Daily Devotional for Tuesday, December 2

Zacharias’ Spouse

“And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless,” Luke 1:6.

Have you ever heard someone say that the birth of a child is a miracle? It is true that there are some children that are born against the odds, but the majority of children born in the United States are healthy, carried to term, and the result of what we would consider a normal pregnancy. A child being born is expected. It is not a miracle.

            Zacharias’s wife Elizabeth was the beneficiary of a true miracle. Sadly, she faced a challenge many women have faced in history. She was barren. She was unable to have children. In addition, she was an older woman, when bearing children would be medically challenging, if not impossible.

            But Elizabeth was also something else; she was righteous before God. She walked in the commandments and ordinances of God. She was also blameless. What tremendous compliments about Elizabeth’s character! God chose to bless Elizabeth with a son named John (the Baptist). As a barren woman of an advanced age, she should have been unable to have children, and up until our introduction to her in the Scriptures, she did not have any children. But because of her righteous character and the role she would play in human history, God blessed her with a child whose birth was a true miracle.

            Next time you consider Elizabeth, do not focus on the fact she was barren or old. Remember how obedient, righteous and blameless she was before God. And remember how God rewarded her faithfulness with a miracle.

REFLECTION

Next time you think something cannot be done, remember that God makes the impossible possible (Luke 1:37).

Chris Floyd