Finding Hope When Pregnancy Loss or Postnatal Challenges Are ExpectedSample

I’ll never forget the day my husband and I received a prenatal diagnosis for our son when I was 19 weeks pregnant with twins. The previous week we’d learned that he had a congenital condition, and as we entered a different clinic for a follow up ultrasound and consultation, we were hopeful that the issue would be minor and easily resolved. If only that had been the case. Instead, our son was given a mere 25% chance of survival with treatment at birth, but the only course of action the doctors suggested was abortion.

I was stunned, speechless, appalled. In all my imaginings of how that day would unfold, I could never have foreseen such a hopeless situation.

Maybe you can relate. Maybe you, too, have received a devastating prenatal diagnosis and you find yourself spinning, not sure which way is up or down. Maybe you’re wondering, what can I do now that the pregnancy/child/life I imagined has been upended?

With the knowledge that my son was a precious child made in God’s image, abortion was out of the question, so my husband and I moved forward in the pregnancy ready to welcome both babies into the world. While we prayed that our son would survive with treatment, we knew that the Lord might choose to say no.

In the fear and sadness that initially gripped me, I went to the only place I knew I could turn for help: the Word of God. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path,” so I relied on scripture to guide my path forward on a journey that had become very dark and scary. I took up the “shield of faith” and “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:16-17) to ward off the schemes of the enemy to breed fear and steal peace.

I clung to verses such as Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” This verse is both a command and a promise. God doesn’t just suggest that we shouldn’t be afraid, He commands it. Why? Because as His children we need to know deep down in the very fibre of our being that He’s strong and powerful and faithful. We need to trust the promise that He’s with us everywhere we go while rejecting the lie that He’s abandoned us when we go through hard times. The Lord is with us in the carefree, comfortable places, but also in the places we’d give anything to avoid—the doctor’s office where we must fight for our child’s right to be born though she may pass, the hospital where we watch helplessly as our child struggles to survive, the armchair where we study books for parents of children with disabilities, or the church where well-meaning people just don’t know what to say.

As you prepare for your baby’s arrival, I encourage you to cling to God’s promises. Cling to His Word like a shipwrecked sailor clings to a rock in the storm. Cling to Him though it’s hard and you may be tempted to let go. Bring your fears and your heartache to Him, and “[t]rust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight,” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Let’s journey together these next several days and discover the hope we have in Christ through the storm.

Questions:

What is one verse that you can cling to today?

What lie have you been believing about your situation that you can replace with truth from God’s Word?

Prayer:

Thank you, Jesus, that You are always with me and that I can trust You through the storms of life including my pregnancy. Help me to be strong and courageous today as You have commanded me to be. Please enable me to remind myself of Your promises as I cling to Your Word each day. Amen.