Romans 8:22

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”

There’s no denying it, childbirth is a painful process. It is used as an analogy several times in the Scriptures, often to refer to the end times (see for example, Matt. 24:8, Mark 13:8, Mic. 5:3). As wars, famines, and so forth increase, we are told ‘these are the beginnings of birth pangs’. These events will increase in frequency and intensity, until the moment of delivery. And what is being born, if these are the birth pains? Through the final judgement, God will bring about the re-creation of the world, the glorification of believers, and the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom.
Consider how creation groans. Wild weather, extremes of climate; earthquakes and other natural disasters. None of these were part of God’s original plan for the world. Sometimes we wonder how much longer the world can endure.
Jesus told His disciples, “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:21-22). Now we, and all creation, have grief because of the pain; but when Jesus returns, the Kingdom will be ushered in and we will have great joy.