The Ninth Month!

For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

1 Thessalonians 5:2-3

It was a beautiful late spring day. Summer was just around the corner and it promised to be a wonderful, warm Ohio season. I was walking through the kitchen when the phone rang and in an instant, without warning our world changed forever! There had been a wreck and our daughter was in the hospital. Less than six hours later she would leave this world while on the operating table and our lives would never be the same.

That was June 15, 1992 but I remember the details of that day better than any day last week!

The Bible says that the return of Jesus will come suddenly and without warning. Actually, it says His return will be like a pregnant woman going into labor. Everyone knows that a pregnant woman will go into labor, but no one knows exactly when. If you know anything about the Bible you know that it seems the world itself is pregnant for the return of Jesus! The signs of His coming are all around and grow stronger every day. But there has yet been no trumpet sounding and no shout of His return.

In the ninth month of a pregnancy you still may not be able to predict the day or hour of the birth, but you can be sure that it will be soon! Even so the return of Jesus may be in the “Ninth Month,” but no one can know exactly when He will come with all His holy ones!

The ninth month of a pregnancy may indeed be the hardest. The longing for the child to be born grows daily, if not moment by moment. The anticipation increases as you see the joy that will come. All that is left is the brief time of suffering before the glorious moment when the new baby bursts on the scene.

The “Ninth Month” in waiting for Jesus may also be the hardest. The longing for His return grows daily as the world around you spirals into meaningless futility. But the anticipation increases moment by moment as you see the joy that is to come. All that is left is the brief time of suffering before the Glorious instant when Jesus Christ bursts on the scene!