Isaiah 40:10 “Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.”
As I mulled over this Scripture, the phrase “the Lord God will come” really stood out to me. He will come. The pain
will not last forever. The sorrow and struggle with sin will not last forever. Injustice will not last forever. Death will not last forever.
It may go on for a while, but it will end. He will come with might and put a stop to it. Our family has been facing some trials the last couple of years, and sometimes it seems like there is no end in sight. This verse encouraged and spoke to me in a very personal way. It was as if God was saying, “I know your struggle and pain, but take heart, I am coming. When I come, all pain and sorrow will end, I will right all the injustices, and give those who have led others astray their just due. I will take you home
to be with me. Your labor is not in vain. Keep on going. I will come.” The same is true of childbirth. The baby will come. It may seem like it is taking forever, but it will happen. A laboring mother can take comfort in this fact. Her labor is not in vain. Also,
just as pain and struggle come before our heavenly reward, so the pain and struggle of labor comes before the joy of a new baby. Our heavenly reward will far surpass the pain of our earthly stay, and the same way, the joy of a child being born far surpasses the pain of childbirth. It is worth it!

Isaiah 40:12 "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?"
We serve an awesome God! Who knows what He knows? Who- in all time past, in all the great universities of the world, among all the learned and great scientists - who compares to Him? I was struck with the contrast between how much He knows and how little we know. We have no idea how many waters are in the hollow of His hand, or how big the heavens are, or how much dust is on the earth. With all our technology, learning, research, and experiments there is still so much we don’t know. If you look past the surface of the verse, it gets even more complex. The phrase “comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure”
is interesting. In the Hebrew, the word translated “comprehended” has the idea of nourishing, sustaining and maintaining. The Hebrew word translated “measure,” means “third part,” and comes from another Hebrew word that means “three or triad.” If you insert those definitions the phrase reads like this, “Who has…sustained and nourished the earth by the third part or triad.” I am not sure exactly how to fit it all together, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with our Triune God.
The mystery of it just added to my awe of how much He knows! As I pondered how this relates to childbirth, I thought of the comfort this truth could give to a parent, or to me as a childbirth assistant. No matter how well prepared the parents are,
or how well trained I am, we still do not know what is going to happen at any given birth. We could encounter something
that we have no idea how to handle. What a comfort to know that there is Someone who knows everything there is to know
about childbirth, and about each particular birth. We can tap into His wisdom at anytime by crying out to Him. He is in control and He knows it all.

Isaiah 40:13 "Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being His counselor hath taught Him?"
I love looking into the meaning of words in the original language. Sometimes I find such rich treasures, or even an entirely
different perspective on a verse, That is certainly the case with this verse. If you insert the definitions of the Hebrew words,
the verse reads like this: “Who has searched out, tried, and tested the Spirit of the Lord. Or as His male counselor
has intimately known Him?” The Hebrew word translated “directed” is used in other places to speak of God searching men’s hearts. To me the concept of accountability is implied. It’s as if Isaiah is saying, “Who is the Spirit of the Lord accountable to? Who checks up on Him?” As I meditated on this phrase, I once again stood in awe of His love. God is all-powerful, all-mighty, and He answers to no one. He could wipe us all out, and no one could question Him. He can do anything He pleases.
I know we are always dependant on His mercy, but this verse brought it home to me in a fresh way. Just the fact that I am alive and breathing at this moment is proof of His love for me. He could have struck me dead any number of times for my sin, but He didn’t. I think of the verse that says, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed,” (Lamentations 3:22).
It doesn’t matter what we do or don’t do. In the end, we are finite and vulnerable, He is all-powerful and sovereign,
and we are totally at His mercy. Praise Him that His mercy and love are so great! This verse applies to childbirth
in a similar way as the last verse. A mom may eat healthy, exercise, and do all the right things. The parents together can educate themselves about childbirth, and bathe the pregnancy and birth in prayer. The doctor or midwife may be highly trained and do everything right. However, in the end, it is totally up to the Lord and His mercy. He is in total control, and no one can overrule His decisions. We can be assured though, that His decisions always spring from His great love for us.
We are in good hands.

Psalm 139:5 “Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me.”
What security we have in God. We are totally surrounded by His loving care. He has hedged us behind. In everything that has happened in our life, and in everything we have done in the past, He has been there. He has been there through what is behind us. He has hedged us before. He will be there for every circumstance, decision, heartache, joy, and experience in the future.
He will be there for whatever is ahead of us. He has laid His hand upon us. He is here for every trial, question,
and anything else we might be experiencing right now. He is here for today. He is the rear guard, and the lead scout.
He is the alpha and omega. He is the I AM, and an ever present help in trouble. He was there for yesterday, He is here today, and He will always be there for tomorrow. As a woman goes through labor, She can be assured that God is there for her.
She is totally surrounded by His love and care. She can look back to see how He has brought her through her pregnancy.
She can look forward and know that God will be there as she raises this child. And, she can know for certain that the same God who is Lord of yesterday and tomorrow is also Lord of today. He will be with her right now. She need not fear. Her God is here.

Psalms 139:13 “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.”
As I thought on this verse, I could not help but picture God as an artist. He skillfully fashions each part of us in His private, secluded studio. As He works, I can just picture the delight on His face. “I’ll give this little boy a strong voice so he can preach My word to the masses. This little girl will love to cook all types of gourmet foods. I will put strength in this little guy’s legs
so that he can run like the wind. This little one will be very special. She will not be perfect on the outside, but that is only
so the world may clearly see her heart of gold.” Our loving God specially designs each part of every baby so that His love
can be manifested to the world through them. A pregnant woman can take comfort in the fact that her baby is specially
designed by God. God works on His masterpiece with love and anticipation and then shows it to the world. I think birth
must be a special time for God too, because it is then that He can show off His handy work to the world.

Psalms 139:15 “My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.”
Over and over throughout this Psalm God is presented as an artist. In this verse, the meaning of the words “curiously wrought”
is “to variegate or mix colors.” Also, this Hebrew word is translated elsewhere as “embroiderer or needlework.” God did not form us out of a cookie cutter mold, blast us with one coat of standard all-purpose skin colored “paint,” and then yell, “Neeext!”
He carefully formed us like a potter would form an intricate vase, or an embroiderer would sew a delicate pattern.
Then He took out His palate of colors and began mixing, testing, and combining until He came up with just the right colors
to paint the color of our eyes, the shade of our skin, the softness of our hair, and the rose on our cheeks. Most amazingly,
He did all of this in the dark, cramped, secret quarters of our mother’s womb. He does not need a huge studio
with bright lighting. His studio of choice is in the quiet secrecy of a mother’s love. All these verses keep reiterating
over and over that God is in control of the world of the unborn. He is not idly sitting by watching the world go round.
He is a God who is intimately involved in every season of our lives. Also, He is not a “cheap” God who throws some parts together and hopes everything runs okay. He spares no expense. The works of art He produces are top of the line museum quality. He does not give cheap gifts to His children. From babies to our salvation, when He gives a gift, it is the best.
Because, that is the kind of God He is.

Psalm 139:17 “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!”
God is thinking about us all the time. He does not just think about us once in a while. The number of His thoughts
toward us is too great to calculate. I wonder what all He is thinking about us? Perhaps He is dreaming of the great exploits
He know we will do in His name. Maybe He is remembering some of the special times we have had with just Him and us.
He might be planning how He will get some great lesson through our thick skull. He could be grieving over a consequence
that He must lay upon us because of our sin. Or, He may be looking forward to the day when He will wipe all our tears away
and we will be with Him forever. His thoughts are not only on us they are precious to us. When we have a close friend that we admire, we want to know their thoughts, opinions, and counsel.. How much more should we want to tap in to God’s thoughts about us! By reading the Bible, talking to God, and listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we can discover some of
God’s thoughts about us. His thoughts toward us are rich, deep, and full of love. As a woman is in labor, she can rest assured that God’s thoughts are on her. He does not ever say, “Oops! Suzy has been in labor for twelve hours and I have not thought of her until this very minute.” No! His thoughts toward a laboring woman are numerous. He is constantly aware of her situation.
She is not forgotten because her God is thinking of her all the time.

Psalms 139:18 “If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee."
Wow God‘s thoughts about me are more numerous than the sand. I think we sometimes gloss over that expression,
“more numerous than the sands,” because we have heard it many times. However, if you stop and think about it,
it is really an awesome thought. There is a tremendous amount of sand just on one beach. If you took all the sand
in the world, you could bury the entire United States - maybe even the whole continent. God does not just sprinkle us
with a few thoughts now and then. His thoughts toward us just keep coming and coming until we are hopelessly buried in
His love and concern. I am reminded of the verse that says (and I paraphrase), “If you keep my commandments I will pour out such blessing on you that you will not have room to receive it, and you will ask Me to stop.” As I thought about how much God thinks about me, I also had to ask myself, “How much do I think about Him?” I am afraid His thoughts toward me are much, much more numerous than my thoughts toward Him. I was deeply comforted and also challenged by this verse.
Again, a woman in labor can know that God’s thoughts are on her. He is not just thinking of her occasionally, His thoughts toward her are more than the sands of the sea. She is buried in His love and care. Nothing escapes His notice. She is in His thoughts and His heart.