Look At God

Look at God
Luke 1:24-25
Dr. Lakeba H. Williams

After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” Luke 1:24-25 ESV

The Urban Dictionary suggests that when we say, “Look at God”, we mean someone accomplished something (great or small) to take note of. In the book of Luke, we find the account of an extraordinary event that occurs right before the angel of the Lord visits Mary (a virgin) to tell her she will conceive in her womb and bear a son. While he was ministering in the temple, the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah the priest, to tell him that his prayers had been answered and that his wife Elizabeth would bear him a son, and to name him John.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were well beyond childbearing years when she became pregnant with a son just as the angel said. She had spent years dealing with the reproach of her situation. In biblical times, people looked down on childless women. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines reproach as an expression of rebuke or disapproval. God removed Elizabeth’s reproach by giving her a son. So, this meant she would no longer be discredited or disgraced. But there was much more to come for this woman of God.

Imagine the joy and adulation they must have felt. Their son John would join the “fraternity” of many men of God who were born to mother’s that had been childless for a long time e.g., Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Samson, Samuel etc. Talk about timing! In the providence of God, perhaps Elizabeth’s almost miraculous birth, might cause people to be opened to believe the perfectly miraculous virgin birth of her cousin Mary.

Maybe you’ve been praying about a circumstance or situation for a long time, and it just doesn’t seem like things are going to change. The resulting disgrace has become unbearable, and you feel powerless. The prequel and the story of the birth of Christ reveal that nothing is impossible with God. Prayers of faith reach heaven and aren’t’ forgotten, even if the answer to prayer takes a while.

You see Elizabeth was doubly blessed, even if she didn’t live to see it. Right before Jesus began his public ministry he was baptized by her son. John prepared the way for Jesus twice! As a testimony of God’s faithfulness in Elizabeth’s womb and at the baptism of Jesus. Look at God, won’t he do it!

Prayer: God, as humans all we want to do is be seen and heard. Thank you for looking at me, like you looked at Elizabeth and Zechariah. And Lord, thank you for hearing and answering my prayers. Sometimes, I get caught up in the drama and forget to look at you. Please forgive me. You’ve been faithful to me since I was in my mother’s womb. I know you have a plan and a purpose for my life. Help me to focus on the assignment. And whatever I accomplish, great or small to God be the glory! Amen.