«For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body» (Romans 8:22, 23).
PAUL SAYS that creation groans with labor pains, and we and the Spirit also groan. Pain during labor is caused by the contractions of muscles and pressure on the cervix. It can also be felt in the abdomen and the back. The feeling of pain can vary from woman to woman, but labor pain is considered, among others, one of the most painful, just like migraines, sinusitis, herpes zoster, kidney stones, toothaches, trigeminal neuralgia, and burns. In the case of the pain caused by labor, the joy of a new life overcomes the suffering and by far compensates it.
We live in a time of generalized discomfort. The whole creation, us included, cries out and wait for an intervention. Ellen G. White describes this clearly in these three passages.
«Storms rage with destructive violence. Harm comes to man and beast and property. Because men continue to transgress God’s law, He removes their defense. Famine, calamity by sea, and the pestilence that walketh at noonday, follow because men have forgotten their Creator. Sin, the blight of sin, defaces and mars our world, and agonized creation groans under the iniquity of the inhabitants thereof» (Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, p. 308).
«Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade» (Desire ofAges, p. 636).
«Satan sees that his time is short. He has set all his agencies at work that men may be deceived, deluded, occupied and entranced, until the day of probation shall be ended, and the door of mercy be forever shut» (ibid.).
Meanwhile, the Spirit uses everything in its power to help us understand the times in which we live and act with faithfulness, so that the labor pains will end andwe can see the birth of eternal life.
When «the whole creation groans» as one, the heart of the Father groans because He identifies with us. In order to destroy sin and its consequences,
He gave His beloved Son and allows us, through cooperation with Him, to end this miserable situation.