Isaiah 26:17-18 (NKJV): As a woman with child Is in pain and cries out in her pangs, When she draws near the time of her delivery, So have we been in Your sight, O LORD. We have been with child, we have been in pain; We have, as it were, brought forth wind; We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth, Nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
Isaiah 13:6-8 (NKJV): Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will be limp, Every man’s heart will melt, And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; They will be amazed at one another; Their faces will be like flames.
Isaiah 66:7-13 (NKJV): “Before she was in labor, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children. Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the LORD. “Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.
“Rejoice with Jerusalem, And be glad with her, all you who love her; Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her; That you may feed and be satisfied With the consolation of her bosom, That you may drink deeply and be delighted With the abundance of her glory.”
For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed; On her sides shall you be carried, And be dandled on her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, So I will comfort you; And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
Matthew 24:3-14 (ESV): As he [Jesus] sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. “For many will come in my name, saying, “I am the Christ; and they will lead many astray. “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. “All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. “And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. “But the one who endures to the end will be saved. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
John 16:19-22 (NKJV): Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, “A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.
A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
Romans 8:18-25 (NKJV): For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV): But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NKJV): For I [Paul] am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
2 Peter 3:4-16 (ESV): They [scoffers] will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, By which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and earth which now exist are kept in store by the same word, reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; And consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
Revelation 22:12-17 (NKJV): “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
FOR GOD SO LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, and GOD’s greatest commands are these: LOVE the LORD your GOD with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and LOVE OTHERS as you love yourself.
And this is US and OUR LOVE in this generation, this time and season: We are the REDEEMED and the SAVED, the RECONCILED BODY and BRIDE of CHRIST, WATCHING and WAITING for the SECOND COMING of our BRIDEGROOM, and we like ALL of GOD’s CREATION are GROANING like women in childbirth, in the beginning of sorrows, suffering through birth pains.
We LABOR and TRAVAIL because we are PREGNANT with PREVAILING HOPE and ENTHUSIASTIC EXPECTATION; we LONG FOR and EAGERLY AWAIT the RETURN of our KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS, JESUS CHRIST, and as we get CLOSER to the BIG EVENT—DELIVERY—two forces DRIVE our BIRTH PAINS and PANGS: FREQUENCY and INTENSITY, and OUR CONTRACTIONS and BIRTH PAINS and PANGS—everything we must labor through, overcome, and endure—INTENSIFY and ACCELERATE.
But THIS is LOVE—HOPING and TRUSTING in JESUS—BELIEVING that GOD is IN CONTROL and ALL THINGS work together FOR GOOD to THOSE WHO LOVE GOD and are THE CALLED according to HIS PURPOSE. And this is LOVE, that GOD WILL SAVE, STRENGTHEN, and DELIVER US, because GOD knows the plans He has for us, plans to PROSPER US and not harm us, plans to GIVE US HOPE and a FUTURE.
Basically, LOVE is obeying GOD’s commands; it’s looking GODWARD and exalting GOD more than we exalt ourselves and others.
This LOVE calls us to WORSHIP GOD in SPIRIT and TRUTH; it calls us to HUMBLE ourselves, REPENT, SEEK GOD, and PRAY; it calls us to SUBMIT everything to GOD, SURRENDER our LIVES to CHRIST, COMMIT our WORKS to HIM, FORGIVE as we have been forgiven, CONDEMN NOT and JUDGE NOT but BUILD UP and STRENGTHEN OTHERS in the WORD of GOD, which is the WORD of FAITH.
GOD’s LOVE is EVERLASTING and PERFECT, and it CASTS OUT ALL FEAR, and His DEFINITION of LOVE is proclaimed in HIS WORD as this: LOVE is patient and kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. LOVE does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. LOVE never fails.
GOD’s LOVE inspires HOPE, and it builds TRUST.
GOD’s LOVE redeems, forgives, saves, restores, heals, transforms, and reconciles.
But above all these, in the heart of GOD’sWORD, is this: GOD is GOOD, GOD is JUST, GOD is LOVE, and though we labor and travail, suffering through birth pains and pangs, though we groan and weep, enduring hardships and adversity, we are not alone; GOD IS WITH US, and JOY COMES in the morning.
And we have this TREASURE in EARTHEN VESSELS, that the excellence of the power may be of GOD and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the LORD JESUS, that the life of JESUS also may be manifested in our body.
And here’s the TRUTH of GOD’sWORD:
GOD LOVES US;
GOD DRAWS US;
GOD SAVES US;
GOD DELIVERS US;
GOD HEALS US;
GOD REBUILDS US;
GOD RESTORES US;
GOD CALLS US;
GOD EQUIPS US;
GOD EMPOWERS US;
GOD STRENGTHENS US;
GOD WARNS US;
GOD PROTECTS US;
GOD PREPARES US;
and GOD TELLS US, “Watch and Wait. Pray without ceasing. Get Ready, Get Right, and Get your house in order, for the BRIDEGROOM and the KING of KINGS is coming. JESUS is coming back. Soon."
