Growing up Southern Baptist, I never understood advent. To be honest, it’s still something I wrestle with. I want it to mean something to me and feel guilty that it doesn’t. There seems to be a perpetual whisper that as a Christian, I’m missing out on something because it just doesn’t, but being honest, it’s where I find myself these days-staring at the characters of Christmas and wondering what meaning can I find in their story that applies to my own.
I say this because something struck me this morning in one of the characters of Christmas that I can’t quite stop thinking about. So, if you find yourself in a bit of a wrestling match with God, too, then maybe the following will offer you some of Advent’s promised HOPE as it has me.
HOPE: The Story of Elizabeth
Elizabeth’s story can be found in the book of Luke as it introduces us to an old woman, whose entire life has been marked by her inability to have children. Whether she’s in her 60s or 80’s as scholars argue, the point that struck me is that for years upon years…decades upon decades… she has prayed, begged, pleaded, cried, hoped for, lost hope on… having a child. As someone who has been in a waiting season for almost a decade, I find my heart connecting with hers and certainly understand this deep level of grief & lament. I have a dream that I have prepared for, prayed for, cried for, hoped for, pleaded & begged for, and yet, all I see, much like Elizabeth is closed door after closed door.
There is no evidence of hope. There’s just empty darkness and hopelessness.
But advent isn’t about just empty darkness. It’s about our Father stepping down into our darkness to bring His light & His Hope.
But for decades upon decades for Elizabeth (or for me), where is this Hope? Where is this saving Light?
What struck me this morning is that Elizabeth’s miracle, her hope, was intrinsically tied to another miracle, Mary’s.
While Elizabeth is between 60-80 years of age, Mary is in her early-mid teens.
Unknowingly, Elizabeth’s prayers for a child are not just tied to Mary’s, but to Mary’s mother and likely, her grandmother or even a great-grandmother. Elizabeth’s child was chosen to announce the way for the Messiah. But until Mary is born, (potentially 50-70 years after Elizabeth could begin to conceive), there isn’t a Messiah to announce. Elizabeth, unknowingly, must wait through the birth of Mary’s lineage for YEARS. Until Mary is born & in time, becomes engaged. Until all of this is accomplished, there won’t be a Messiah to announce. Elizabeth’s hope, her miracle, her answered prayer was connected to someone who wasn’t even born yet and so her hope, had to unknowingly remain steadfast.
This idea that her answered prayer was connected to the life of another, 50-70 years her junior, left me wondering what does that mean for me?
Is it possible that God hasn’t forgotten me? He’s not ignoring me. He’s not being unkind. Rather, my answer is connected to circumstances that are not yet ready. If you had asked Elizabeth after the birth of John, if the wait was worth it, I can’t imagine she would have answered any other way except yes! Her child was born 6 months before the Savior of the World to ANNOUNCE His arrival and prepare the way for Him. Had her child been born at any other time, had God relented & granted her prayer sooner, John could have been a blessing, but all of them would have missed out on the unique opportunity and gift that awaited them; if only they could hold onto their hope in the darkness.
In this Christmas season, should you find yourself somewhere feeling lost amid your own Elizabethan wait, can I offer you some hope? Maybe, just maybe, God hasn’t forgotten you. Maybe, just maybe, He’s not being unkind. Maybe just maybe there is a bigger miracle than one you could even think to imagine or ask for that is being prepared, but it’s just not time, yet.
The same God that orchestrated two miraculous conceptions, is the same God that comes down into our darkness to bring us His hope. Lift your eyes to His; He hasn’t forgotten you or the dream He’s given you. It’s just not time, yet. ❤️
Rooted Leaders 