On the evening of November 29, 2000, I was 15 years old and around 37 weeks pregnant, and the labor pains began. It started as low back pain, easing it’s way around my sides & to the front of my pregnant belly. And it HURT. My momma, who was the definition of unconditional love, monitored & timed my pains, & when it seemed like they were close enough together, she took me to the hospital. But after a couple hours, they told me I wasn’t dilating very fast & sent me home. This was about to be a long, slow labor.

My sweet momma took me home, & did everything she could to help me speed up those labor pains. She thought of all the old wives tales for how to speed it up; we were driving down country roads hitting every bump & walking around Wal Mart in the middle of the night. Eventually we went home & I tried to rest as those long, drawn out pains continued to strengthen & grow closer together. I spent the next couple of days resting & going for walks.

In the evening on December 1st, I finally went back to the hospital, as the contractions were finally strong enough & close enough together to be admitted. They had to break my water for me, & then the contractions got really intense & I wanted an epidural ASAP! Now, before they can give you an epidural, they have to sanitize your skin with a povidone iodine solution. And that stuff is COLD, & it was a COLD winter in Southern Illinois, & I was in PAIN. There I was, hunched over the side of the bed, having painful contractions, cold, & shivering- which seemed to make the pain that much worse. It was the most horrible feeling & I just wanted it to be over.

Once the epidural was done, it worked like a dream, & I was able to rest until it came time to give birth. Around 2:15am on December 2nd, my first son, Christian Jacob was born. He was beautiful & perfect & suddenly none of the pain I had suffered over the past three days mattered, the circumstances under which I became pregnant didn’t matter, my age didn’t matter. All that mattered, was this beautiful, perfect baby boy in my arms.

I share my first birth story to say this- the most beautiful, precious things in life most often come after experiencing the worst pains of life.

2020 has been A YEAR. From the coronavirus, to a media fueled race war, to wildfires & the seemingly unnatural number of tropical storms & hurricanes… 2020 was an infamous year before it was halfway over, & there’s still just shy of three months left. But as I paid close attention to a couple of prophecies from Kent Christmas (link to his Regeneration Church website shared below) & spent time in prayer, the Holy Spirit recently gave me a WORD about 2020:

2020 is the BIRTH PAINS of the beautiful thing God is about to do on the earth!!

We’ve been told all our lives, “Jesus is coming back.” Our parents & grandparents, & every generation since Jesus ascended to sit at God’s right hand, were told their whole lives, “Jesus is coming back.” After over 2,000 years, many in the world are deceived into thinking that if it hasn’t happened by now, it’s not going to. But have y’all REALLY paid attention to what’s happening right now?

If you’ve ever studied the book of Revelation or Mark 13, or any amount of Bible prophecy, you are probably aware of what the current world events are leading up to for us today. It’s becoming more & more clear, that we will see the rapture in our lifetime, & I don’t know about you, but I don’t just want to see it, I want to be in it. Let’s take a look at what Jesus tells us in Mark 13. If you have time, I urge you to read the chapter in full, but for time’s sake, we’ll look at some key verses here:

”And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains. ‘ Mark 13:7-8 ESV

‘And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations…. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. …For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. ‘ Mark 13:10,13,19 ESV

‘So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. …lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”’ Mark 13:29,36-37 ESV

Do you see what Jesus was speaking of here? We are living in the times of the birth pains! But there is still a harvest yet to be gathered. The rapture cannot take place, until the Good News of the gospel has reached every corner of the earth- & with the Bible currently being translated into written language in the remote areas of the world where until now they’ve had no written language, we are closer than ever.

‘And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” ‘ Revelation 14:15 ESV

‘He was saying to them, “The harvest is abundant [for there are many who need to hear the good news about salvation], but the workers [those available to proclaim the message of salvation] are few. Therefore, [prayerfully] ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest. ‘ Luke 10:2 AMP

These are the beginning birth pains. As world events play out, moving things into place for prophecy to be fulfilled, do not be alarmed or disheartened, we were warned that these things must take place. Rest assured, a revival like never seen before is about to break out. The earth is ripe with souls seeking peace, seeking purpose, seeking an answer that will only be found in Jesus. God is raising up the Armies of Heaven; there is about to be an unprecedented outpouring of the Holy Spirit around the world, because it is not His will that any should perish, & there is not one soul too far gone that He cannot save (2 Peter 3:9). Now is the time to not only pray for the laborers, but to be laborers, & what a privilege we have, that we have been chosen for such a time as this, to be a part of what God is doing in the earth today.

Links to Regeneration Nashville website where prophecy videos can be found, & some websites where you can find End Times teaching & updates:

Regeneration Nashville (Pastor Kent Christmas): https://www.regenerationnashville.org/

Joseph Morris Ministries weekly End of Days updates: http://edu.josephmorris.com/tag/end-of-days-update/

Endtime Ministries, another great resource for End Times teaching: https://www.endtime.com/

-Walking by Faith & Finding the End Time Blessings, Gerri