Tuesday, December 9, 2014
The gospel writer Luke uses the story of Elizabeth and
Zechariah, parents of John the Baptist, to set the stage for the birth of
Jesus. This couple had lived a long and happy life together seemingly content
even though they didn’t have the child they longed for. Elizabeth’s barrenness is
seen as a disgrace and the couple endure years of people attempting to dishonor
them or shun them. However, they are more concerned about what God thought than
what others thought - a good foundation
for a marital relationship, by the way!
Then… Gabriel is visited by the angel Gabriel who tells him
Elizabeth will bear a son who will be great in the sight of the Lord and who
will prepare the way for the coming Messiah. Unfortunately, in the most
momentous encounter of his life, Zechariah doubts. As a consequence, he is
struck speechless. Luke tells us,
For the entire pregnancy Zechariah is speechless. However,
he remains faithful to God. After the birth, at the circumcision ceremony, Zechariah confirms the name when he writes
it on the tablet. “His name is John.” Instantly, John could speak again. His
first words were of praise to God.
Elizabeth and Zechariah serve as heroes of the faith. Zechariah
represents those who may doubt God for a moment but are willing to obey. Elizabeth
embodies those who remain faithful and praise God even when they don’t
understand his workings. Even though
they felt hopeless, God was waiting for the right time to encourage them and
take away their disgrace. We see through them that God can do great things to
anyone who allows God to work within.
This is the most exciting thought for me – God is working
behind the scenes on our behalf too even when we don’t realize it. Imagine all
the days, months, years of forethought that went in to choosing Elizabeth and Zechariah
to give birth to John the Baptist the man who would prepare the way for the
Messiah. Imagine all the years people had attempted to bring shame to their
name, to dishonor them, to discredit them because they were childless. All
along, God was working behind the scenes on their behalf. Elizabeth and
Zechariah would have known the words of the prophet Jeremiah: God “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope
and a future.” He had a plan and purpose for their lives and when
the time came for him to reveal it, they were found faithful.
Elizabeth and Zechariah offer us encouragement when we face
doubt or feel hopeless or when people attempt to disgrace us. This righteous couple
trusted in God and held on to each other during the times when people must have
scorned them. And when the pronouncement came from the angel that Elizabeth
would give birth at an old age and then she appeared in public for the first
time, I’m sure the naysayers and doubters attempted to stir up a scandal. But through
it all Elizabeth praised God and proclaimed, “The Lord has done this for me.
How kind the Lord is.”
Let’s remember that God is working behind the scenes on our
behalf. God wants us to know our purpose and to live an
exceedingly abundant life. When we face doubt or feel hopeless or when people
attempt to disgrace us, let’s remember that God is faithful. In order to live
in our purpose and enjoy God’s abundance we need to do as Elizabeth did: trust
and obey. The old hymn tells us, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way. To
be happy in Jesus we must trust and obey.”
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