Have you ever given birth? It hurts, doesn’t it? The contractions alone are enough to make you reconsider every life choice that led to that moment. I did it once, and I will never forget that pain. But when my beautiful son was born, those contractions packed their bags and unspeakable joy walked in.
To those of you who’ve done it several times, God bless you! Seriously. You deserve a trophy, a nap, and someone to rub your feet for the rest of your life along with a lifetime supply of chocolates. The process of giving birth is no joke. And pregnancy? That’s a whole other situation right there. The nausea, sleepless nights, trying to squeeze into clothes that used to fit last week, and all the discomforts that come with growing a human inside your body. But once that child is born, the pain no longer matters. What you hold in your arms is joy beyond anything you imagined.
It’s beautiful to witness the fruit of your labor, even though the process was anything but easy. And the same is true when God is birthing something new within us. Here come the spiritual birth pains. Ouch…the stretching, the discomfort, the waiting, the wondering if you’re even built for this. But just like childbirth, what’s being formed is beautiful. And when it arrives, you’ll know it was worth every contraction. Maybe you have been dealing with this for a minute now. And let’s be honest, you have never experienced this in your life. It’s not just physical or emotional; it’s spiritual.
You may feel the pain of opposition. It’s the tension, resistance, or conflict that arises when you’re being stretched beyond what’s familiar. It can show up through difficult people in various spaces, or feeling as if no matter how hard you knock on doors they refuse to open. You may feel the pain of delay and sense that something better is coming, but it still feels far away. You’re waiting, praying, believing, and yet the wait itself feels like a wound.
You may feel the pain from realizing there are some things you must release such as letting go of your past hurt, regrets, and mistakes. This is not easy. You may feel the pain of stretching by being pulled in ways that feel unnatural, uncomfortable, even unfair. These things are no coincidence. This spiritual shift is not because you’ve done something wrong, but because God is increasing your capacity. He’s stretching your faith, strengthening your spirit, and preparing you for your next season. The discomfort isn’t punishment, it is positioning.
Whatever pain you’re experiencing, it may feel like it’s intensifying. You may be growing weary. But hear this: birth is coming, and there is no birth without pain.
If you’re in the thick of it, don’t lose heart. This isn’t the end. It’s the middle where God is preparing you. You’re not being punished. You’re being positioned. You’re not forgotten. You’re being formed. Don’t give up in the middle. “So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised.” Hebrews 10:35–36 (NLT)
And when the breakthrough comes, you will look back and see that every contraction had a purpose. Every tear watered something seeds. Every delay was divine timing and every stretch made room for God to get the glory. So hold on. Heaven is crowning something in you. What is being born will be worth it, and you will forget the pain!