Joy After Birth Pains

By Odon Bulamba (4 January 2002)

The Bible says there is a time to eat, a time to walk, a time to look forward and a time to look back, and in the end we will be judged.

John 16:19-21. Jesus saw that they wanted to ask Him about this, so He said to them, are you asking one another what I meant when I said, in a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see Me? I tell you the truth; you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come: but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.

We all ask ourselves when will Jesus come back, and when will our ministries come to pass? You may be waiting for the answer but Jesus replied to His disciples, “In a short time you will see Me again”, so do not ask yourself any questions because you risk to doubt. The more you doubt the more you lose your patience and you will grieve everyday. We will never see last year again, so now it may be a time to reap what you have sown. If you mourned last year now it is time to laugh because Jesus promised that your mourning would be turned into joy.

Are you still sad because of what happened to you last year? Are your problems still bothering you from last year? Does the hardship your family caused you last year still bother you? Does suffering still have room in your life? Does lack of money or lack of courage still have room in your heart? Do you collaborate with your brothers? It is now time to think about what happened last year. So are the problems you had last year still mixed in you this year? Jesus gave us an authority, what we bind of earth will be bound in heaven, so why can’t you bind your problems from last year and start a new year with joy? Why can’t you bind your problems from last year to start a new victorious year?

When a woman is in labour she has pain because her hour has come, but when she gives birth to a child she no longer remembers her anguish because her child has be born into the world.

You might be suffering now but after that comes joy. Before you can get a solution there is always a time of trouble before it. A few hours before mum gives birth she goes through hardship, and life is also like this. For us Christians we also have the pain of birth. When Jesus redeemed us He suffered on the cross. The Bible says that God rested after creation, so when we work hard to the point of exhaustion we have to renew our strength. If Steve needs $100,000 and we pray for him but he has no answer, where will his pain lead him? When will we receive the birth we have asked for?

The church of God is like a woman; when she gives birth to a child it is a joy. In the Bible there are examples of women who couldn’t have children and they would cry out to God. It’s very painful for a childless woman to see other women with children, so woe to women who ask God to be barren. As a church of God we have to conceive, but to conceive we need a husband. The Bible gives us two kinds of fathers, the devil and God. If you marry the devil (John 8) and you conceive with him be sure that your children will be like him, but if you accept God as your father you will have good children.


How can you as the church give birth? How many times have you lead people to Jesus Christ? If you bring up your children with a pure heart your children will be pure, but if you have bitterness deep in your heart when you give birth you will face many problems.

Before a woman gives birth she goes through certain stages. One night I was observing the women who were pregnant in our group. Marcia would sit next to Steve so he could comfort her, and every time she needed something Steve would get it. Once we have conceived we really need Jesus Christ beside us, and in order for us to preach the gospel He needs to assist us, so in everything you do Jesus must be there.

Try to imagine a pregnant woman without anybody to help them, what will happen to her? She can plan her life but because of isolation or loneliness she might commit suicide, so if we use our own strength as Christians to change someone’s spiritual life we will burn out. When a lady is pregnant she becomes tired and her taste buds change. We must control our actions, thoughts and the way we walk, and above all this, ask the Holy Spirit to control your life. If you don’t ask the Holy Spirit to help you, you might throw up what you have eaten and when this happens you risk hating those around you like a pregnant woman who is troubled by giving birth.

It is not easy to punish a child while it is still in the womb, and when the children of God find new birth it is not easy to punish them because they are like eggs. You must be very careful not to break them because an egg doesn’t know if it has life. Once a woman has conceived she must protect the well being of her child and herself, so they must collaborate with each other. So why didn’t you have any collaboration between your brothers last year? Maybe your spiritual level is different to theirs, maybe the way you speak and the way they speak is quite the opposite, but they need to receive something from you so they can find new life.

Some children are born disabled, premature, still born, and some are born through surgery. As Christians we must not think that we will always have a normal birth, because sometimes things don’t go to plan. So how many things have happened since last year? What did you give to God, thinking that it would bear fruit but didn’t? If you gave birth to a stillborn what would you do? The first thing you will say is, what is wrong? Why is my child a stillborn? The doctor must give an answer to your questions.

How many people have you conceived spiritually but then had an abortion? How many people or children have we conceived to Jesus Christ who were premature? How many people are stillborn? What are you going to tell God about the people you have aborted? We have to go back to God and ask Him what happened. Is it your way of talking that is wrong? Is it your way of dressing? Is it your way of praying? So why are they stillborn?

We are the church of God and the Bible says that when a woman gives birth to a child she is happy, so where is the joy towards our brothers and sisters who use to pray with us? Where is our joy from the things we did last year? Where is our joy from last year’s prayers? If there is no joy what have you sown? Try to think about all the material hardship and spiritual hardship in your life and take it to God to find a solution. What is still bothering your conscience, moral or faith? Maybe you are distracted when the Word of God is preached, maybe you don’t listen, and maybe you can’t find time to pray at home, so when will it end?

When we were conceived spiritually we had the Word in us, so what is the problem with you? Why don’t you receive what you ask for? Is it because you were conceived by the devil who is the father of all lies, or did you conceive from God? If you were conceived by the devil you deceive yourself, but if you are conceived by the God of truth you will succeed.

So ask God to help you. Where you are weak my God give you strength, when you suffered may God give you joy, and if something went wrong last year may it stay in last year. Why do we pray to God if we don’t receive? Why do we pray if things are not fulfilled? Our God is not a liar. When we ask for sometime He will give it unless we have bad intentions or He doesn’t agree. Think about your life and what was wrong last year, did you suffer morally or financially? Ask God to help you find a solution so that you can have your joy back.