The Lord of Birth
Pregnancy Bible Study
Sample Chapter
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Chapter Six FaithYou believe that there is one God. Good! Every part of life has challenges that we must face, pregnancy and giving birth are no different. During this time you can choose to have faith in God, or you can choose not to trust God. In the most basic terms, it may seem that a “natural” birth is demonstrating faith while a medicated birth shows a lack of faith. However, you cannot define your faith by what happens to you in labor. That is backwards. Your faith should define how you respond to labor. Let us begin by considering what faith is. Hebrews 11:1 tells us “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Read the following passages and write down what you learn about faith from each of them. Mark 5:22-34 James 2:14-24 If you have faith in God, you will do what he commands. You will do this because you trust that if you follow his commands, God will deal with you in the way he claimed he would. You trust that God will honor his end of the deal. Faith begins where just believing ends. But if you do not act on it, it is not faith. If you are truly living a life of faith, you should see evidence of serving God in your daily life. Read the following verses and write down what you learn about your faith from them. Matthew 7:16-20 If your “fruit” does not give evidence of a good tree, take heart. The only difference between belief and faith is that faith is belief put into action. All you have to do is start living according to the promises of God through Jesus. Knowing what faith is, we can turn our attention to how faith affects labor. For many women, the time of pregnancy prepares them for birth with fear, anxiety and worry. It seems there are no stories of normal pregnancies, and births. Instead women are reminded again and again about the small percentage of labors that are abnormal or dangerous. In some areas, it almost seems as if women compete to have the worst, most dangerous labor story to tell. How can hearing stories of problems rather than stories of normal labors cause problems for women trying to build faith in God for labor? The fear that can easily be instilled in a pregnant woman is going to affect her labor in a variety of ways. The most obvious way is that the body is designed to respond in specific ways to fear. Part of that response is to slow down or stop the labor process. While this may be useful if you are in a dangerous situation and need to get to safety, it isn’t always helpful. For example, when laboring in a hospital a woman whose labor slows down will be treated as if it is a physical problem, not an emotional one, so she will receive interventions that are designed to speed up labor. Another problem with fear is that it takes your energy and mental focus without giving you anything in return. Worry doesn’t help a situation, it doesn’t improve a situation, it only takes your emotional and mental energy away from productive tasks. This also works to separate you from God. When you worry, it becomes a constant battle to keep your eyes on God and your faith active to prevent fear from pulling you away from God’s comfort. Don’t think this is by accident. The time of pregnancy and giving birth are very spiritually fertile times, and fear is a weapon of spiritual warfare. In what ways have you seen fear pull you away from God, not just in relation to this pregnancy, but in your whole life? What fears during pregnancy and labor attack your faith in God? Take a few minutes to read Hebrews Chapter 11, the chapter about faith. After you have read it, read the following verses and write their meaning in relation to your pregnancy and labor in your own words. Romans 8:15 Philippians 4:6 Using faith in labor is not a formula. There is not a particular prayer or a comfort measure that you should do that shows you are laboring with faith. There is no one size fits all way to handle labor by faith, just as there is no one size fits all way to handle life by faith. One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:5-8 There is a fine line we draw here. On the one hand, you should not go into a normal labor planning an epidural because by doing so you demonstrate a lack of faith in God to help you handle any pain. But on the other hand, you cannot allow your baby to be harmed because accepting a medically necessary intervention would mean you didn’t have faith. I wish there were some magic formula I could teach you to understand when to choose natural birth and when to choose medication. The best I can tell you is to educate yourself about normal birth and the options you have. That way you can make the best decision for the safety of you and your child if a situation arises during labor. What are some ways a woman whose faith is in God during labor might handle contractions? What are some ways a woman whose faith is in God during labor might handle problems in labor? It is important to remember what faith is not. First, faith is not a substitute for an experienced doctor or midwife. Although faith may lead you to forgo certain tests and procedures, faith should not cause you to become haughty or proud to the point that you will not accept professional help in monitoring the progress of your pregnancy or birth. Even as far back as slavery in Egypt, midwives assisted pregnant women in ensuring health and monitoring the birth. However, the extent to which you seek assistance will depend on how much you need. Your midwife is like a lifeguard, a watchman trained in birth to recognize when you need help and offer guidance and advice. She cannot make decisions for you, but she can assist you in finding information and by recommending ways for you to stay healthy. You hire her to serve your needs. Yet at the same time, faith is not signing away all responsibility for what happens to your doctor or midwife. It is still your right and responsibility to do what you need to do to stay healthy. Faith is also not an excuse to do nothing when a problem arises. Rather than deal with hard issues, some women will claim they are trusting in God to solve the problem. Remember, faith is your belief in action, not reality in denial. Problems do arise in labor. But it is our faith that will allow us to work through our problems and grow closer to God at the same time. Sometimes, even with great faith, God will not simply remove a problem. Paul asked repeatedly to be delivered of the thorn in his side, but God said “My grace is sufficient.” If faith were a cure-all for every problem in life, surely Paul’s thorn would have been taken away. Sometimes, God does not desire a problem, but one is caused as a consequence to the decision or action of another person. God can remove the consequences, but frequently he does not. If you are hit by a car as you cross the street, God could heal your wounds instantly and have you back on your way. However it is more common that God allows the consequences to continue, and then he uses the problem that was created to draw you closer to Him. Has God ever used a problem to draw you closer to him? How did it happen? In the Bible there were women who died in childbirth, infants who died and there were women and children who were murdered. Bad things did happen. But bad things should not cause us to lose faith in God. God can do, and still does miracles. But the lack of a miraculous healing should not cause us to believe God is powerless. If you do have a problem with your pregnancy or labor, it is no comfort when you realize you may never know how God used that problem to work for good. But God can be your comfort when you turn to him as your source of strength and support. Lean on him and cry on his shoulder. He will never grow weary of comforting you. Sometimes, all we may learn is to trust in God and to have fellowship with him during suffering. Remember, you do not get to choose the circumstances of your labor. But you do get to choose how you respond to the circumstances. A Personal Discipline If you have not already, begin looking at the options that you have for labor and giving birth. Begin to work on your birth plan, considering each option not just for its ability to bring comfort or its impact on your health, but also about your faith and how your faith may affect its use. |
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© Copyright 2000-2004 Jennifer VanderLaan and Birthing Naturally
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