Faith Before It's Understood
Daily Scripture
Luke 1:57-64
“When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a boy. Her neighbors and relatives celebrated with her because they had heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy. On the eighth day, it came time to circumcise the child. They wanted to name him Zechariah because that was his father’s name. But his mother replied, ‘No, his name will be John.’ They said to her, ‘None of your relatives have that name.’ Then they began gesturing to his father to see what he wanted to call him. After asking for a tablet, he surprised everyone by writing, ‘His name is John.’ At that moment, Zechariah was able to speak again, and he began praising God.”
Daily Reflection & Prayer
A house full of neighbors and relatives has gathered to celebrate Elizabeth’s son, and by every account they already know what happens next. In that culture, a name wasn’t just a label. It carried the family line forward, and everyone assumed the boy would carry his father’s name, the way any respectable family expected. Nobody thinks to ask Elizabeth what she wants to call him. Then she speaks up. His name is John. In Hebrew, that name means “God is gracious,” though nobody in the room realizes that’s exactly what they’re celebrating. Elizabeth can’t fully explain why it has to be John instead of Zechariah. She just knows it does, because months earlier, before either of them had any way of understanding how this would all play out, an angel told her husband exactly what to name their son.
Zechariah, who still can’t speak a single word since the day the angel first gave him this news, supports Elizabeth. He asks for a tablet and writes the same name, confirming what Elizabeth already said, and only then does his voice come back. They held onto instructions they were given months earlier and didn’t waiver when other opinions were presented. Sometimes, faith invites us to follow God before everything is understood. Faith might look like holding onto God’s promise to you even before you’ve understood everything it will require of you.
- Zechariah and Elizabeth held onto a name they couldn’t fully explain yet. What’s a practice or conviction you keep because of your faith that you’ve never really explained to your kids or grandkids? What would happen if you told them why this week?
- Elizabeth held her ground on John’s name without a room full of relatives understanding why yet. What’s a faith conviction you’re passing down that the people around you don’t fully understand or agree with? What helps you keep holding it anyway?
Prayer
God, you’ve asked things of me before I understood why, and some of those things I’m still carrying out. Give me the resolve Elizabeth had to hold onto what you said, even alone in a room full of people certain they know better. Thank you for the people you send to back me up when I need it most. Amen.
GPS Insights
Lisa Wilt
Lisa Wilt is a small-town gal with God-sized dreams…a former pharmacist who once dispensed meds but now dispenses encouragement by pairing beloved scriptures with fresh (often hilarious) stories through my books, speaking, daily radio ministry and podcast. And…I’m a new Gigi to Elijah, a proud mama to Alyssa, Garrett and Robert and a forever wife to David.
Our Names and Our Faith
Before I ever understood my faith, I misunderstood my own name! My first day of kindergarten, I didn’t know my given name was Elisabeth because everyone simply called me Lisa. I still remember standing in a line at the front of the classroom as our teacher took roll. Each student stepped forward when their name was called and she pointed them toward the desk with their name posted on it.
I knew how to read Lisa because I had practiced how to print my name.
My eyes scanned the room, but I couldn’t find a desk with those letters. Since I didn’t know my name was Elisabeth, I was left standing awkwardly in front. Alone. All eyes were on me as my classmates sat comfortably in the desks bearing their name. My bottom lip began to quiver when my teacher stepped toward me. She leaned down, towering over me to ask my name. I was the shy, little girl who wanted to run out the door home to my momma.
It’s horrible to feel like you don’t belong and have no place.
Today’s Scripture helps me feel like I belong; it has special meaning because it’s the story of my namesake. Although I didn’t like the long name of Elisabeth as a little girl, over the years I’ve grown to love it because it means “my God is an oath.” Just as God was faithful in His oath to Elisabeth in her old age as she gave birth to John the Baptist, God has been faithful in His oath to me. Now I’m likely the age of Elisabeth when she held little John in her arms. As a Gigi, I now hold my grandsons, Elijah David and Gideon Levi, in my arms.
I can’t always understand God’s ways and why He makes us wait often in silence. Like Elisabeth who couldn’t fathom being a mom at her age, God has surprised me with His plans. After nearly 40 years of being a pharmacist—a job my earthly father encouraged me to pursue—my heavenly Father has opened the door for me to write for Abingdon/The United Methodist Publishing House.
Writing is a dream God planted in my heart when I was a teenager that’s just now being birthed.
Elisabeth likely found waiting for her dream child even harder. Perhaps you have a dream that you’re prayerfully asking God to fulfill. Being patient and trusting God doesn’t come easy for me and likely doesn’t come easy for you either.
When I’m in what I call “the wilderness of waiting,” I cling to the truth of Romans 8:28. You likely know this verse and its promise. But if you’re like me, you need to be reminded that, “God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
After 40 years of “waiting in the wilderness,” I see my old initials, L.W., in a new light. L.W. has become a witness to God’s faithfulness. L.W. has become my quiet testimony: God repurposes my Losses and works them into Wins. What might look like a Loss in the short term becomes a Win in the long-term for those who trust Him.
Elisabeth and Zechariah couldn’t see how their story would end, but God was writing goodness into every unseen line. He is doing the same for us. Even when we stand “waiting in the wilderness,” unsure of our place like I was on my first day of kindergarten, God is already writing the ending, and it is good, because He is good!
Our initials may differ, our stories may twist and turn, but our Author is the same. And He is still working all things together for our good. Just as John’s naming unlocked Zechariah’s voice, God uses the defining moments of our lives to unlock ours. Every test becomes part of our testimony He is shaping within us. And when the time comes, our lives will speak not of our strength, but of His faithfulness.
