When I lived apart from God, I lived in the world and became like the world. I followed the masses and did what I thought was right in my own eyes then. During those years I was lost. I lived promiscuously with my heart and my actions. Now however, I live a completely different life.
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think... Romans 12:2 NLT
In the days following the night I surrendered my life to God, many things began to happen and I knew God was at work. The process of changing my hard heart was just beginning. One topic I did not want to confront was my opinion on abortion. In my old life I had been pro-choice. I had thought that if I ever found myself faced with that decision that I would want a way out. I had wanted the freedom to live as I chose. But I didn’t live that lifestyle anymore and as a new Christian I felt a little lost. I just wanted to avoid the topic all together.
I remember listening to a Christian podcast called Focus on the Family and I would skip over their pro-life episodes. One day I was listening to their podcast while I was cleaning the spare bedroom in my home. The current message I was listening to ended and the next episode just began to play. It was about the topic of abortion. I was too busy with what I was doing so I let it continue to play.
It was a hard topic to listen to because I had to accept that abortion was a difficult and real issue and that those little lives lost every day mattered. And they matter to God. That human life matters even when it can’t be seen. That God knows us even before our mother holds us for the first time.
They also mentioned forgiveness on the Focus on the Family podcast. That there’s redemption for women who have had abortions. I didn’t find myself at this crossroads in my old life, but I know I could have very easily made the wrong decision then. Abortions have been done for thousands of years, dating back to ancient Egypt and I am certain before even then. This is not a new issue. It is an very old one. An ancient one.
The work of the Enemy runs deep on this issue and he knows no bounds. He uses everything he can. Fear. Guilt. Shame. Pride. He helps to lead women to make the wrong choice every day. Lies that there is no hope for them or their baby. That a child is too great a burden. And after it’s done that there is no redemption, no forgiveness for such an act. That shame outweighs the gift of life. What a lie. The Enemy hates life. The child’s and the mother’s. The attack is on both.
God is invested in every person’s life. God is involved at conception. No one is ever conceived by mistake. Life is not begun by accident. People make mistakes, but God does not. Pregnancies are unplanned by people. They are all planned by God.
God decides to work through human actions whether they are done for good or for evil. Pregnancy is one great example. A situation which requires human action as well as God’s action. A married couple goes years without having a child. Somewhere else, a one night stand results in a pregnancy. In another place, a woman is raped and becomes pregnant. God can use even the most vile circumstances for good. No one can know God’s plans for each person. But it’s God who creates life. The One who creates life out of dust. And who gives life it’s worth. Where God creates life, He makes a way for it. Always.
David was not wrong when he wrote and when he sang the words…
You watched me as I was being formed in
utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the
womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your
book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
Psalm 139:15-16 NLT
