Beautifully Surrendered: God's Heart for His DaughtersSample

Read: Luke 1:5–25; 39–45

SOAP: Luke 1:45

“And blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

Into the text

How firm is your faith when the desires of your heart are unmet? What about when your prayers seem to be unanswered for longer than you imagined? When we read about Elizabeth, it might be easy at first to assume her life was perfect. She was married to a priest, and she was descended from a line of priests, considered a special blessing for a Jew. Elizabeth and Zachariah were faithful, followed all the commandments, and were called righteous.

However, Elizabeth could not have children, something her community considered a great disappointment. Elizabeth and Zachariah were advanced in age, making it even less likely—next to impossible from a human standpoint—that they would be able to have children. Yet, even through years of disappointment and discouragement, Elizabeth stayed firm in her faith.

When her cousin Mary was also expecting her firstborn, namely Jesus, Elizabeth became pregnant with a son in God’s perfect timing. He was to be named John. God chose John to be the one who would proclaim and make way for the coming Savior, Jesus Christ. Elizabeth not only witnessed God’s incredible power in her own life, but she also saw firsthand the coming of the promised Messiah. She was even the first person to confess Jesus as the Messiah! Elizabeth recognized the joy of being used by God, and, as an outpouring of her joy, she blessed and rejoiced with Mary over the miracle Mary would bring into the world.

Only God could have known all the pieces that needed to come together for this miracle to happen, a blessing that would change Elizabeth’s life. After many years of waiting and her advanced age, there was no doubt that this son was truly a miracle from the Lord. Elizabeth’s barrenness could not have been reversed by anything done in her power.

When we’re in the middle of barren places, it can feel impossible to imagine that our prayers may still be answered one day. We may never see all the places God is at work. We may never understand why we’ve had to wait for an answer. But, like Elizabeth, we can choose to remain steadfast in our faith. We can look back at all God has done and praise Him for His faithfulness. When we remember God’s faithfulness and praise Him for His goodness, we set our hope on His ability and willingness to act on our behalf. In Him, nothing is impossible.