The full story of Elizabeth can be read in Luke 1:5-80. I will focus on three related, but different topics from this passage across a three-part series, so stay tuned for Parts II and III.
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Part I: Proper Time
Please read Luke 1:5-24.
The overall theme of today's post is that God has designed a proper time for everything in His plan. Sometimes events are not impacting enough to warrant any notice or deviation between God's plans and our own plans. I don't think my choosing to wear black shoes today instead of brown shoes falls under the spectrum of "universal impact".
But a life, especially a human life, always has a universal impact. If God numbers the very hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7), surely you can see how valuable, precious, and important every single life is.
Which is why there is a proper time for everything, according to God's perfect plan. We cannot rush this process. We cannot rush God's timing. We cannot change God's plan. If you are longing for a child, you must wait until the proper time.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; 11-15
1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—
2 A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.
11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; 13 moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him. 15 That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.
Be encouraged by this, instead of discouraged. If you are longing for a child, I believe God has a specific plan for you. I believe that for Michael and me, God has a particular, special child chosen just for us. He has a specific plan for that child, and we simply cannot begin that chapter of our lives until it's the proper time. A life must fit into God's overall plan, which is why He is the one and only Creator of all life.
1 Corinthians 3:7
So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
In the story of Elizabeth, God had a very specific plan for her son. So specific that when the angel of the Lord visited Zacharias, he said they should name him John. God cared so specifically about this pre-conceived child, that even the smallest detail of what his name should be did not escape His concern. His name was to be John. And if you skip ahead to verses 57-66, family and friends attempted to name this child something else, but Zacharias and Elizabeth insisted on naming their son John. And lo and behold, John had a very special purpose to fulfill in God's plan: he was the "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight.'" John the Baptist.
Every human life is sacred and special. Every life has a purpose, and all lives must wait until a proper time. Sometimes two parents begin attempts to conceive and that just so happens to line up with God's proper time. Other times, as in our case, it is not yet God's proper time. We, as human beings, limited beings, are not meant to fully understand the ways of God.
That's where faith comes in.
Michael and I have faith that our desire to have children is a godly desire. And we have faith that God will answer that desire someday, somehow. As my friend Jessica so eloquently said to me, we don't believe it's a matter "if we will have children or not". We believe it's a matter of "will we have biological children, or children through other means". In other words, it's not a question of "if", but "how and when".
As I strive to do everyday, try your hardest, through the power of God's strength, to be patient for the proper time.
To be continued...
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