When Zechariah's duties as priest ended for the week, he and Elizabeth returned to their home. Upon returning home, Elizabeth became pregnant and remained in seclusion for the next 5 months. We are not told the reason for this isolation, although many opinions have been offered about the reasons behind the seclusion. As I speculated a little about this, I thought this… If Elizabeth had been in her menopause years, then the only way that she would have been able to tell if she was pregnant was an expanding belly and the feeling of life within her, which may have been around the time she made the decision to come our of her retreat. What we are told is that when she came out of seclusion , her explanation for this miracle was "God has done this for me" and gave all praise and glory to Him. Elizabeth's words were full of confidence and thankfulness. God had done something that seemed impossible to her.
Impossible things can happen. Let this truth settle down deep in your heart where there are concerns that grip you and cause you to feel afraid and even doubt that God is able fix. Would you take some time right now to become quiet and be completely honest with yourself? Is there something going on in your life right now that seems hopeless and out of God's ability to handle? Perhaps there is a situation that you have been praying about for a very long time and haven't seen God answer or change.
Dear friend, God is the same today as He was when this story took place a very long time ago. He can solve the concerns and the problems you and I have in our lives.
God sees beyond the realm of your sight…your thoughts…your desires…your imaginations. He operates Exceedingly. He operates Abundantly. He operates Beyond. He is always working out a miracle that transcends the farthest reaches of our thoughts…and all for His glory. So we must: Wait. Be patient. Trust. He may not be answering your prayers right now. But this I know to be true – He is doing things beyond your wildest expectations.
Elizabeth continued to pray and waited for God to answer. I can imagine that it took longer than she had hoped it would. I'm sure she often questioned the delay in answered prayer. However, God was orchestrating the timing of Elizabeth's pregnancy to align perfectly with His will – His arrival on earth to redeem us! Elizabeth would become pregnant just a few months before the virgin Mary would become pregnant with Jesus, the Messiah – Immanuel – God with us. Later as Jesus prepared to begin the ministry of unfolding who He was, Elizabeth's son would announce him as the Messiah (John 1:29) Yes, there was waiting. But the wait brought about something that was beyond anything imaginable!!
Guess what? He is doing the same thing for you right now…right this moment…orchestrating His plan and purposes for your life.
Wait. Pray. Hope. And get ready to do what Elizabeth did – Give God the glory.
…And while you wait, let me encourage you to find things each day where you say with great confidence and with heartfelt thankfulness, "God did this for me." It makes the wait just a little sweeter!
Thanks so much for writing this blog. The book and your blog are truly guiding me to wonderful quiet time with the Lord. What great words to wait, hope, pray, trust and give God the glory just like Elizabeth.
Thank you Jan for your encouraging words today. Wishing you a very blessed Christmas!