First Trimester Faith: What Early Pregnancy Can Teach Us About Trusting God

The first trimester of pregnancy can be a bit difficult - and not just because of morning sickness. Whether it's a total answer to prayer or a complete surprise, I find it hard to wrap my head around what's really happening. I mean one minute life is pretty normal. Then I take a test - just in case - and BAM.  Two lines.

What?

Wait, what?

Suddenly, everything is different. I eat differently, I'm avoiding medications and too-hot showers, and my mind is all over the place.

Do we need a bigger place? How will we make this work financially? Am I really up for this, God?  Is this even really happening? 

The truth is, the first trimester has taught me a lot about faith - especially the faith that's required when God is birthing something within you; when He reveals a calling, or places a dream in your heart.



Mary (the mother of Jesus) instantly comes to my mind when I think about this - possibly because she was experiencing the first trimester of pregnancy and a crazy walk of faith at the same time! After she is told that she will give birth, not just to a child - but to the Messiah, Luke 2:19 says, "but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often."

I think I would be thinking about it often too! She was a young teenager at the time and engaged.  What would her betrothed think of her? Would he ever believe that she was pregnant and that she was completely faithful to him? What would her family and community think of her? Of all the people in the world, why had God chosen her? What credentials could one possibly have to be qualified for such a calling? If I were in her shoes, I think I would have been pouring through the scriptures and striving to remember everything that was prophesied about my future son. 

Despite the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions that she must have been experiencing, Mary kept what God was birthing through her a secret for a little while.  Joseph, on the other hand, (not him, the other one with the coat) chose to tell his family alllllll about the dreams God had given him - which showed that he would one day rule over them all.  That didn't work out so well.  His brothers took it badly and they sold him into slavery. (Genesis 37).

 When we ponder a dream or a calling in our hearts, we have a chance to invite God into the situation and seek His guidance and confirmation.  We allow Him to take the reigns, not ourselves and not the opinions of others. 
For a personal example, God told me that I would marry Hubs months before he ever asked me out... but I didn't tell him that until we were already engaged. 

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PSA: 

If God tells you who you are going to marry - DON'T RUN AND TELL THEM. 

Handle that info like a Mary, not like a Joseph. 

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Eventually, of course, we bring trusted friends and family into the loop and ask them for prayer and advice. But, as with an early pregnancy, it is best to limit the information to those who love us and will speak godly wisdom into our lives. Why? They can help us process what God is birthing in us, encourage us, counsel us, and share in our excitement, even if the rest of the world is oblivious and can't yet see what God is doing in us.

In first-trimester faith, we may also fear to dream or hope along with God.
What if this somehow falls through? What if I'm not up to the task? What if I make a mistake and fail miserably? What about all the labor involved? What if I never feel a connection to what God is birthing through me?

As with pregnancy, we have to remember that despite the doubts, fears, miscellaneous aches and pains, and the lack of outward evidence - God is doing something new in and through us. He is birthing something (or someone!) for His glory. Though it can be a tedious and sometimes overwhelming process, it is beautiful, and it is worth every single moment.