The Lord has done this for me

The Lord has done this for me. Elizabeth had been barren her whole life and was well beyond her childbearing years. But God is not confined by circumstance. Or what the world defines as normal. His plan for Elizabeth required great faith. Her advanced age should have been a reason for her to doubt. It certainly made her husband question God. But Elizabeth saw it with different eyes. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. She gave birth to a son, who became John the Baptist. The very one who prepared the way for Jesus. Elizabeth had waited her whole life for her prayer to be answered. Enduring unimaginable disgrace. Because to the world, it looked like she had been forgotten by God. But Elizabeth wasn’t forgotten. She was favored. And her response showed her strong faith. That even though her prayer wasn’t answered how she expected it, it was answered beyond what her expectations could ever be. Oh Lord, help us to have faith like that. A faith that has us keep watching. A faith that helps us keep waiting. A faith that when the blessing comes, we recognize it. And we recognize You for it. So many times, Lord, Your blessing comes and we take it for granted. We expect it. We’re not grateful for it. And we forget to thank You for it. We’ve become a people that demand constant happiness. And easy roads. We don’t appreciate struggles. Or setbacks. Or waiting. Lord, we hate to wait. Our faith is an impatient faith. An arrogant faith. A faith that forgets that You have a plan. A bigger plan. A better plan. Help us to be like Elizabeth, Lord. That when the blessing comes, our first response is to remember where it came from. May we stop and give You the Glory. May we remember that it’s not through our hands, but through Yours, that each of our blessings flow. Forgive us, Lord, please forgive us when we don’t. In Jesus’ Name we pray.