This week we are looking at the hard topic of infertility. It is hard because it is so painful, emotionally draining, and all consuming. Many have been waiting all their life to finally have children, only to be met with the bitter disappointment of infertility.

There are a number of women in the Bible who experienced infertility: Rachael (Gen. 30),  Manoah’s wife (Judges 13), Hannah (1 Sam. 1), Michel (2 Sam. 6), and Sarah.

Sarah had gone 90 years without having any children. That was a lot of waiting. I imagine there were tears and heartache. We know there was a lack of trust in God’s faithfulness and goodness as she gave her maidservant to her husband in order to obtain a child. Perhaps by the time she was 90 she had resigned herself to the fact that she was never going to be a mother. We know she was wrong.

In this study we chose to focus on Sarah because in the midst of her infertility story we read a very important truth…

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

The answer is, “Of course not!” The Lord can do anything according to his will.

He can heal bodies in ways that baffle doctors. He can give children to couples who never thought it was possible.

But there is something else that the Lord can do. Something, perhaps, even more miraculous. He can give real joy and contentment in the midst of infertility.

Expecting the Impossible

Contentment and joy in the midst of difficulty and suffering – something as unlikely as the barren womb conceiving a baby – can seem like an impossibility. But remember that with God nothing is impossible.

His power is stronger than any suffering. He can heal the sick, raise the dead, and change the heart of a sinner. He is able to give contentment and joy to the brokenhearted because He can create something out of nothing.

We must draw close to Him in order to lay our hands on it. We must trust the promises He gives in his Word. We must come to Him with our hurts in prayer, and we must praise Him in the midst of tears because He is worthy.

Then, when we are near, we can wait – expecting what we may have thought was impossible. In your affliction I want to encourage you to wait confidently for God to work in your life. I pray that He brings to you a joy that sits deep in your heart and a contentment that rests on the truth that God is good all the time.

Looking to Jesus,

 

 

 

 

Week 3 Video:

Week 3 Challenge: This week, the challenge is simply to spend some extensive time in prayer really pouring out all of your pain, frustrations, disappointments, and fears as it relates to infertility. If you yourself do not struggle with this, then intercede for someone you know who desperately wants a child but whose arms remain empty.

Week 3 Reading Plan:

Week 3 Memory Verse:

Jen Thorn

Jen Thorn

Jen Thorn grew up in Germany and then spent her teenage years in Africa, where her parents were missionaries. She moved to the United States for college and attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago where she met her husband. They have been married for twenty-two years and have four children. Jen lives in the suburbs of Chicago, where her husband is the pastor of Redeemer Fellowship. Jen is passionate about theology and the connection to daily living.

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