The Confession of Elizabeth

“The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”- Luke 1:25 (NIV)

 

Have there been seasons in your life when you prayed earnestly, fasted faithfully, and did everything you knew to do—yet God seemed silent? After a long period of waiting and hoping, you may have quietly concluded that God was not going to answer that prayer. Perhaps you even resigned yourself to the thought that this was simply not His will.

 

Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah, were likely in a similar place. They had prayed, waited, and remained faithful, yet the answer did not come when they expected it. Over time, they may have accepted that God had chosen a different path for them—only to discover later that God’s silence was not His absence, and delay was not denial.

 

When everything seemed negative and every natural indicator pointed to impossibility, God stepped into their story and declared that their prayer had been answered. What had long been beyond human reach was never beyond divine power. What is impossible with man is always possible with God.

 

When God answered her prayer, she burst forth with praise. Elizabeth’s words are not loud or dramatic, yet they are deeply theological and profoundly personal. After years of silence, disappointment, and quiet faithfulness, her confession begins with a simple but powerful declaration:

 

“The Lord has done this for me.”

 

Elizabeth does not credit chance, time, medicine, or even her own perseverance. She attributes everything to the Lord. This is the language of faith that recognizes God as the source and finisher of every good gift.

 

Her very name, Elizabeth, means “God is my oath” or “God keeps His promise.” What her name declared prophetically, her life now testified experientially. God had not forgotten her. God had not broken His oath. God had answered her prayer—though not in her timing, but in His perfect time. This was not merely an answered prayer; it was a divine intervention, a miracle performed by a faithful God.

 

“He has shown His favor”

 

Elizabeth interprets her miracle through the lens of favour, not entitlement. Favor here is grace, undeserved, unearned, and unmerited. She does not say, “The Lord finally rewarded me,” but rather, “He has shown His favour.”

 

Grace reminds us that:

 

• We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8)
• We are called sons and daughters by grace
• We stand accepted not because of merit, but mercy and grace

 

Elizabeth knew she did not deserve this miracle, yet she received it. This is the heart of grace: God giving what we could never earn.

 

“He has taken away my disgrace”

 

For years, Elizabeth lived under public shame. In her culture, barrenness was often viewed as a curse. She was looked down upon, whispered about, and misunderstood. Her pain was both private and public.

 

But God not only gave her a child, He restored her dignity. The same God who allows seasons of hiddenness also knows how to reverse reproach:

 

• “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” (Psalm 23:5)
• “You are my glory and the lifter of my head” (Psalm 3:3)
• You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives (Genesis  50:20)

 

What people labelled as a curse, God transformed into a testimony. Elizabeth’s story reminds us that God often chooses the weak and the foolish to confound the strong and the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27). What the world despises, God delights to redeem.

 

How does it apply to us

 

The God we serve, is a God of miracles. He has not forgotten our prayers. He remembers and answers in His right time.  Qwe need to continue to seek the Lord, trust Him and rest assured  that He will answer in His own time.

 

God is still the One who:

 

• Keeps His promises
• Answers long-delayed prayers
• Reverses shame
• Turns silent suffering into joyful testimony

 

Elizabeth teaches us how to interpret our lives spiritually:

 

• When God acts, give Him the glory
• When favour comes, receive it with humility
• When disgrace is removed, testify boldly

 

Reflection

 

1. What is God asking me to recognize as His work in my life right now?
2. Have I been waiting on God in an area where hope seems delayed? How does Elizabeth’s story speak into that waiting?
3. Are there areas of shame or disappointment that I need to bring honestly before the Lord?
4. Do I truly believe that God’s favor is based on grace and not my performance?
5. How can my testimony encourage others who are still waiting for their breakthrough?

 

Prayer

 

Gracious and faithful God,

I thank You because You are the God who keeps Your promises. When I cannot see, You are still working. When prayers seem delayed, You are still faithful. Lord, help me to recognize Your hand in my life and to give You glory.

 

Teach me to receive Your favor with humility, knowing that it is by grace alone. Where I have carried shame, disappointment, or silent sorrow, I ask You to lift my head and restore my dignity.

 

Turn what others have misunderstood into a testimony of Your goodness. Strengthen my faith to wait well and trust deeply.

May my life declare, like Elizabeth, “The Lord has done this for me.”

 

In Jesus’ name, Amen.