As I studied the Book of Jeremiah this past year, one thing, in particular, bothered me.  Throughout the book, God compares the coming judgment of the Israelites to that of a woman giving birth. Keep in mind that for the first half of the year, I was pregnant, which was not my plan! 

The first appearance of this comparison is in chapter 4 verse 31; I hear a cry of a woman in labor, a groan as of one bearing her first child. Anyone who has gone through the process of childbirth can attest that there is no amount of preparation to make delivery completely pain-free, whether it is a first or third child or so on.  So as I read God’s word in that season of my life, I was annoyed with the constant reminder that I was about to experience more pain than I already was from being pregnant.  I also sought out what God was teaching me about my selfish heart, the sin in my life, and this reluctant pregnancy I was enduring. 

However, it wasn’t until later that I learned what can be summed up in one word, HOPE. Although the pain of childbirth is unbelievable, the joy of holding that precious baby causes that same pain to disappear instantaneously. We gain a new sense of life and hope for the future. John 16:21 says, A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. The book of Jeremiah can be summed up the same. The people were faced with their wicked ways, repented only in words, carried out religious acts without sincere change, and received God’s painful judgment and the promise of hope and restoration. 

I learned that God is faithful to invoke blessings out of pain when we allow Him. He is devoted to being merciful to his people while also being just, not allowing us to live unrighteous lives. He loves us that much! I’ve learned that my heart had moved from being in right relationship with God to religious actions. 

God was calling me to return to him, to denounce my idols, including the idol of self, and only boast in him, not attempting to share the glory that belongs to Him alone. God had to break my heart. Although it was painful, he had to break up the hardness to turn me back to him and his will for my life. Old habits and hidden sins had to be uprooted and rejected. 

What painful process do you need to experience before you remove heart-hardening sin in your life so that God’s word can take root and grow in your life?