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Luke 1:5–25
In this passage we
find that Elizabeth lived a godly life: she was “righteous before God, living
blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord.” In
spite of her righteousness, she had not been given a child. An angel of the Lord was sent to her husband, Zechariah, to tell him that
she was to give birth to a son and that they should name him John.
Zechariah did not believe the angel and was stricken mute.
Elizabeth did become
pregnant, and even though she did not hear the announcement directly from God,
and her husband could not talk to her, she believed that “this is what the
Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me.”
Elizabeth did not hear the words spoken by an angel as did
Zechariah, but she was attentive to what God was doing for her.
When are the times in
our lives that we have not heard the words directly from God but have listened
to God’s directive? The message may not have come in the form of loud words or
have been spoken by an angel but instead was heard as nudges or whispers. Did
you ever have the urge to write or call a friend, only to discover that the
friend had a real need, either physical or spiritual? Was the “urge”
actually God working through you to answer the need of your friend? God does not
always need to tell us what to do in words that we can hear with our ears, but
we can listen to God with our hearts as Elizabeth did.
Prayer
Dear Lord, help us to listen
to God even when the message is simply a quiet push. Let us learn from Elizabeth
that we can “hear” God in many ways. Help us to listen to God’s
communications with us, and let us respond to what we hear in our hearts and
minds as well as with our ears. For this we pray, Amen
Ida Jeanne Smith served as a member
of the Women of the ELCA executive board, 1999–2002.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible,
copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education
of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America. All rights reserved.
May be reproduced for use in congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America provided the copyright information above appears on every copy
with these words: Used with permission.
For all other purposes
contact Women of the ELCA.
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