Pregnancy Center Director Reflects on a Beautiful Calling

Thomas Glessner in Townhall: “NIFLA v. Becerra: One Year Later, Still the Most Significant Abortion SCOTUS Case in Decades”
July 16, 2019
Pregnancy Centers are the Connection Between Mothers Facing Unwanted Pregnancy and Millions Waiting to Adopt
October 2, 2019

Blessed be the Name of the Lord! God’s Word is filled with treasures and I recently just found one of those as I read Proverbs 24.

If you faint in the day of adversity
your strength is small.
11 Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man according to his work?

As I read it, I took notice of a few things that I believe go hand in hand with the work we do in pregnancy centers. I want you to be encouraged by these words because it reminds us of the importance of the work we do and that it comes from Above.

Verse 10 calls us to be courageous, to be brave! This is our word for the year at the pregnancy center where I work. Proverbs tells us that difficult times are going to come – the day of adversity – and we are reminded that if we faint, we are lacking faith of sorts. We need to stand strong in the day of adversity because it shows our trust in God. We need to be brave despite the adversity.

Those of us in the pregnancy center world see adversity often in the lives of our clients and in the challenges we face from those who oppose our view of life and our methods. But God calls us to be courageous, to “not faint,” because our strength should be drawn from Him and not ourselves.

Verse 11 calls us to do what we do! “RESCUE those who are being taken away to death…” When I read this I saw the clear picture of the children who are being taken away to death – the children yet to be born. We are called to rescue them because they are literally being taken away to death through abortion.

When I read the next section – “hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter” – I definitely envisioned the mothers. The verse says “rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.” Wow!

I thought of all the abortion minded women that are “stumbling” to the slaughter. They “end up” in that place, the slaughter of the abortion clinic, and some of them have no idea what is going to hit them eventually. They go there for one thing, and they get it. They are not pregnant anymore, but they have no idea how this event will be part of them for the rest of their lives; how there’s a sort of death that happens to them too.

Those of us in the pregnancy centers do our best to awaken them from the walk they are taking. We are doing what we can to “hold back” these individuals headed to the slaughter. We are loving them, telling them the truth, and providing practical help to keep them from making it to the slaughter. We have a huge, beautiful call from GOD.

And then there is verse 12, a warning. God has told us to do these things and there are consequences if we don’t obey. He knows our heart. God’s people can’t pretend these unjust things are not happening. We will be held accountable.

So, beloved, I am thankful for all of you who have obeyed His call to rescue and hold back those that are entering death. I am thankful for the brothers and sisters in the pregnancy center movement.

Remember this – our daily walk and relationship with Jesus is vital. We deal with life vs death issues, with light vs darkness, with good vs evil. We can’t do this work without the power of the Holy Spirit. I encourage you to spend time in prayer, to confess your sins even if it is that you haven’t been spending time seeking God, and to submit to a daily walk with Him.

Be brave, my friend, be brave!

This original blog post was written by Ruth Tisdale.

Ruth stands with her banner, facing a Planned Parenthood building.

Ruth is the executive director of Advice & Aid Pregnancy Centers.