“Then the Lord said to Satan,

There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.” “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”
Job 2:3-6 NIV
Can we take a moment to be transparent and honest... INFERTILITY SUCKS!
I want us to take time together to truly reflect on the significant pain that we feel during our infertility journey. Whether you are a husband standing side by side as your wife is diagnosed or you are the one with Male Factor Infertility, I’m sure you have had the running thought “This Sucks!”.
While this blog is intentionally about creating a safe community, built on faith, encouragement, hope, and support, one of our current realities is that we are living in the world of infertility. I believe that there is something peculiarly special about this journey...we have been chosen for this.
The book of Job tackles the hard effects of following God and being fully submitted to His will. While many theologians, believers and readers would argue that enduring the circumstances in which Job had, isn’t the ideal relationship that one should want to have with God. There is also the argument and belief that the season that Job endured wasn’t because God hated him, yet he was chosen by God and God was drawing him to a place of total reliance.
The book of Job focuses on questions about God's justice and why good people suffer. Throughout the book, Job, his wife, and his friends speculate on why he, an upright man, suffers. Job accuses God of being unjust and not operating the world according to principles of justice, and his friends believe that Job's sin caused his suffering. Job decides to talk directly to God (The Bible Project).
As we walk this infertility journey, we should be willing to have a direct conversation with God ourselves. Anything that we say won’t be a surprise to God, yet approaching Him is welcomed and you should be prepared for His response. We won’t always have days of great highs in this journey, we will not always feel like going to the doctors appointments, we won’t enjoy the testing, constant reminders of our situation, and viewing the newborns plastered on our social media feeds, but let me remind you that there is a wisdom that we will never be able to acquire until we are willing to fully apply ourselves into a deeper intimacy with God.
He has questions for us:
“And now, finally, GOD answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said: “Why do you confuse the issue? Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about? Pull yourself together, Job! Up on your feet! Stand tall! I have some questions for you, and I want some straight answers. Where were you when I created the earth? Tell me, since you know so much! Who decided on its size? Certainly you’ll know that! Who came up with the blueprints and measurements? How was its foundation poured, and who set the cornerstone, While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the angels shouted praise? And who took charge of the ocean when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb? That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds, and tucked it in safely at night. Then I made a playpen for it, a strong playpen so it couldn’t run loose, And said, ‘Stay here, this is your place. Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.’”
Job 38:1-11 MSG
There is purpose in this, we are reminded by the life of The Apostle Paul:
“I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:5-10 NIV
SO YES, INFERTILITY SUCKS AND WE HATE IT! Yet, we keep going, because we are aware that there is a far greater purpose at the end of this. My faith has increased because of my thorn, I have truly gained more sense of who God is and more appreciative of what He is doing through my wife and I. INFERTILITY SUCKS!, BUT WE ARE MADE FOR IT!
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