The snow is upon us; winter is here. It is cold and gloomy outside, but there is still so much hope. You look at the trees and they appear dead, but they are not. We know that this is just for a season and for a time. Soon it will be spring again, and beauty will flourish around us, and we will see that hope. We often easily let the appearance around us bring us down, but it is not always as it seems. We at times must rally through the cold until things change again. We do this because we know that our God is a God who is able to turn anything around to be a blessing.

Early in the account of God’s story (borrowed this term from my church, https://trinitylife.ca/ 😊), we encountered many women who found themselves with the issue of barrenness. However, this usually ended in God miraculous intervention and blessing. The children that came from these women all had a significant purpose in God’s plans, and even when these children failed, they went on to serve God’s purpose as part of the plan for His people. So, let us look at these accounts.

Sarah

God called Abraham, who was the beginning of the line of his people (Israel) and his wife Sarah was barren, and so she had no children (Genesis 11:30). The Lord promised Abraham that Sarah would have a son. When he heard this, Abraham asked the Lord if even at their very old age will they have a child, and God reassured him that he would (Genesis 17:16-19).  The Lord promised Abraham that he would have a son, an heir of his own (Genesis 15:1-4). And the Lord went to remind him and Sarah of this promise several times. They waited long for this promise, but the Lord was faithful. When Sarah heard from the Lord herself that she would have a son, she had trouble believing this promise. She looked at the worldly evidence that she and her husband was old and had trouble believing this. But the Lord reminded her that nothing was too hard for Him (Genesis 18:9-15). When the time was right, in God’s perfect timing, the Lord visited Sarah and did as he had promised, and she conceived and bore Isaac (Genesis 21:1-3).

Rebekah

Rebekah was the wife of Isaac, and she too was barren. Isaac prayed to God for his wife, and the Lord granted his prayer. Rebekah conceived and bore twins, Jacob and Esau, who were the beginnings of two nations. These were the Israelites and the Edomites. The Israelites were God’s people.

Rachel

Rachel was one of the wives of Jacob, and she was barren. She was ridiculed by her sister, Jacob’s other wife because her sister had many children. But the Lord was faithful to Rachel and again in His perfect timing He remembered Rachel and listened to her and opened her womb. She bore Joseph, who went on to do great things in God’s plan (Genesis 30:1-3; Genesis 20: 22-24). The Lord was with Joseph and all that he put his hand to, was a success and people around him saw this. This resulted in Joseph gaining much influence, and God used this to save many nations from a great famine. Joseph was pivotal in preserving the nation of Israel at that time.

Samson’s Mother

The Lord’s people fail many times in history. They often chased after the things around them, which turned them away from God, not unlike what we do today. The people of Israel, like many other times, did evil in the sight of the Lord, and He gave them over to the Philistines for forty years. But as always, God is faithful, and he rescues his people, and God used Samson to do this. Samson’s mother was barren before she had him. One day an angel of the Lord appeared to her and said that she shall conceive and will have a son. The angel instructed her on what to eat and that the child shall grow up to play a part in saving the Israelites from the Philistines. The angel appeared to both of Samson’s parents later, and they then realized that he was not a man, and so they believed the word of God. And again in God’s perfect timing, Samson was born, and the Lord blessed him. (Judges 13).

Hannah

Hannah was one of two wives of her husband. The other wife had children, but the Lord had closed up Hannah’s womb. The other wife would provoke Hannah grievously to irritate her because she could not have children, and Hannah’s heart was sad. She was deeply depressed and would weep and not eat. She would pray to the Lord and weep bitterly. She made a vow to the Lord that if the Lord would give her a son, that she would give him to the Lord all the days of his life.  Then Eli, the man of God, blessed her that God would grant her petition. After this, she was no longer sad. Sometime after that, she conceived and bore a son, who was called Samuel. When Samuel was old enough, she took him to temple and there he stayed in training to grow to be a great man of God (1 Samuel 1). He was a great prophet. Later God remembers Hannah again, and she had three more sons and two daughters.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth and Zechariah walked blamelessly in the eyes of the Lord, but they had no children. Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in age. An angel of the Lord appeared to Zachariah, who was a priest, and told him that his prayer was heard and that his wife would have a son. He told Zachariah that they would have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice in his birth. The angel told him that this child would turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he would help prepare the people to be ready for the Lord. Later we would know that this was John, who was sent to prepare the way for Jesus who would come after him. And so, after some time, Elizabeth conceived and when she gave birth, many indeed rejoiced with her because of this blessing.

Conclusion

So, each of these women could not have children, but God had a bigger plan. In His perfect timing, He came through for each of them, and they conceived and had children that God was able to use for His purposes and plans. If we look at this through the eyes of God, which is not easy most times, we will realize that regardless of how things appear, God had a great plan. So, when we know that we have been faithful to God, and we still go through trials and distress, it is usually only for a season and for a reason in God’s bigger plans. It’s not easy to see it this way, but we should have a mindset that we are only here for a temporary time for the purpose which God has for us. We need to remind ourselves that this is not home, that God is preparing a place for us with Him for eternal joy and peace with Him. So let us not live for the things of this world, allowing our desires to consume us where we want to live this perfect life here. We tend to forget about all the people who still do not have God, who will end up in torment for eternity if we do not move. Let us trust Him with everything and know that He wants good for all of us regardless of how it appears. Let us trust the master plan maker for He knows all.

All photos were taken by Kyle or Vani. These photos are from the many adventures we have been blessed to experience together. We are so grateful for every blessing from God. No filters were used nor were the photos edited except for an occasional crop. We hope you enjoy.