Gratefulness For God’s Redemption

Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” Luke 1:24-25

In the Bible, we see a lot of stories about women having fertility issues or being barren, and one example includes Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias. They were both in their old age and were childless (Luke 1:7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.). But despite their situation, they were faithful to God, and we even see Zacharias serving the Lord in the Temple.

Many times, people give up the good fight of their faith (see 1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.) when they don’t see answers to their prayers or a breakthrough about the situation they were praying for. Their hearts easily turn cold before the Lord, or they go back to their old ways. But the Bible shows us that people like Elizabeth and Zacharias were no different from the rest of us today and had prayers that were unanswered. Since they were childless as a couple, I’m sure they must have prayed to God over and over again to give them a child, but God didn’t answer them until they were old. Yet their attitude toward God did not change. They both remained faithful, and eventually, Elizabeth conceived a child.

Sometimes, it may take time for God to answer our prayers, and only He knows why. God knows the perfect time to answer us. Like Elizabeth and Zacharias, God will answer our prayer in a way that doesn’t match our expectation or perspective. He will also answer in a way that gives Him all the glory, and He usually does it through what’s impossible in our mind so that we will burst out in thanksgiving and praises, just like Elizabeth.

We know that bodily functions degrade as we age, and women who go through menopause are no longer able to bear a child according to science since the woman’s ovaries no longer release eggs. Yet, our miracle-working God really has the final say in all things and above all things. Elizabeth and Zacharias were both very old (Luke 1:7), but since Zacharias was hoping for the impossible, the angel who appeared to him said, “…thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John” (Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.). Zacharias must have been praying to God for many years, and even until they were very old, he must have not given up. That is why the angel appeared to him to answer his prayer.

And because God answered their prayer in a way that is impossible to the human mind, we see Elizabeth’s reaction in Luke 1:24-25, “Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.” Elizabeth, who had been barren for many years, then began to give God a deep sense of praise and thanksgiving for taking away her disgrace of being childless.

Sometimes, our deepest gratitude before God comes from the depth of our suffering and pain. We get to appreciate and value the blessing of God answering our prayers, for we have been through a lot of tough times. And most importantly, we are able to glorify God, for we know He is the only One able to make all impossible things possible.