Elizabeth: The Woman Who Waited

Elizabeth’s story teaches an important lesson about waiting on God. She and her husband, Zechariah, were righteous and devoted to the Lord, yet they suffered in waiting for a child.

Elizabeth was unable to conceive. She and Zechariah were old when Zechariah was in the temple one day and the angel Gabriel appeared to him with a shocking message: Zechariah and Elizabeth would have a son.

Gabriel told Zechariah that the birth of their son, John, would come to fruition at the “appointed time,” which it did. Once the pregnancy happened, Elizabeth thanked the Lord. She said the following in Luke 1:25 (NIV):

“The Lord has done this for me. In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

Elizabeth’s faith and character are again on full display when Mary visits her after learning from Gabriel that she, too, would be with child. Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist at the time. Luke 1:41-45 (NIV) sheds light on what happened at the moment of their encounter — and how Elizabeth recognized the importance of relishing in God’s promises:

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!’”