Day 23

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” — Psalm 139:13-14

God loves us all and that gives every life immeasurable value. Not only does God love us, but He created us, and it is not up to us to terminate what God has created. This cuts deeply in our society with the tremendous controversy over abortion. In Canada, alone, thousands of fetuses are aborted every week because of unwanted pregnancies or risk to health, but no one can know in advance the potential of each life.

Some medical students, attending a seminar, were presented with a case study. The father had syphilis, the mother tuberculosis. They had four children; the first child was blind, the second one died, the third was deaf and the fourth also had tuberculosis. The mother was pregnant with her fifth child, and the students were asked if she should terminate the pregnancy. Unanimously, they agreed she should, and the professor announced, “Congratulations. You have just destroyed Beethoven.” It doesn’t matter whose life it would have been, every life is valuable and meaningful.

David said God knows us long before we were woven together in the depths of the earth, and He has all our days ordained. Whether they are few or many, in suffering or joy, plenty or want, God has a purpose for everyone. Nowhere, under the New Covenant, does He grant us permission to assert dominion over death. For many women and couples who chose death for their unborn child, this has been a decision with outcomes they’ve regretted, and often kept buried inside. To live with shame and guilt over something that cannot be changed is devastating, but in Jesus, there is forgiveness, healing and comfort to the repentant heart, for Christ has borne that sin.

In Psalm 16, a prayer for safekeeping, David writes in verse 5, “LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.” Then in verse 8, he says, “I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” When we make God our strength, there isn’t any situation we cannot face, not from our past, present or future. God sent His Son to heal the human dilemma in whatever form it takes. We must trust Him for this.

Prayer: Dear Father, I want to pray for every person who believes they are faced with the traumatic decision of terminating a pregnancy. May their hearts be opened to you and by your holy spirit, intervene. be their rock, lord, and bless every unborn child with the privilege of experiencing you in this world.

To reflect upon: Do I know of anyone, including myself, who has either stood by an abortion procedure or gone through one? How did it affect them and how would I best counsel and comfort someone considering abortion?