Mother's Day: 5 Day Bible Plan Намуна

God’s concern for the broken heart of the childless

Hannah’s prayer is one of the most famous laments of the childless. I know over the years I have found this both comforting and sometimes painful to read because her prayers for a child are answered, and we all know that isn’t always the case. But there is so much we can learn from Hannah about how to approach God in our pain and, specifically, in the pain of childlessness. The Bible actually has a really high view of the infertile. The representation of the infertile in the Bible is far more inclusive than many of the narratives within our society today and sadly often in the church. There are over twenty infertile women who participate in the unfolding of the biblical narrative reminding the infertile, childless reader that they are most definitely not alone in their struggle.

It took four miscarriages before someone told me I was grieving. Until that moment I didn’t understand grief; I didn’t believe grief could be associated with someone or something you never met, or held, or even had in the first place; also, I didn’t know how to grieve. For years I’d believed grieving was bad because we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be sad.

Scripture articulates the depth of grief in the most stunningly realistic and dramatic way, and I believe our culture has a lot to learn from it. In today’s society, the magnitude of the pain of suffering is often downplayed because we’re so frightened of giving space to it. For years I was scared that, if I allowed myself to be sad, I’d lose control and never escape the darkness of grief. But the Bible is not afraid of grief; it embraces pain and gives it space to unfold and express itself, because the Christian faith doesn’t just see grief as a normal part of the human story, it elevates it as a precondition to joy and a necessary path to healing.

The Bible is particularly vocal and articulate around the pain of infertility; it dwells on this pain with powerful language. It expresses the pain, the shame and isolation from family and communities, the struggle of being surrounded by those who find pregnancy easy, the monthly cycle of grief, the struggle between husband and wife as well as the destruction of identity and purpose.

Hannah was so consumed by the grief of her childlessness that she stopped eating, and on that day when she was praying in the temple, she began crying inconsolably. The priest who saw her thought she was drunk because she had lost control of her emotions. When asked what’s wrong, Hannah tells the priest ‘It’s because I’m so desperately unhappy and in such pain.’ Proverbs 30 talks about the four experiences in the human story that will never be satisfied which are death, fire, drought and a barren womb. Often those struggling with childlessness feel as though their pain is not acknowledged or taken seriously, but be encouraged; the Bible shows us that your pain is legitimate and that God himself takes the pain of childlessness seriously.

How is your heart feeling right now?

Give some time to tell God how you feel; don’t hold back – He wants to hear from you.