I have to warn you that this will be long. Yesterday I came across an article regarding infertility and I want to share some comments on it. I disagree with almost everything this article says, but I want to post the entirity of the article so you can view the context of my comments. I have read articles and have been decieved by theology like this in the past, so I want you to have some foundation for these types of philosophies. Here is the article: (I have broken it into paragraphs for easier reading)... Why Is There So Much Infertility Among Christians Who Are Supposed To Be Gods Children? By: Veronica Anusionwu |
During my years of writing on infertility and miscarriage I have discovered that infertility affects as many Christians as non Christians. I also discovered that most Christians had excuses as to why they were infertile, statements like, “God is using it to make us love him better”, “serve him better”, “teach us a lesson”, “does not hear my prayer”, were common statements made by God’s people. Today under the clear leadership of the Holy Spirit I have decided to answer this question from the bible. The first statement I am going to make is this: infertility among Christians can be attributed to one reason and one reason alone and that is not knowing God’s will and purpose for your life. God himself said this in Hosea 4:6 “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” God did not attribute destruction of our lives and lack to the devil or infertility, he attributed it to lack of knowledge. When we lack knowledge of the will and purpose of God for our lives, then the consequences are great. From the day God created man on the face of the earth, His will and purpose was made clear: “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it.” Genesis 1:28. When God took His people out of the land of Egypt, God again told them: “I love you and I will bless you and increase your numbers. I will bless the fruit of your womb. You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless.” Deuteronomy 7: 13-14. In Deuteronomy 28:4 God again confirms His blessing on His people: “the fruit of your womb will be blessed.” Here we see God’s desire and will for His people, the Christians and those who choose to believe in Christ Jesus, God himself meets all their needs and supplies all their demands. Everything related to a Christian is to bear a mark of prosperity and success. God again speaks in Malachi 2:5,“My covenant with him was a covenant of life and peace” That promise is for every Christian. God's covenant with His people is one of life, not death, one of fruitfulness not barrenness for any man or woman who believes in Him and chooses to trust his word. There is no way whatsoever that a Christian who believes these promises from God’s Word can remain sick or infertile, because God’s Word cannot fail. If God said, “none of those who serve him will be barren,” then that’s exactly what it means, none means none to God. In Christ Jesus, God’s promise to all Christians is fruitfulness, children, for the Bible says: “if a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.” (John 15: 5) As long as you belong to Christ, God’s promise to you is to bless you with your own children. Glory be to God, his Word is true and can never fail those who put their trust in it. God created man to multiply and increase and subdue the earth. God gave man the power to have control over every situation in the earth. Man is created to use the power of God’s Word spoken from his mouth to change whatever situation he does not like in his life. The power of God is residing within you as a child of God. this is because God has anointed you with His Holy Spirit. When you speak faith filled words those words will surely change your life and destiny, because Gods word creates. Please child of God do not say any more that God has denied you children for any reason whatsoever. The bible says God is faithful to all his promises and cannot go back on his word. For God says in Psalm 127:3-5, “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate”. I agree with you that almighty God will open your heart to see his word for what it is and to believe it in Jesus name. Amen. **Veronica Anusionwu has devoted a portion of her life to bringing spiritual solutions from the bible to help many people. She is the author of "Woman You Are Not Infertile" a book that has helped many women overcome infertility. Her book "Who Said You Are Too Old To Conceive" covers all area of (Childbirth for the older woman). |
My comments and disagreements:I have quoted the author with red writing to clarity what are her statements.... "Infertility among Christians can be attributed to one reason and one reason alone and that is not knowing God’s will and purpose for your life." This is simply not true. Many infertile Christians have a distinct purpose in life. I have been fulfilling my purpose for the 8 years that I have been TTC. Infertility can be caused for numerous reasons including (but not limited to) health problems, reproduction problems, timing, etc. It is wise to remember what Jesus said about why the blind man was born blind. It was not because of his sin or the sin of his parents that he was born blind (John 9). In that passage, Jesus says, "This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his [the blind man's] life." God uses trials in our life to draw us closer to Him or to display His glory in some way. In my mind, being infertile could be a reproduction/health issue and have nothing to do with whether I am fulfilling God's purpose. Perhaps God could say this about my infertility - "This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in MeLissa's life." If your sister had breast cancer, would you tell her that she does not know God's will and purpose for her life? That would be so strange. Having cancer is a medical problem and God allows us to have medical problems, which in turn strengthen us, help us learn to trust Him, etc. I would never connect having cancer with not knowing God's purpose for my life. Would you? Is it possible that it is God's will for me to be infertile? "Everything related to a Christian is to bear a mark of prosperity and success." I disagree. This statement has been used for years and is incredibly discouraging to new Christians who expect Christianity to be all roses and filled with no problems or trials. So many people have given up on God once they find that their lives aren't instantly filled with prosperity and success. I believe that God allows bad things to come into our lives due to our bad decisions, tests, and because He wants us to learn things. Consider Job. He was a man who was blameless and upright. His life was not marked with prosperity and success, but instead God allowed hardship into his life! The author of this article is using a theology called Word of Faith movement (health and wealth gospel). It is not biblical. This "gospel" teaches that once a Christian acquires the ability to "manipulate" God, they can acquire health and wealth -- prosperity and success in all areas of their life. I firmly believe in God's sovereignty, and we cannot control or make decisions for Him. God's covenant with His people is one of life, not death, one of fruitfulness not barrenness for any man or woman who believes in Him and chooses to trust his word. There is no way whatsoever that a Christian who believes these promises from God’s Word can remain sick or infertile, because God’s Word cannot fail. This author is saying that every person who is sick or infertile is not believing in Jesus an is not trusting His Word. If that were the case, how could God let anyone die? She is saying that all Christians who are fulfilling God's purpose for their lives should never remain sick, should never get cancer, should never be infertile. Wow, that is incorrect! God doesn't always choose to heal people. Consider the righteous people, even recently who have suffered from illness -- Bill Bright, Billy Graham, Paul even suffered with a problem (probably physical). He asked God to remove his problem. God's reply was, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). If God said, “none of those who serve him will be barren,” then that’s exactly what it means, none means none to God. God never said that "none of those who serve Him will be barren." This is not in the Bible. The author throws in numerous passages where God is promising to make women fertile. In these passages (each of them), God is directly talking to a distinct group of people, mainly the Israelites. God was giving them a promise to increase their number and to bless them with fertility. For example, one verse the author used is found in Deuteronomy 28: "If you fully obey the LORD your God by keeping all the commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God will exalt you above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the LORD your God: You will be blessed in your towns and in the country. You will be blessed with many children and productive fields. You will be blessed with fertile herds and flocks. You will be blessed with baskets overflowing with fruit, and with kneading bowls filled with bread. You will be blessed wherever you go, both in coming and in going." In this passage, God is laying out a covenant with Israel. They obey Him and He will bless them in those ways. This is not a promise to all women of all time. It is a covenant between those people and God. Most of the promises in the Old Testament were given to specific people. The author of the article conveniently forgot to mention something every important. The second half of Hebrews 11 is devoted to those who did not receive promises on earth, but they trusted God anyway. They are given to us as examples of faith, not given as examples of those who failed. In Christ Jesus, God’s promise to all Christians is fruitfulness, children, for the Bible says: “if a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5) As long as you belong to Christ, God’s promise to you is to bless you with your own children. I have to admit that this really surprised me. I have never seen this verse taken out of context to this degree before! The verse has nothing to do with having children. The word "fruit" in the Greek here is the same word used for Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians. When we become believers in Jesus and submit our lives to Him, we begin to bear fruit. This fruit is often love (15:12) and the other characteristics given as fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The "fruit" we have becomes a sign of our spiritual life. It is the evidence by which others know we belong to God's vineyard. We are attached to Him (His vine)! When you speak faith filled words those words will surely change your life and destiny, because Gods word creates. I decided to draw out this quote because it is false. "Faith-filled words" is a term used by those who subscribe to the health and wealth gospel I spoke of earlier. They believe that when we use words, they can either be used by God or Satan. For example, if I say out loud, "Wow, I feel like I might be catching a cold..." that opens the door for Satan to actually give me a cold. If I say out loud, "Wow, I claim that SUV over there" then God is obligated to get it for me if I have enough faith. It is just a strange concept and one that may people believe. It is entirely false! In Genesis 18, Abraham's wife (Sarah) actually laughed when God told Abraham that Sarah would get pregnant. It was not Sarah's faith that made her pregnant, was it? She laughed! God worked in spite of Sarah's lack of faith! The bible says God is faithful to all his promises and cannot go back on his word. For God says in Psalm 127:3-5, “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate”. I agree with you that almighty God will open your heart to see his word for what it is and to believe it in Jesus name. Amen. Yes, I too believe that God is faithful to all His promises. He will never go back on His Word. He made many of those promises to Israel and He has faithfully kept them. Those accounts are packed throughout the Bible and are easily seen. It is important to remember the women of the Bible who struggled with infertility. Zechariah and Elizabeth (parents of John the Baptist) were "upright in the sight of God. But they had no children because Elizabeth was barren." God said they were upright! He didn't say they were full of sin or not fulfilling His purpose in their lives. God kept Elizabeth infertile until the exact time when He wanted her to conceive John the Baptist! I also think it is interesting that Elizabeth says, "'The Lord has done this for me,' she said. 'In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.'" Isn't it interesting that she doesn't say, "taken away my disgrace among God"? God did not consider her disgraceful! He was just fulfilling His perfect timing in her life. My Concluding Thoughts -- I am infertile. I have been aware of my infertility for 8 years. Has God deserted me? Never! Has God turned His back on me or let me down? Never! Do I trust His Word, His plan, His sovereignty? Absolutely. God has never promised me children, but He has said that they are a gift from Him (Matt 7:9-11, James 1:17). I trust Him to know what is best for me. He knows all and knows the best timing. I want my human desires to align with His will and I know He will direct my way when I trust in Him (Prov 3:5-6). In our journeys, I believe that God brings us to a place where we are able to say, "God, if it is not in your plan for me to have children, I'm ok with that." That is one of the hardest things to say, but it is a statement of trust on our part. If that is His will, His grace will be sufficient for me. Thoughts? | 
