She, Herself & God Devotional

Elizabeth: From Emptiness to Empowerment

“What’s more, your relative, Elizabeth, has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month.” (Luke 1:36)

When I was still a little girl, some relatives predicted and even told to my face that I would get married during my teenage years. And when it did not happen and I was blessed by the Lord to go to college instead and take a Journalism degree, these relatives had another prediction, which they also told to my face. According to them, I would not even get a decent job with my course. But after I finished studying at the university and earned my Bachelor’s degree, God had immediately given me a writing job in the Philippine government that opened more doors of opportunities for me in the next thirteen years of my life. What a blessing indeed!

Fast forward to today, I am very grateful to the Lord because my once high school hobby, gave me not just a decent job, but an ideal profession wherein I had been used as an instrument in helping my companies, my clients, and even my entire family. And by His grace and for His glory, this hobby is now a ministry wherein I am used as an instrument in helping advance God’s kingdom on earth. But wait, there is more! I am still unmarried yet joyful and satisfied in my single season; for this is the time that I have experienced intimacy with Jesus Christ and have been so blessedly assured that no more words from my relatives can affect me anymore because their statements have always been proven untrue, anyway.

Now as I reflect on the story of Elizabeth, I cannot help but smile and praise the Lord even more because He is undoubtedly powerful that all the things deemed impossible by human standards, He can make them all perfectly possible. Imagine, Elizabeth became pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she had still conceived a son who would later be known as John the Baptist. If I will just put myself in her shoes, it must have been extremely hard being called a barren (and probably many other names) and experiencing all kinds of discrimination from a judgmental society who considered it a disgrace when women did not have children. It must have been extra challenging as well to be pregnant in old age. But thanks be to God, He has empowered Elizabeth and even used her for a greater purpose because she became the mother of the Lord’s prophesied messenger. What a blessing indeed!

As a woman of God, each of us should never measure our worth based on what other people say about us. We should instead see ourselves through the lens of the Lord whose grace is amazing, mercy unending, and love unconditional for each of His precious daughter. People in general, mean relatives, or even closest friends may diminish our achievements, discriminate us, and disqualify us due to their own insecurities, inferiorities, and insufficiencies. Nevertheless, we should forgive these people and understand that their lack is not our lack because Jesus has already given us the Holy Spirit to teach us, to strengthen us, and to empower us. And who knows? The Lord may use us for a greater purpose and transform our emptiness to empowerment just like what He did to Elizabeth.

Father God, we thank You for teaching us through Elizabeth that we should not base our identity as women on human standards, which are sinful, limited, and fallible. Instead, we should keep the faith, cling to hope, and abide in love because these are the heavenly standards set by You alone, which are never sinful, never limited, and never fallible. Heavenly Father, we know that You will never fail us, forsake us, and leave us in the same way that You never failed, forsook, and left Elizabeth until her old age. Therefore, we, too, should not focus on our lack, our weaknesses, and our disabilities because You can complete us, strengthen us, and empower us for Your glory. May we always be reminded that age is just a number and that the only barrenness that should worry us is our spiritual barrenness, not our physical barrenness. On that note, we humbly ask that You allow us to stay in Your presence, be guided by Your Spirit, and be used by You at all times even when we reach old age. All these we pray in the Name of Christ our Lord. Amen.