Pastor John, how would you care for a young couple coming to terms with infertility and feelings of failure? What would you want them to know about God in light of his apparent withheld blessings? I would want them to know that God is sovereign, and that Satan does not have the upper hand here, and infertility does not have the upper hand here.

God always has the upper hand because he's God, and then I would want them to know that God is good. I just read yesterday Psalm 25, "Good and upright is the Lord," and then I'd want them to know that He's wise, infinitely wise, and His timing, His giving, and His withholding are all done in an infinite wisdom as He shapes and guides our lives for our ultimate good and for the glory of His name.

I'd want them to know that God can give life, and therefore I would pray with that couple. I would covenant with them. I would pray with them every day. I'd lay my hands on them, and I would ask God, "Give them life. Give them a child. Lord, whoever's infertile here, work a miracle, O God, if you would be pleased to do that." I would ask for it, and if God chose then not to do it, I would remind them, "No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly." That's probably one of the hardest verses for a mom or a dad to hear in that situation, "No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly," which means for whatever reason, this withholding right now is good.

God has something good. Seek the kingdom first, and all that you need will be added to you. If there's a thorn in your flesh, and this thorn might be infertility, ask, "God, what are you doing with this thorn?" He's going to answer, "My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness." So I would probably end by taking them, and I go to this text because I've talked with some women at Bethlehem who have found amazing comfort in this Isaiah 56, 3-5.

It goes like this, "Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from his people,' and let not the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree.'" So there's a person who can't sire children or bear children. "Behold, don't say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree.' For thus says the Lord, 'To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me, and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters.

I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.'" That's Isaiah 56, 3-5, which I know is hard to feel and hard to believe, but that's what faith is. Faith takes a verse like that, "Okay, you have withheld from me my desired son or daughter, and you're going to give me a monument and a name better than sons and daughters." That's simply amazing, and I think we ought to hold fast to it.

Jesus never had children, and Paul never had children, and I'm sure they looked at little children and thought, "Now that's a joy that I would love to have," and God withheld marriage and child-having from those two men, and gave them instead a monument and a name, both in this life and in the life to come, that is superior.

Thank you for that biblical reminder, Pastor John, and thank you for listening to this podcast. Email your Bible questions to us at askpastorjohn@desiringgod.org. You can find thousands of other free resources online from John Piper at desiringgod.org. I'm your host Tony Ranke, thanks for listening.