November 18, 2025 • 19 mins
In this episode, we're continuing to follow Marie Bowen's excellent book, Pregnant with Promise, by examining the life of Manoah's wife, the mother of the famous superhero, Samson. Like every human being, God had a destiny for Samson planned out before his conception. Are there things that God is doing in your own life that make you aware that God wants to do something extraordinary through you or your children?
For more focus on respiration and the function on the placenta inside the womb, see Episodes for Week 24 "Breath of Heaven" and Week 30 "Life Support"
Scripture references in this episode include:
Judges 13-16 Exodus 33:20 Psalm 139:16
Proverbs 11:14, 20:18 Isaiah 55:8-9
2 Corinthians 12:10; 13:9 Acts 20:35
Matthew 23:11 Romans 6:18 Philippians 3:7-8
Mark 9:35 I Samuel 2:8 Ezekiel 21:26
James 4:10 Luke 17:33 John 12:24
Romans 8:13 Galatians 5:24 Matthew 10:39
James 1:2 Mark 4:34-41 Acts 27
John 3:16 I Thessalonians 5:23-24
Romans 11:33
https://www.ppl.org/baby-chris
Abortion is never medically necessary
Abortion Pill Reversal https://abortionpillreversal.com 24/7 Helpline at 877.558.0333 Email: help@apr.life or Chat at the weblink above
Post abortion recovery for both women and men at https://www.rachelsvineyard.org
Life Training Institute https://www.prolifetraining.com
Charlotte Lozier Institute https://lozierinstitute.org
Guttmacher Institute https://guttmacher.org
Compelled by the gospel, PPL equips Presbyterians to champion human life at every stage. PPL.org
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
HOST (00:16):
We're glad to have you back at the ProLife Kitchen
Table, the weekly podcast ofPresbyterians Protecting Life.
I'm Deborah Hollifield, andI'll be sitting with you this
week to guide us through a studyof the character of God who
cherishes human life.
We're continuing to use MarieBowen's great book, Pregnant
with Promise, and this week weare going to hear about Samson's
(00:39):
parents.
Even if you aren't a Christian,you have probably heard of
Samson, who served as a judge,one of the last leaders of
ancient Israel, before the ageof the kings.
He's the hero whose superhumanstrength was sourced in his
uncut long hair.
I love the story of Samson'slife, his destiny from the womb,
(01:00):
his strength, his weakness, andhis restoration.
All of that is contained inchapters thirteen through
sixteen of the Old TestamentBook of Judges.
The time of the Judges takesplace between the fourteenth and
eleventh centuries BC.
The Judges themselves weretwelve leaders of ancient Israel
(01:21):
who came after Moses andJoshua, and I think it would be
a great read after you listen tothis podcast, because there is
a lot of the book of Judges thatwill remind you of the times
that we are living in today.
The theme of the book is thedisintegrating spiritual and
national life of the nation ofIsrael, and they repeatedly
(01:41):
rebel against God and violatehis covenant.
The whole nation of Israel wasapostate, meaning that its
people had abandoned their faithin God and quit listening to
and following God, and althoughGod called them time and again
to repentance, they wererepeatedly unfaithful.
One of the purposes of the bookof Judges is to show how Israel
(02:05):
rejected God as their king, andthe counter theme in the book
is the faithfulness of Godtowards his people as he
continually has compassion onthem.
The story of Samson's birthbegins in Judges chapter
thirteen.
We read that Samson's father isnamed Manoah, but his mother
remains unnamed even though sheis the focus of the beginning of
(02:27):
the story, and we learn thatlike a lot of the women we have
read about so far, she isanother barren woman without a
child.
When she learns she ispregnant, the news is brought to
her by an angel of God.
God seems to delight in bringinghis leaders through barren
women.
We are taught again that withGod nothing is impossible, that
(02:50):
life comes from nothingness, joysprings from sorrow, and
blessing removes disgrace.
And like the stories we havealready read about Hagar, Sarah,
Rebecca, and Rachel, God'speople are being prepared to
receive the impossible birth ofthe coming Messiah, who will be
born to a virgin who has neverknown a man.
(03:12):
After the angel tells Manoah'swife that she will conceive and
bear a son, she's giveninstructions about what she is
to eat and drink.
She's told to drink no wine orstrong drink, and to eat nothing
unclean.
The child is to be a Nazariteeven in his mother's womb.
Now I know that even todaypregnant women are told not to
(03:33):
drink alcohol or eat things thatare potentially contaminated
like raw oysters.
So it's interesting that thisgood advice was given to women
five thousand years ago.
But in this case theinstructions are not about
maternal health, they are aboutthe Nazarite vow.
A Nazarite vow is a promise toGod that involves three
(03:54):
provisions no cutting of thehair, abstinence from anything
associated with alcohol, and nocontact with the dead.
Usually this was a short termvoluntary vow, but in this case,
Samson's vow was not voluntarybecause it was imposed on him by
God while Samson was still inthe womb.
(04:15):
And it was not limited in timebecause it was to be in effect
until his death.
The last part of the angel'smessage to Samson's mother was
that her son's destiny would beas a tool used by God to save
Israel from the oppressive handof their pagan enemies, the
Philistines.
(04:35):
This is another theme that wehave seen over and over again in
these stories, and it'ssomething that will continue
throughout the Bible in thelives of other prophets of God,
that their destinies are set byGod before they are born.
They are who they are in thewomb.
They are human persons beforethey are born just like every
(04:56):
human being.
When abortion advocates try toassert that unborn children are
just clumps of cells along thelines of any other disposable
tissue, we are able to read inScripture the repeated accounts
of the individuality, destiny,and purpose of every human
being.
And this is not just for theprophets, but also for all of
(05:18):
us.
Who we would become was alreadyconsidered by God before we
were even conceived, and we wereeach equipped for our
particular purpose as wedeveloped in the womb.
After we are born each personcontinues to develop into the
person God wants them to be, fortasks that He has set in place
before time everlasting, frombefore our beginnings, for us to
(05:43):
accomplish.
But back to Manoah and his wife.
After the angel leaves her,Manoah's wife returns to her
husband and tells him verbatimwhat the angel said to her.
Beginning in verse eight, weread of Manoah's response to his
wife's account of the visitfrom the angel, when he prays
about his conscientious desireto raise the child properly.
(06:06):
He's taking fatherhoodseriously, but he's concerned
about whether he and his wifewill have the ability to do what
the job requires.
He prays that the angel willreturn to them and give them
more details.
God answers Manoah's prayer,and the angel does return and
confirms his first messagedirectly to Manoah this time.
(06:28):
But in the end, he refersManoah back to his wife and
tells him that his wife is theone who is to observe the
commands of God.
God placed the responsibilityfor how she will care for
herself and her child duringthis pregnancy in the hands of
Samson's mother.
In response to the angel'sconfirmation, the couple
(06:48):
sacrifices a burnt offering toGod.
Now it seems that during bothof these exchanges with the
angel, that Manoah and his wifethought they were talking with a
human prophet of God or somekind of lesser angel.
But this time, when the angelleaves, they see the angel dis
ascend into heaven in flames,and realize that it was neither
(07:09):
a human being, nor was it someordinary spirit, but rather was
the angel of God himself.
Manoah then exclaims to hiswife, "We shall surely die for
we have seen God!"If his panic sounds strange to
you, you should understand thatearlier, in the book of Exodus,
the second book of the Bibleafter Genesis, God has said that
(07:33):
no man shall look upon me andlive.
So all the Hebrews knew that itwas impossible to survive after
looking upon the face of God,both because of God's holiness
and also because of God'sburning radiance.
But Manoah's wife was moresensible, and answered her
husband that, "...
(07:54):
if the Lord had meant to killus, he would not have accepted
our burnt offering, or shown useverything, or announced to us
such things as these."So after a normal pregnancy,
Samson is born.
His parents have no way ofknowing all that he will do to
fulfill God's purposes.
He will be incredibly strongand perform amazing feats in
(08:18):
battle against the Philistines.
But he will also have aweakness for women, that will be
his downfall, and his liaisonswill bring sorrow to his
parents.
But for now, it's enough thatManoah and his wife know that
God has given them a son.
They have had a life-changingencounter with an angel in their
lives, will never be the same,and they can be assured that
(08:41):
they are part of God's plan andthat their son has a special
mission.
The account of Samson's birthgives us something to think
about when it comes toconsidering what is a word from
God and what is not.
We read that Manoah's wife toldhim everything the angel had
told her at first, but that hewanted to hear it for himself
(09:02):
from the angel and not just fromher.
I don't get the sense that it'sbecause he didn't trust her,
but because the news was so hugethat he wanted to be sure that
he understood everything forhimself.
When it comes to us, sometimespeople tell us what they say
that God prompted them to tellus, and it's important then for
(09:22):
us to check what they sayagainst Scripture.
If someone comes to us and saysGod told me to tell you to do
thus and such, we should checktheir words against Scripture,
and if what they have to saycontradicts the explicit words
of Scripture, or what we knowabout the attributes and
character of God, we have goodreason to reject what they say.
(09:45):
But we should also be cautiousabout always rejecting out of
hand what people have to say tous because sometimes God does
send messages to us throughothers, and we shouldn't allow
our personal prejudices againstthe messenger to cause us to
dismiss the message.
In an example from my own life,when I was praying about
(10:06):
discerning my call to ministry,a number of people in my church
confirmed that they too believedI was called to ministry.
But during my years inseminary, I met with a lot of
opposition on various fronts.
Not a word from God exactly,but things like challenges in my
academics, physical exhaustionand sickness, and some
(10:26):
unexpected and difficultfinancial straits.
When I was home on school break,I commented to my church board
and pastor that theseoppositional challenges were
concerning to me because theydidn't seem random, but rather
somehow purposeful.
One of the elders commentedthat he thought God must have an
extraordinary ministry in placefor me because, in his view,
(10:49):
the hindrances I wasexperiencing were signs that the
Enemy was working feverishly tokeep me from fulfilling God's
call.
I responded that I was equallyconcerned that God was
discouraging me from continuingand that perhaps I was mistaken
in my call.
It was only after more study anddiscernment with friends and
(11:10):
the scripture that we came tothe conclusion that if the
opposition was from the Enemy,then it made sense that I should
persevere.
And if instead the hindranceswere from God, they were more
likely to be tests of mywillingness to continue to obey
in the face of the anticipatedchallenges of ministry, and in
(11:31):
that case, perseverance wasagain the way f orward.
There is a lot of benefit inseeking many counselors, as the
book of Proverbs says, when weread that where there is no
guidance people fail, but in anabundance of counselors they
succeed.
That's Proverbs 11:14. And italso says that in the abundance
(11:53):
of counselors there is victory,and that plans are established
by wise guidance.
That's Proverbs 20:18.
Manoah and his wife areordinary people chosen by God to
bring an extraordinary childinto the world who would be
instrumental in rescuing Israelfrom their enemies.
(12:14):
Are there things that God isdoing in your life that make you
aware that God wants you to dosomething extraordinary through
you?
If you are part of a Christianchurch or have a group of close
Christian friends, share withthem and seek their guidance and
pray for one another that youreyes will be open to see what
God is doing around you and thatyour ears will be ready to hear
(12:37):
his message for you.
And now we've come up on ourbreak with a lot to think about.
Most of us are leading prettyordinary lives.
And if you are a young motherwhose world is small and you are
caught up at home in the livesof babies and toddlers, or if
like me your nest is empty andyour world has shrunk to your
(12:59):
home, a few friends, and yourchurch, it can be easy to
believe that God is carrying outhis plans through other people,
and it's harder to believe thatGod is not finished with the
plans for your life.
Psalm 139:16 has the psalmistaddressing God, saying, "Your
eyes saw my unformed substance.
(13:21):
In your book all the days of mylife were written before one of
them came to be."Like Samson, God indeed had
plans for us before we wereborn, and none of us will die
one day before God has decreed,because those plans will require
our lifetimes.
And it may be, like Manoah andhis wife, those plans include
(13:45):
being in charge of the healthand well-being of children put
in our care, who will carry outGod's plans through them after
us.
ANNOUNCER (13:58):
All of the materials and information presented in
this podcast are sourced fromthe four decades of information
and resources created byPresbyterians Protecting Life
and accessible to you at itswebsite.
PPL is compelled by the gospelto equip reformed Christians of
all denominations to championhuman life from fertilization to
natural death.
Train yourself and others tobecome a lifeline for women and
(14:21):
children and join us as a lifesupport prayer partner at
PPL.org.
HOST (14:32):
This week 35 Baby Chris Devotional is titled Sink or
Swim.
Hear the word of the Lord.
"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways. For as teh heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9. Thanksbe to G od.
(14:57):
At thirty-five weeks, BabyChris's mouth is practicing
sucking movements to be ready toeat once born.
His pupils now dilate when thesun or bright light filter into
the uterus.
The primary focus of hisdevelopment is now fat
accumulation.
His lungs are currently filledwith fluid, which will be
(15:18):
eliminated when he takes hisfirst breath.
There are a few things we knowabout human beings and water.
They either sink or swim.
Fat helps people float, and iflungs are filled with water,
humans drown and die.
Fat is less dense than water,so people who have more fat are
(15:39):
more likely to float on thewater with little effort, while
a leaner, more muscular personwill probably have to make more
of an effort to float because ofnegative buoyancy.
When a swimmer's lungs are fullof air, they act like balloons
to aid buoyancy.
But if the swimmer exhales, hewill begin to sink and possibly
(15:59):
drown, dying by suffocation froma lack of air caused by fluid
in the lungs, usually water.
But in the indoor pool of thewomb, things are quite literally
inside out.
Even though a baby's lungs arefull of amniotic fluid, the baby
doesn't drown because oxygen isbeing delivered from the
(16:19):
placenta versus via theumbilical cord.
This week we have a human beingsubmerged in fluid, but who
doesn't need to float inside thewomb, effortlessly lying on the
fat that will help him float inwater outside the womb, and
whose lungs are filled withfluid but who isn't drowning.
(16:40):
This is a paradox, a seeminglyself-contradictory set of facts
or circumstances that are alltrue at the same time.
Or a seeminglyself-contradictory declaration
that is in fact true.
Scripture contains the verythoughts of God whose thoughts
have lots of paradoxes.
(17:01):
Believers are strongest whenthey are weak.
We receive the most when wegive the most.
We are the most free throughservitude.
We gain through losing.
The first must be last.
God exalts the humble andhumbles the exalted.
We gain life through dying, andfind through losing.
(17:26):
James says that we should countit all joy when we fall into
various trials.
It was a paradox when Jesusspoke God's peace to his
disciples, despite theirreasonable expectation that the
strong storm would swamp thesmall boat and the impossible
idea that any man could controlthe weather with a word.
(17:48):
It was a paradox when Paul wasconfident enough to prepare a
meal to strengthen the flaggingcrew, even though their
impending shipwreck was acertainty.
None of these truths orexperiences make sense to the
natural mind of one living inthe natural world.
But all of these truths comefrom the mind of God and are the
(18:08):
guides for the daily lives ofbelievers who desire to live in
Christ.
The most precious paradox of allis that God gave his only Son
to die so that we might live,that our faith in God is itself
a gift from God, and that wewill be found faithful and
blameless at the coming ofChrist because He is blameless
(18:31):
and faithful, and He will surelydo it.
Following the example of BabyChris, we only need to rest,
float, and breathe, regardlessof the trial, until we are
delivered.
Hear the word of the Lord (18:47):
"Oh the depth of the riches and
wisdom and knowledge of God, howunsearchable are his judgments,
and how unfathomable hisways!" Romans 11:33. Thanks be
to God!
ANNOUNCER (19:09):
We hope you enjoyed this week's reflection.
We encourage you to share itand join us next time on Pro
Life Kitchen Table.
May God bless you.
We're glad to have you back at the ProLife Kitchen
Table, the weekly podcast ofPresbyterians Protecting Life.
I'm Deborah Hollifield, andI'll be sitting with you this
week to guide us through a studyof the character of God who
cherishes human life.
We're continuing to use MarieBowen's great book, Pregnant
with Promise, and this week weare going to hear about Samson's
(00:39):
parents.
Even if you aren't a Christian,you have probably heard of
Samson, who served as a judge,one of the last leaders of
ancient Israel, before the ageof the kings.
He's the hero whose superhumanstrength was sourced in his
uncut long hair.
I love the story of Samson'slife, his destiny from the womb,
(01:00):
his strength, his weakness, andhis restoration.
All of that is contained inchapters thirteen through
sixteen of the Old TestamentBook of Judges.
The time of the Judges takesplace between the fourteenth and
eleventh centuries BC.
The Judges themselves weretwelve leaders of ancient Israel
(01:21):
who came after Moses andJoshua, and I think it would be
a great read after you listen tothis podcast, because there is
a lot of the book of Judges thatwill remind you of the times
that we are living in today.
The theme of the book is thedisintegrating spiritual and
national life of the nation ofIsrael, and they repeatedly
(01:41):
rebel against God and violatehis covenant.
The whole nation of Israel wasapostate, meaning that its
people had abandoned their faithin God and quit listening to
and following God, and althoughGod called them time and again
to repentance, they wererepeatedly unfaithful.
One of the purposes of the bookof Judges is to show how Israel
(02:05):
rejected God as their king, andthe counter theme in the book
is the faithfulness of Godtowards his people as he
continually has compassion onthem.
The story of Samson's birthbegins in Judges chapter
thirteen.
We read that Samson's father isnamed Manoah, but his mother
remains unnamed even though sheis the focus of the beginning of
(02:27):
the story, and we learn thatlike a lot of the women we have
read about so far, she isanother barren woman without a
child.
When she learns she ispregnant, the news is brought to
her by an angel of God.
God seems to delight in bringinghis leaders through barren
women.
We are taught again that withGod nothing is impossible, that
(02:50):
life comes from nothingness, joysprings from sorrow, and
blessing removes disgrace.
And like the stories we havealready read about Hagar, Sarah,
Rebecca, and Rachel, God'speople are being prepared to
receive the impossible birth ofthe coming Messiah, who will be
born to a virgin who has neverknown a man.
(03:12):
After the angel tells Manoah'swife that she will conceive and
bear a son, she's giveninstructions about what she is
to eat and drink.
She's told to drink no wine orstrong drink, and to eat nothing
unclean.
The child is to be a Nazariteeven in his mother's womb.
Now I know that even todaypregnant women are told not to
(03:33):
drink alcohol or eat things thatare potentially contaminated
like raw oysters.
So it's interesting that thisgood advice was given to women
five thousand years ago.
But in this case theinstructions are not about
maternal health, they are aboutthe Nazarite vow.
A Nazarite vow is a promise toGod that involves three
(03:54):
provisions no cutting of thehair, abstinence from anything
associated with alcohol, and nocontact with the dead.
Usually this was a short termvoluntary vow, but in this case,
Samson's vow was not voluntarybecause it was imposed on him by
God while Samson was still inthe womb.
(04:15):
And it was not limited in timebecause it was to be in effect
until his death.
The last part of the angel'smessage to Samson's mother was
that her son's destiny would beas a tool used by God to save
Israel from the oppressive handof their pagan enemies, the
Philistines.
(04:35):
This is another theme that wehave seen over and over again in
these stories, and it'ssomething that will continue
throughout the Bible in thelives of other prophets of God,
that their destinies are set byGod before they are born.
They are who they are in thewomb.
They are human persons beforethey are born just like every
(04:56):
human being.
When abortion advocates try toassert that unborn children are
just clumps of cells along thelines of any other disposable
tissue, we are able to read inScripture the repeated accounts
of the individuality, destiny,and purpose of every human
being.
And this is not just for theprophets, but also for all of
(05:18):
us.
Who we would become was alreadyconsidered by God before we
were even conceived, and we wereeach equipped for our
particular purpose as wedeveloped in the womb.
After we are born each personcontinues to develop into the
person God wants them to be, fortasks that He has set in place
before time everlasting, frombefore our beginnings, for us to
(05:43):
accomplish.
But back to Manoah and his wife.
After the angel leaves her,Manoah's wife returns to her
husband and tells him verbatimwhat the angel said to her.
Beginning in verse eight, weread of Manoah's response to his
wife's account of the visitfrom the angel, when he prays
about his conscientious desireto raise the child properly.
(06:06):
He's taking fatherhoodseriously, but he's concerned
about whether he and his wifewill have the ability to do what
the job requires.
He prays that the angel willreturn to them and give them
more details.
God answers Manoah's prayer,and the angel does return and
confirms his first messagedirectly to Manoah this time.
(06:28):
But in the end, he refersManoah back to his wife and
tells him that his wife is theone who is to observe the
commands of God.
God placed the responsibilityfor how she will care for
herself and her child duringthis pregnancy in the hands of
Samson's mother.
In response to the angel'sconfirmation, the couple
(06:48):
sacrifices a burnt offering toGod.
Now it seems that during bothof these exchanges with the
angel, that Manoah and his wifethought they were talking with a
human prophet of God or somekind of lesser angel.
But this time, when the angelleaves, they see the angel dis
ascend into heaven in flames,and realize that it was neither
(07:09):
a human being, nor was it someordinary spirit, but rather was
the angel of God himself.
Manoah then exclaims to hiswife, "We shall surely die for
we have seen God!"If his panic sounds strange to
you, you should understand thatearlier, in the book of Exodus,
the second book of the Bibleafter Genesis, God has said that
(07:33):
no man shall look upon me andlive.
So all the Hebrews knew that itwas impossible to survive after
looking upon the face of God,both because of God's holiness
and also because of God'sburning radiance.
But Manoah's wife was moresensible, and answered her
husband that, "...
(07:54):
if the Lord had meant to killus, he would not have accepted
our burnt offering, or shown useverything, or announced to us
such things as these."So after a normal pregnancy,
Samson is born.
His parents have no way ofknowing all that he will do to
fulfill God's purposes.
He will be incredibly strongand perform amazing feats in
(08:18):
battle against the Philistines.
But he will also have aweakness for women, that will be
his downfall, and his liaisonswill bring sorrow to his
parents.
But for now, it's enough thatManoah and his wife know that
God has given them a son.
They have had a life-changingencounter with an angel in their
lives, will never be the same,and they can be assured that
(08:41):
they are part of God's plan andthat their son has a special
mission.
The account of Samson's birthgives us something to think
about when it comes toconsidering what is a word from
God and what is not.
We read that Manoah's wife toldhim everything the angel had
told her at first, but that hewanted to hear it for himself
(09:02):
from the angel and not just fromher.
I don't get the sense that it'sbecause he didn't trust her,
but because the news was so hugethat he wanted to be sure that
he understood everything forhimself.
When it comes to us, sometimespeople tell us what they say
that God prompted them to tellus, and it's important then for
(09:22):
us to check what they sayagainst Scripture.
If someone comes to us and saysGod told me to tell you to do
thus and such, we should checktheir words against Scripture,
and if what they have to saycontradicts the explicit words
of Scripture, or what we knowabout the attributes and
character of God, we have goodreason to reject what they say.
(09:45):
But we should also be cautiousabout always rejecting out of
hand what people have to say tous because sometimes God does
send messages to us throughothers, and we shouldn't allow
our personal prejudices againstthe messenger to cause us to
dismiss the message.
In an example from my own life,when I was praying about
(10:06):
discerning my call to ministry,a number of people in my church
confirmed that they too believedI was called to ministry.
But during my years inseminary, I met with a lot of
opposition on various fronts.
Not a word from God exactly,but things like challenges in my
academics, physical exhaustionand sickness, and some
(10:26):
unexpected and difficultfinancial straits.
When I was home on school break,I commented to my church board
and pastor that theseoppositional challenges were
concerning to me because theydidn't seem random, but rather
somehow purposeful.
One of the elders commentedthat he thought God must have an
extraordinary ministry in placefor me because, in his view,
(10:49):
the hindrances I wasexperiencing were signs that the
Enemy was working feverishly tokeep me from fulfilling God's
call.
I responded that I was equallyconcerned that God was
discouraging me from continuingand that perhaps I was mistaken
in my call.
It was only after more study anddiscernment with friends and
(11:10):
the scripture that we came tothe conclusion that if the
opposition was from the Enemy,then it made sense that I should
persevere.
And if instead the hindranceswere from God, they were more
likely to be tests of mywillingness to continue to obey
in the face of the anticipatedchallenges of ministry, and in
(11:31):
that case, perseverance wasagain the way f orward.
There is a lot of benefit inseeking many counselors, as the
book of Proverbs says, when weread that where there is no
guidance people fail, but in anabundance of counselors they
succeed.
That's Proverbs 11:14. And italso says that in the abundance
(11:53):
of counselors there is victory,and that plans are established
by wise guidance.
That's Proverbs 20:18.
Manoah and his wife areordinary people chosen by God to
bring an extraordinary childinto the world who would be
instrumental in rescuing Israelfrom their enemies.
(12:14):
Are there things that God isdoing in your life that make you
aware that God wants you to dosomething extraordinary through
you?
If you are part of a Christianchurch or have a group of close
Christian friends, share withthem and seek their guidance and
pray for one another that youreyes will be open to see what
God is doing around you and thatyour ears will be ready to hear
(12:37):
his message for you.
And now we've come up on ourbreak with a lot to think about.
Most of us are leading prettyordinary lives.
And if you are a young motherwhose world is small and you are
caught up at home in the livesof babies and toddlers, or if
like me your nest is empty andyour world has shrunk to your
(12:59):
home, a few friends, and yourchurch, it can be easy to
believe that God is carrying outhis plans through other people,
and it's harder to believe thatGod is not finished with the
plans for your life.
Psalm 139:16 has the psalmistaddressing God, saying, "Your
eyes saw my unformed substance.
(13:21):
In your book all the days of mylife were written before one of
them came to be."Like Samson, God indeed had
plans for us before we wereborn, and none of us will die
one day before God has decreed,because those plans will require
our lifetimes.
And it may be, like Manoah andhis wife, those plans include
(13:45):
being in charge of the healthand well-being of children put
in our care, who will carry outGod's plans through them after
us.
ANNOUNCER (13:58):
All of the materials and information presented in
this podcast are sourced fromthe four decades of information
and resources created byPresbyterians Protecting Life
and accessible to you at itswebsite.
PPL is compelled by the gospelto equip reformed Christians of
all denominations to championhuman life from fertilization to
natural death.
Train yourself and others tobecome a lifeline for women and
(14:21):
children and join us as a lifesupport prayer partner at
PPL.org.
HOST (14:32):
This week 35 Baby Chris Devotional is titled Sink or
Swim.
Hear the word of the Lord.
"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways. For as teh heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9. Thanksbe to G od.
(14:57):
At thirty-five weeks, BabyChris's mouth is practicing
sucking movements to be ready toeat once born.
His pupils now dilate when thesun or bright light filter into
the uterus.
The primary focus of hisdevelopment is now fat
accumulation.
His lungs are currently filledwith fluid, which will be
(15:18):
eliminated when he takes hisfirst breath.
There are a few things we knowabout human beings and water.
They either sink or swim.
Fat helps people float, and iflungs are filled with water,
humans drown and die.
Fat is less dense than water,so people who have more fat are
(15:39):
more likely to float on thewater with little effort, while
a leaner, more muscular personwill probably have to make more
of an effort to float because ofnegative buoyancy.
When a swimmer's lungs are fullof air, they act like balloons
to aid buoyancy.
But if the swimmer exhales, hewill begin to sink and possibly
(15:59):
drown, dying by suffocation froma lack of air caused by fluid
in the lungs, usually water.
But in the indoor pool of thewomb, things are quite literally
inside out.
Even though a baby's lungs arefull of amniotic fluid, the baby
doesn't drown because oxygen isbeing delivered from the
(16:19):
placenta versus via theumbilical cord.
This week we have a human beingsubmerged in fluid, but who
doesn't need to float inside thewomb, effortlessly lying on the
fat that will help him float inwater outside the womb, and
whose lungs are filled withfluid but who isn't drowning.
(16:40):
This is a paradox, a seeminglyself-contradictory set of facts
or circumstances that are alltrue at the same time.
Or a seeminglyself-contradictory declaration
that is in fact true.
Scripture contains the verythoughts of God whose thoughts
have lots of paradoxes.
(17:01):
Believers are strongest whenthey are weak.
We receive the most when wegive the most.
We are the most free throughservitude.
We gain through losing.
The first must be last.
God exalts the humble andhumbles the exalted.
We gain life through dying, andfind through losing.
(17:26):
James says that we should countit all joy when we fall into
various trials.
It was a paradox when Jesusspoke God's peace to his
disciples, despite theirreasonable expectation that the
strong storm would swamp thesmall boat and the impossible
idea that any man could controlthe weather with a word.
(17:48):
It was a paradox when Paul wasconfident enough to prepare a
meal to strengthen the flaggingcrew, even though their
impending shipwreck was acertainty.
None of these truths orexperiences make sense to the
natural mind of one living inthe natural world.
But all of these truths comefrom the mind of God and are the
(18:08):
guides for the daily lives ofbelievers who desire to live in
Christ.
The most precious paradox of allis that God gave his only Son
to die so that we might live,that our faith in God is itself
a gift from God, and that wewill be found faithful and
blameless at the coming ofChrist because He is blameless
(18:31):
and faithful, and He will surelydo it.
Following the example of BabyChris, we only need to rest,
float, and breathe, regardlessof the trial, until we are
delivered.
Hear the word of the Lord (18:47):
"Oh the depth of the riches and
wisdom and knowledge of God, howunsearchable are his judgments,
and how unfathomable hisways!" Romans 11:33. Thanks be
to God!
ANNOUNCER (19:09):
We hope you enjoyed this week's reflection.
We encourage you to share itand join us next time on Pro
Life Kitchen Table.
May God bless you.
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