The Blessing of Labor Pains

“This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.’”  Isaiah 43:16, 18-19

These verses have a very special place in my heart. A while back, in the midst of prayer and worship, the Lord spoke to me through these verses. In a very difficult season of my life, He encouraged me that a door which had recently closed did not represent an end (a death); but rather, the revealing of a new thing. It was the labor pains of birth. A new life was emerging! And in the face of this impending birth, I need not dwell on the past. I could, with excitement, look toward the future.

The wonder of seeing a clear path in the wilderness is as extraordinary as seeing water in the desert! But that is what God does – He makes a path where there is none and He provides life-sustaining substance in a place of lack. Our God is a wonder! And so it makes perfect sense that brother Paul reminds us that we are to walk by faith and not by sight—lest we miss the wondrous things God is doing!