How should a Christian deal with infertility?

Answer

The issue of infertility can be quite challenging, especially for couples who have eagerly anticipated having children. Christian couples may find themselves questioning, “Why us, Lord?” Surely, God desires to bless Christians with children to care for and raise. For physically healthy couples, one of the most heart-wrenching aspects of infertility is the uncertainty of whether it is a temporary or permanent condition. If it is temporary, how long must they endure? If it is permanent, how can they determine that, and what should their next steps be?

The Bible illustrates temporary infertility in various stories:

God promised Abraham and Sarah a child, but she did not give birth to their son, Isaac, until she was 90 years old “But Sarai was barren; she had no child.”, (Genesis 11:30).

Isaac, Rebekah’s husband, prayed earnestly, and God answered, leading to the births of Jacob and Esau “And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife because she was barren, and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.”, (Genesis 25:21).

Rachel prayed, and eventually, God “opened her womb.” She gave birth to two sons, Joseph and Benjamin (Genesis 30:1;Genesis 35:18).

Manoah’s wife, who was initially infertile, later bore Samson “Now there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah, and his wife was barren and had borne no children.”, (Judges 13:2).

In her old age, Elizabeth gave birth to John the Baptist, the precursor of Christ “But they had no child because Elizabeth was barren, and theyBoth were now well advanced in years.” , (Luke 1:7,36) “And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.” , (Luke 1:7,36).

The barrenness of Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel (the mothers of the Israelite nation) is significant in that their ability to finally bear children was a sign of the grace and favor of God. However, infertile couples must not assume that God is withholding His grace and favor, nor should they assume they are being punished in some way. Christian couples must cling to the knowledge that their sins are forgiven in Christ and that the inability to have children is not a punishment from God.

So what is an infertile Christian couple to do? It is good to seek advice from gynecologists and other fertility specialists. Both men and women should live a healthy lifestyle to prepare for pregnancy. The mothers of the Israelite nation prayed fervently for conception, so continuing to pray for a child is certainly not out of line. Primarily, though, we are to pray for God’s will for our lives. If His will is for us to have a natural child, we will. If His will is that we adopt, foster-parent, or go childless, then that is what we should accept and commit to gladly doing. We know that God has a divine plan for each of His loved ones. God is the author of life. He allows conception and withholds conception. God is sovereign and possesses all wisdom and knowledge (see Romans 11:33-36). “Every good and perfect gift is from above…” “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” , Facebook Comments