“When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.’” – Judges 6:12, NIV
The war between life and death rages. The battle is not just physical – it’s also spiritual. Christians around the world engage in the fight daily, especially those in the pregnancy help and pro-life movements.
During Heartbeat International’s Annual Conference, held April 25 – 26, 2024 in Salt Lake City, words rose from podiums and stages encouraging those embroiled in those life battles to remain strong. Defending life for unborn children, life for women and men, life for human families, for communities, and yes, for nations, too, has become more difficult. We may have thought the overturn of Roe v. Wade in the United States was the ultimate victory, and although it was a significant victory, that Supreme Court decision did not end the fighting.
Physical attacks on pregnancy centers and other pro-life organizations by vandals and arsonists, verbal attacks against pro-lifers, and altercations and arrests targeting pro-life individuals in the name of the FACE Act escalated … and remain two years later, a major concern for freedom of speech, assembly, and religion.
Chemical abortion now accounts for upwards 80 percent of abortions according to some estimates, with the availability of this method via internet, over the phone, by mail, and through pharmacies being nothing short of alarming. No longer is a woman required to see a physician, and therefore, she receives no medical care before, during, or after taking the two-pill regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol.
Although some proponents of abortion, especially the abortion pill, claim the process to be like taking Tylenol, the effects of the drugs wreak havoc on a woman’s body as the unborn child is expelled, and the emotional and physical after-effects can be devastating. Taking Tylenol doesn’t cause physical and mental harm to a person. Knowing hundreds of thousands of women are engaging in chemical and surgical abortions, whether coerced or of their own choosing, makes our hearts break and our souls ache.
Despite the Roe v. Wade victory, we can grow weary and despondent because the battle for life continues with what seems greater intensity.
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“Our work is far from done,” said David Bereit, keynote opener of the April conference, pro-life speaker and 40 Days for Life founder.
The U.S. Supreme Court did not ban abortion in their 2022 decision, he reminded the audience, therefore, the fight continues in all 50 states … and around the world. Each pregnancy center has an opportunity to help women embrace the truth about unborn children and abortion, but we can grow battle-weary.
Yet, we are also light bearers.
“When you are sure and clear about what abortion is, it will make you extremely driven to reach the abortion-determined client because you know how devastating that choice is,” Ginna Cross told a Heartbeat Conference workshop audience. “We want that chance to make an appeal for that life, and for her life. These are divine appointments.”
Gideon had a divine appointment. The Old Testament hero of faith encountered an angel of the LORD, who encouraged Gideon with these words: “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” (Judges 6:12, NIV). Gideon, like us most times, didn’t see himself as mighty or a warrior, let alone both. He saw himself “unfit for God’s service,” and he responds to the angel’s greeting by saying, “My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family” (Judges 6:15, NIV). Yet God sees us differently, just as He saw Gideon differently.
Like the hundreds of thousands who gathered to fight against Israel in Gideon’s day, abortion supporters and those making money from abortion, swarm against pro-life organizations and people – and like Gideon and others who followed the LORD, we can feel inundated by the Enemy and his armies … and we feel hopeless at times.
However, like Gideon and the army he gathered, we are reminded God is with us, and ultimately, this is HIS fight.
The Lord says in Deuteronomy 32: 35, 39, & 41, “Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them. Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; I will render vengeance to My enemies, And repay those who hate Me.”
God’s power and provision also surround us, and we need to focus on those, and upon HIM, not big abortion and big pharma, not even the governments (federal, state, or local) that promote abortion.
Tweet This: As lightbearers, pregnancy centers have an opportunity to help women embrace the truth about unborn children and abortion.
Jeremiah 10:10, 12, & 13 tell us, “But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earthquakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.” (ESV)
Christian singer/songwriter Phil Wickham reminds us, “The battle belongs to the Lord!” and Chris Tomlin, in his song Our God, says, “Our God is greater, our God is stronger, our God is higher than any other.” Let us focus on those truths, for as the Apostle John states in 1 John 4:4, “… the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” Tomlin’s song continues, “And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?” nearly a direct quote from the Bible passage that says, “… If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31, NIV).
Like Gideon, we are mighty warriors. We are able because our God is able, able to do exceedingly more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20) and because we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). Therefore, let us not stay downhearted – instead, may we allow the strength, love, and power of Christ and our Heavenly Father carry us forward.
Like Gideon, who took just 300 men into battle against enemies of the Hebrew people, may we listen and look to God for the ultimate and everlasting victory. May we also heed the encouragement of David Bereit during this year’s conference to “Never ever, ever give up!”
“There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might.” – Jeremiah 10:6
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages Pregnancy Help News.
