Today’s Encouragement is Luke 1:24-25 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, [25] “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
The Lord has done for me –
Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptizer, and a close relative of Mary who gave birth to the Lord Jesus. She and her husband, a priest named Zechariah, had prayed for many years to have a child. Now, in fulfillment of an angelic proclamation (v13) she had conceived. This praise she uttered, giving glory and thanks to God for granting her prayer.
But, my friends, she, as we so often do, only saw a small portion of the picture. She assumed that God had blessed her with a child, “to take away my reproach”. It was a great shame in that culture to be childless, especially for women. So, in her innocent self-focus, she thought, God did this just to bless me! And certainly, He did bless her! And with a son, a prophet, and the man (he was just a man) who was privileged to baptize the Lord Jesus and witness the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him and hear the voice of God speak! Yes, Elizabeth was blessed!
The bigger picture however, one which Elizabeth couldn’t see, was the role John would play in preparing the way for Jesus’ ministry on this earth. Her son John was fulfillment of prophecy; he was the forerunner of Christ, the one who prepared the way.
She didn’t conceive him to only take away her shame… but to pave the way for the One who would take away all our shame!
Father God, grant us understanding, so that we can recognize that You work in our lives, both for our good, and for the good of Your Kingdom. Only You can do this Lord. Help us to appreciate this truth.
Give me Your eyes
Brandon Heath
Today’s Encouragement 