The Christmas story doesn’t actually begin with a baby in a manger—but with a barren old woman and her aging husband. Their names were Zechariah and Elizabeth, and they had tried for years to conceive, without success.

At first I’m sure it was simply disappointing. Annoying. Frustrating. 

But with each year that passed, that disappointment likely shifted to despair. Agony. Hopelessness. Time mercilessly marched forward, dragging their unfilled dreams through the gritty filth of life. 

Eventually, they reached an age where the text doesn’t just call them old—it calls them very old (Luke 1:7).

The irony is that Scripture describes them as righteous in God’s eyes, faithfully and blamelessly observing His commands (Luke 1:6). One might expect God’s grace and mercy to have been evident in the fruit of their womb. Yet Elizabeth remained barren, shouldering the crushing weight of shame. 

They cried out in prayer, but it seemed as though the Lord had not heard. Or perhaps His ears were simply closed, uncaring.

Then—suddenly—after decades of longing, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah with shocking news: their prayers had been heard. Elizabeth would bear a son! (Luke 1:13) And not just any son, but one utterly unique—a joy and delight, filled with the Holy Spirit even before birth (Luke 1:14-15). His name would be John, and he would be the cousin of Jesus.

Can you imagine the shock?

“Why now?” they might have wondered. “Why not when we were younger, when life felt full of hope and promise?”

Yet the Lord knew exactly what He was doing.

What they may not have realized was that John couldn’t have been born fifty years earlier—or even ten. He had to be born precisely when he was in that city, in that moment, in that generation because his life was designed with a profound purpose. He was to pave the way for the Messiah (Luke 1:17). His birth had to align with Christ’s.

And this is the human conundrum. From our perspective, immediately fulfilled dreams would be nice. I’m sure from Elizabeth and Zechariah’s perspective, an earlier fulfillment would have seemed ideal. It certainly would have been less painful. 

But God’s perfect plan required perfect timing. And isn’t the same true for us?

Hasn’t the Lord pre-planned every life before the foundations of the earth were laid? Hasn’t He placed us in this moment, this century on purpose? And if He has placed a dream in your heart, does He not also know the exact moment it needs to come to pass?

What if Elizabeth and Zechariah had given up—frustrated, bitter, convinced God was taking too long? What if they had allowed disappointment to overshadow the very reason God gave them breath? How would history have differed? 

Perhaps the Lord is asking us the same question. Will we give up in impatience, refusing to wait upon the Lord? Will we stop planting seeds, annoyed at their long germination period? 

Here is His encouragement for you today: don’t stop before the finish line.

The Lord has ordained your life and the dreams He’s placed within you. Just as He handcrafted you with incredible, unique gifts, He did not forget to fulfill them. He is simply aligning your timeline with His will.

Take heart! You are chosen. You are seen. Just as the Lord heard Zechariah and Elizabeth’s prayers, He hears yours.

I am reminded of this Old Testament verse in Daniel. Some of you may remember it, as we memorized it on the podcast a few weeks ago:

Daniel 9:23a NIV:
“As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed.”

Daniel was in the middle of a brutal exile when he received this word. Yet the angel, Gabriel, appeared to assure him that his prayers were heard the precise moment he began to speak, for he was highly esteemed.

And can we not say the same of ourselves, friend? We are so highly esteemed that He chose to cloak us in His calling and grace before the beginning of time: 

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” (2 Timothy 1:9 NIV)

And we equally hold the promise that as we pray according to the Lord’s will, He hears us (1 John 5:14).

Due to this phenomenal promise, we receive supernatural strength to keep going. 

So keep stewarding the gift He has placed within you. Keep holding tight to the promise that if that dream is God-given, it will come to fruition. 

And when it does, it will be an incredible moment—one where the Lord aligns your timeline just as He aligned John’s with Jesus’s. 

He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it, for no word from God will ever fail.” (Phil 1:6 & Lk 1:36–37)

If He said it, He will do it.

Amen and amen. I believe this for you and I’m cheering you on. 

May 2026 be a year where you see the Lord’s hand in your life like never before.

Warmly,

Liz

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