Chapter 3 - What About the Pain?
In speaking of fear as it relates to pregnancy and birth, for many women, fear of the physical pain of childbirth is likely to be high on their list. In the middle of this message to fear not, it’s like an unvoiced question that lingers in the air, “But, what about the pain?”
While pondering this question, the Lord dropped in my spirit, “There is nothing more painful than fear.” He redirected the focus right back to the real source of suffering. The truth is, fear of pain hurts us more than the physical pain ever could.
Even so, every day women are undeniably experiencing physical pain in labor as well, and therefore I believe it’s beneficial to directly address this topic and question. As you’ll come to see, fear, mindset, environment, and more, all greatly affect our perception and experience of physical pain in birth.
As I mentioned in the previous chapter, we have to be taught and influenced to fear, and birth is one major area where the devil has worked overtime to do so. So extremely much so, that in itself should cause us to question why.
Why is he so dead set on trying to deter people from wanting to have children? What is the magnitude of the blessing he’s attempting to rob us of?
How overwhelmingly beautiful is the blissful experience of birthing in peace and joy, in the very presence of God Himself? What facets of joy and blessing do children bring that nothing else can in quite the same way?
With the goal of preventing the realization of any of these good gifts from God, the devil influences society and culture to constantly pump out erroneous images and ideas of what birth is like. Most of us hear nothing but negative, dreadful stories anytime the topic of birth comes up. Movies depict women in labor on their backs, screaming bloody murder, with an “emergency” sure to pop up somewhere along the way. From social media, to grandmothers, to medical systems, to TV shows, almost everywhere we look pregnancy and birth are portrayed to be the most painful, miserable, and dangerous time of a woman’s life. Is it any wonder why women are battling so much fear?
