2024_12_16 Insight Post- Kim Feld
This week’s reading- Luke 1:5-80
The focus of the third week of Advent is joy, and I can’t imagine a better story to read this week than Zechariah and Elizabeth’s (they are called Zacharias and Elisabeth in some translations). The passage from Luke gives us some important information about them: Zechariah was a priest, and Elizabeth came from the priestly line of Aaron, Moses’ brother, and Israel’s first priest; they were advanced in years and childless which would have brought sorrow and shame although Luke points out that they were righteous in God’s eyes; and Zechariah was chosen by lot for this once in a lifetime privilege of entering the sanctuary and burning incense.
When the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah and tells him that he is going to be a father, Zechariah has a hard time wrapping his head around the news. According to Gabriel’s words, Zechariah must have doubted that this could be true, which resulted in him being unable to speak until the baby was born. As the story continues, these verses contain two beautiful songs of joy—one by Mary and one by Zechariah. I can only imagine the sense of awe and wonder they must have had!
Zechariah and Elizabeth’s story reminds me that God’s timing is always perfect. He knew they would be parents when the time was right for John to be born. Surely, Elizabeth and Zechariah had prayed for years for a child. They believed God’s answer was “no” when He was saying, “Not yet.”
It takes unwavering commitment and trust to pray for the same thing over and over for years. Sometimes, God’s answer is ‘no’ because He knows that what we are asking for is not the best for us. But as Zechariah and Elizabeth’s story shows, sometimes, He says ‘not yet’ because He knows the time is not right. Can we persevere in prayer when we don’t get what we want? Or do we allow our faith to waiver?
James links perseverance to maturity and says it can only be achieved through trials. Let’s take a look:
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4, NIV)
Unanswered prayer can feel like a trial, and it certainly tests our faith. But even if the circumstances don’t change, I am changed through prayer. No matter God’s answer, if I persist and keep praying, He will soften my heart and change me.
God heard every tearful prayer of Elizabeth and Zechariah. Although it looked like He had refused them, He was waiting for the right moment. The stakes were higher than they ever imagined: their baby was the forerunner of the Messiah. After 400 years of silence, God’s miraculous plan began to unfold, and they had a huge role. Sometimes, what seems like a no is a not yet because the timing is critical. For Elizabeth and Zechariah, sorrow turned into unspeakable joy.
Kim Feld
Executive Director of Education and Outreach