Joy! to Your World! A Countdown to ChristmasSample

Elizabeth was too old to have a baby by human standards. Her body had long ceased to offer the possibility of reproduction. Even when Elizabeth was young and in her prime, she was unable to conceive a child. Now, as a woman who had lived nearly 9 decades of life, there was no human possibility that this would ever happen. There was not a sliver of hope!

But God breaks all the constraints of human standards. His ways are higher than our ways and He is able to trump any limitation that we exhibit in our strength.

“Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth ...” Certainly this “time” was not Elizabeth’s chosen time. God has a chosen time for prayers to be answered, for His mission to be accomplished and for miracles to take place. Do not for one second believe that God has forgotten you or that He has not heard your prayers. When God’s appointed time comes in its fullness, you will give birth to all that God has planned for you.

“Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.”

Many times I believe that the Lord says “Wait” as an answer to our desperate prayers so that His glory is revealed rather than the certainty of mankind’s function. Most women are able to conceive and bear children in their teens and twenties, but it takes the intervention of God for a woman to experience the miracle of birth in her eighth decade of life!

Can you imagine the rejoicing of her relatives and neighbors? Can you picture the scene as the women danced in circles in the village streets? Can you envision how her friends lifted their hands in praise to Yahweh?

As John nestled into his mother’s arms, and as the nearly 100 year old eyes of Zacharias looked into the newborn eyes of his son, God was glorified. Prayers had been answered. Their story had just begun.

The story of Elizabeth and Zacharias is the call to live a righteous life, and it is the promise of what persevering prayer will obtain. God is well able to accomplish all that concerns you. His part is to perform the miracles ... your part is to pray without ceasing and to live a life that pleases His heart.