Longing for MotherhoodVoorbeeld

Day Nine – Your Pain Isn’t Meaningless [Illustrations included in this devotional are not visible in this view. Illustrations are only supported in the Bible App for iOS, Android, and at Bible.com] Childlessness is one of the most difficult trials to walk through, and it can be easy to view our suffering as meaningless. Suffering becomes more bearable when we know there’s a purpose behind the pain, or when we can look back on a time of trial and see how we matured during that season. But we may never know this side of heaven why childlessness is a part of our story. Yet we can choose to lean into the fact that trials are an invitation to shape our hearts to look more like Christ. Many times, trials and sorrows are what the Lord uses to shape us and develop godly character in us. By enduring trials with perseverance and hope, our hearts gain strength and we lean into God in ways we probably wouldn’t if it weren’t for our trials. Through the difficulties, the Lord refines our character. He prunes the parts of us that don’t look like Him. We probably won’t even realize what’s happening in the process, but we’re becoming more like our Savior. If we’re pressing hard into Jesus through our childlessness, we will inevitably become more like Him. And as our character grows, hope will be produced. Fight the temptation to become bitter in the midst of sorrow. Instead, allow the Lord’s tender care to soften your heart, and love out of the abundance of that. Your pain will not be in vain—it will be the avenue by which God makes our lives look more like Him. Rest in the fact that your pain isn’t meaningless!