, all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28) and that means the times of pain, as well.
If you are in "labor" right now, ask for God's help in focusing on the beautiful result He wants to produce in you.
Sometimes pain draws us closer to God, or it may just make us grow like we've never grown before, but whatever the outcome, it will be worth it all when we see what God has in store for us!
Prayer
Father, help us to focus on what you are teaching us and not on the pain of the moment. We are so thankful that this present pain has a purpose,
but it is hard sometimes to see past it.
Keep us focused.
Thank you for the beautiful
outcome we have to look forward to!
Amen