Liz, Zach, and a baby named John
December 7, 2002
Let us, today, look at a story that speaks to all of us. It’s a story of great promise in this season of anticipating Christ. It’s a story of encouragement and hope for us all.
Luke 1. 5- 7- we have a childless couple.
I want you to notice some things about this couple. First of all, these were good people- they were even great people. They were likely model citizens. They were religious. Not only that, they were righteous, and this kind of people makes tremendous neighbours. They are the kind of people you and I would like to have living next door. They’d be people we could trust- the kind of people we’d ask to watch our house while we were away, or who we would trust to watch our children if we were going to be late getting home from work or an appointment. These people- Liz and Zach- loved God. I think it’s safe to draw the conclusion, too, that God loved them, too. They were from great lines, too. She was descended from Aaron, the first priest of Israel. He was from Abijah- one of the leading priests that David and Solomon made to be leaders of priestly service.
But they had one big disappointment in life. They wanted a child- a boy, a girl- didn’t matter to them, it seems. We don’t know how old they were, but it seems her biological clock had tick-tocked past child bearing, at least, because it says that she couldn’t conceive, and it says they were old. We’re not sure whether that means they were in their 50s, 60s, or even 70s. But they were well past normal child bearing years.
This was cause for great disappointment in that time. It meant a number of things for Liz and Zach:
- they had no one to care for them in their old age
- they would have no grandchildren to gather round them as they aged
- they would have no one to inherit their ‘stuff’
- they would have no one to carry on their line and name
You can be sure that when they married, they anticipated and planned for all these things, because children were an important part of a marriage and family in that society. They had an idea about how many children they would have- maybe they had discussed and argued over this somewhat- most young couples do that. It’s only an aberration of this age that people want to marry (or not) and not share life with others. But even now, it’s tough for a couple who wants to have children and can’t. I think of a couple in a church we lived in for a long time; they were in their late 20s and early 30s while we were there, and there was a lot of pressure in a church that had a lot of children and that, because of background, thought you weren’t complete until you had several. Even I was told that I wasn’t a ‘real’ father yet because I had only girls. So you can imagine the difficulty and trial for them, having no children. I’ve seen this several times and it can be a source of genuine sorrow.
There’s a clear sense of their disappointment in this turn of events in their lives. They had plans, hope, and dreams that weren’t being fulfilled. This hadn’t worked out as they hoped in this big area of life. It was not a small thing- it was a big deal. But, through this disappointment, they continued to serve God. They served God well and sought closeness to God, yet He permitted them this disappointment.
So, what are your disappointments in life? What hasn’t gone as you hoped, planned, dreamed, expected?
- education
- job/career/employment
- marriage
- family- none/too many/death/poor health/grandchildren for you to care for now
- income/economy
- health
- housing- consider those at Old Brewery Mission- not what they planned
- retirement- maybe you planned on 45 and it looks more like 70 is realistic
- church
- ?????
This is a story for us- for you and for me. Scripture is relevant to people, today, tomorrow, next week, next year.
Let’s continue with Liz and Zach’s story:
Lk. 1. 8- 24- he went off to work and he met God. He didn’t stop his life because he was disappointed in one area of it, but he continued. He didn’t mope and whine about how life had treated him, or his bad luck, or anything like that. But He went about life, looking to God, and he met God. And as he did this, he learned some important things.
- God had heard all along and God even remembered when they had stopped praying. Gabriel declared, ‘Your prayer has been heard’. You have to know that, in their case, they’d come to a point of not praying about this anymore. After all, they were too old for this to happen. But in their case, what they hoped for would come. They were going to be very happy. In one translation, The Message, it says, “you will leap like a gazelle for joy”. Others would be happy, too.
Prov. 13. 12- is a Proverb that has been particularly meaningful to me over the years. Hope deferred does something to people- it can cause the desire to continue and to rise; it can make one be filled with longing for what is hoped for. And when it comes, if it comes, oh, the joy and excitement.
I think of a faculty couple I was aware of in college. He was about 70 and she was just over 50- their eldest was 26 and pregnant, and they found out that they were expecting, too. Well, her aging stopped as new life was breathed into that family. I remember seeing her when I was at college and she was older as their daughter was a teen at the time, and she didn’t look the age that she was. They knew joy and it impacted their life.
You can only imagine Zach’s joy as he finished his work and went home, took God at His word, and John was conceived and born.
It doesn’t always work out that way, as we know. But it’s important to realize that it can. Where there’s life, there’s hope. Where we meet God, new life can come to our plans, hopes, and dreams.
But, above all, it’s important to realize that God is involved and He doesn’t forget the longings of your heart.
Psa. 107. 9- God satisfies the longing soul. God satisfies it- He knows how best to satisfy it, doesn’t he? Above all, He is involved.
Look at Paul, for instance, where the outcome is different than it was for Liz and Zach:
2 Cor. 12. 7-9- Paul had something that bothered him a lot- a ‘thorn in the side’. He went to God many times about it. God said ‘no’ to his request to take it away, and told him that ‘his grace was enough’. In other words, we’re going forward together. You’re not alone. I’ve heard your prayer, and I’ve considered your request, and I have a better way for you than what you think is the way.
Conclusion:
In our lives, we all have disappointments. Life is simply like that. We set ideals that are unrealistic, sometimes, and we find reality hits us hard. Or we honestly could have had something, but make other choices that get in the way. Or, we fail to put out the necessary effort to make a goal possible and, later, learn that and wish we’d done what we should have done. The point is, as this story from this wonderful season tells us, is that God is there. He’s there in our disappointments. He’s there to take us through to where He is taking us. He’s there to help us in our unrealistic expectations or hopes. He’s there to help us with our realistic ones, that simply didn’t ‘work out’ for whatever reasons. He’s there. He’s there. What else is there to know? He heard. He saw. He allowed. He has answered. His answer is always the right answer. Sometimes he brings a baby later in life, or an answer of similar magnitude, long after we’ve given up hope on something. Sometimes, He doesn’t. Sometimes, He brings something that is really the better answer. Who knows better- God or us? He does, of course. It takes faith to see that and to accept that.
Zach went home rejoicing and the rejoicing only increased through a pregnancy and birth, and through the life of his son, John. May we, in this season of rejoicing, look at our hopes, dreams, aspirations, and plans and rejoice, even as Zacharias, knowing God is involved and bringing what is absolutely the best answer to our longings for our lives!
