Years ago, Victoria was in the final stages of pregnancy with our first child, standing in a crowded office building elevator when her water broke and poured out on the floor. She was embarrassed and tried to step back, but the other people on the elevator didn't get upset. They realized the water breaking was part of the process, the sign she was about to give birth.
In a similar way, when the water breaks in your life and you face an unexpected difficulty—a sudden illness, being laid off from your job, a break in a relationship—it's easy to get discouraged and think it's never going to get better. Have a new perspective: the water breaking is a sign you're about to give birth. God is about to do something new. Without the water breaking, you would get stuck. You wouldn't see the fullness of what He has in store.
That's what happened to us here in Houston. Hurricane Harvey came, and our water broke. There was a flood. Looking at all the damage, you can get discouraged, thinking, "It ruined my house and flooded my car. I can't get to work. My neighborhood is messed up." What you have to remember is the water breaking means a birth is coming. The trauma indicates transition is on the way. God is birthing you into something greater. Your home may have flooded, but you're going to give birth to a new home, an improved home, a remodeled home. He's about to transition you into another level. He has new things He wants to birth not just through you but in you. If you keep the right attitude, you'll develop a greater strength, a greater determination, a greater faith.
What's interesting is that Victoria didn't choose when or where her water broke. You can't choose when or where the flood comes—the difficulty, the opposition, the loss. You don't get to decide when you're going to give birth. That's in God's hands. We may not understand it, but God knows what He's doing. He said His plans for us are for good to give us a bright future. That doesn't mean bad things won't happen along the way, but God knows how to use it for good. He wouldn't have allowed it if it wasn't going to work to our advantage.
The apostle Paul said, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17). What you're going through is temporary, but what you give birth to will bless you for a lifetime. If you could see where God is going to take you—the favor, the influence, the abundance, the health, the friends—you would realize there is a purpose for every challenge. Most of the time we see the challenge, but the purpose is hidden. That's when you have to say, "God, I don't see what You're doing. This doesn't make sense to me, but I trust You. I know Your ways are better than my ways. God, my life is in Your hands."