JUST BREATHE…

I was listening to the radio, and a woman began to speak about how the Lord had revealed to her that we are entering a season of birth pangs. She shared how she was having back pain, and she doesn’t usually suffer from that, so she asked the Lord what it could be. The Lord responded that it was birth pains and it was the season we are in.

She posed the question, What are we going to do in this season of birth pains?

As I listened to her story, I recalled my birthing experiences. The pain and the process of working through contractions. The long hours of labor, timing contractions. But the phrase that immediately came to mind was “Just breathe.” Any woman who has gone through labour pains knows that you are to breathe through them. This process of concentrating on your breathing helps you to focus and get through the contraction. As we tense in pain and discomfort, we are told to “Just breathe.”

Jesus talked about birth pains, and we read about it in Matthew 24. He says that we are going to experience wars and rumors of wars and other natural disasters. These are all birth pains leading up to the return of Jesus. This is what the Lady was talking about on the radio. In today's world, we are experiencing a season of wars and rumors of war. Natural disasters are happening, and nations are rising against one another. The world is in chaos and turmoil, and as believers, we are trying to navigate the torrent of chaos.

How do we live through birth pains?

Let's start by walking through the picture that God has given us. These wars and rumors of wars are birth pains, which means they can start less intense but get closer together and become more intense. These times are meant to warn us that Jesus is coming back, just as labor pains warn us that a baby is on the way. What are we doing with that warning that comes? Are we pressing forward into what God has called us to, worrying about what might happen, or trying to ignore and remain in ignorance? These times can strike fear and confusion, but for believers who have received some good guidance, let’s follow the advice that every laboring mother is given: “Just breathe.”

Just breathe…are the words I say when my children run to me in a babbling mess. I can see the distress on their face, tears running down, the look of sadness or anger appearing, sentences failing to form. “Just breathe,” I tell them as I wrap them in my embrace. In these moments, the Lord teaches me a great deal. It's as if I can hear the Father telling me the same thing. “Just breathe, Grace. The things happening in the world and in your life are within my control. Just breathe.” That feeling of being overwhelmed isn’t something just experienced by children.

Like in the story of my child coming to me in an exasperated state, it isn’t until they calm down that I can really help them. Often, in the places we find ourselves and due to the circumstances around us, we become overly worked up. Out of breath, we rush to the Father in a complete tizz, and he calls us to breathe. To calm down. To rest in his embrace before we can really do anything. If you have ever tried to talk to a child having a meltdown, it doesn’t go very well. They are overwhelmed with their emotions and are seeking a stable force to help ground them. It's the same with us. Whether we become overwhelmed by the state of the nation or even the state of our own lives, we can reach a place where the Father is looking to ground us again. To look to Him afresh, to be reminded that He has won and that this time on earth is only temporary.

To navigate this season of birth pains, we need first to breathe and concentrate afresh on Him.

Then, we need to listen. Once the child is calm, you can develop a plan to address their worries, pain, or concerns. It’s the same with us. Once in that place of rest, the Father reveals what we are to do and where we are to go. He speaks not from chaos but from peace. The fact is, as many parents know, children can become upset again as they recall what happened or the problems they faced. It’s the same with us. As we bring our worries, pains, and struggles before the Lord, we can get worked up again. The Lord then reminds us to breathe. To look again to Him and his faithfulness, strength, and ability to work. He has to take us back to that place of rest. That path of finding rest and remaining there takes time. It is a path of learning, and the more we do it, the easier and more natural it becomes. We need to position ourselves to listen and obey. From that place of rest and peace, we can carry out God's plans. When we realize that we are not on the defensive but on the offensive, we view our situations differently. However, that clarity comes from rest, and then our actions flow from that rest.

Lastly, your current habit is what will ultimately sustain you. When a woman is in active labour, the time between contractions becomes shorter. They start happening more frequently, and so when you're in early labour, the practice of breathing through your contractions helps establish a habit for when they occur closer together and become stronger. If you only practice breathing through them when they get closer together and stronger, the rhythm of handling the contractions might not happen, and you can become quite overwhelmed in the later stages of labor. It’s the same with us in our walk with the Lord. If we don’t develop the habit of resting in the Lord and running to Him now, we will struggle when things become more difficult.

Jeremiah 12:5 says:

“If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you,
Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?”

The Lord responds to Jeremiah in this passage, rebuking the people for their lack of stamina and stating that it won’t get easier. So too for us. Unless we cultivate the spiritual discipline of breathing and resting in the finished work of Jesus, not succumbing to the chaos of the world, but standing firm on the Rock that is Christ, we will struggle when harder things come. So maybe you aren’t feeling the birthing pains at the moment. Maybe you are in a place of bliss. I encourage you not to waste this time. Get ready, build your stamina of resting and breathing. Don’t waste the time, because there will come a time when you will feel the birth pains closer together, and you want to be ready to rest, listen, and obey the voice of the Lord.