Skip to main content

She was Blameless


Sometimes we see and go through things so that we can give an account. Yes other accounts of the same situation may exist, but nobody can give an account like you. Your testimony will be different because you went through it. Some people may even receive it better from you because they know you personally. Perhaps Theophilus had heard the story about Elizabeth and Mary many times, but his faith might have increased when he heard it from Luke. Maybe Theophilus was in a place in his life where he needed the faith to believe God because each person discussed in this chapter came to a point where they had to take God at His word. In this chapter we see what happens when we trust God and we see what can happen if we question and or limit His promises to us.
God loved Elizabeth and her husband so much that they were counted worthy to be mentioned in the bible! We all know what it’s like to want something so bad and not get it. Imagine how Elizabeth must have felt. She may have prayed daily with everything that she had to have a baby, but yet she was barren. I’m sure that she questioned and doubted her own woman hood. I’m sure she shed many tears, but I’m also sure that she wiped her tears away and decided to serve the Lord despite her request not being granted right away. I believe that God loved Elizabeth and her husband. I believe that they were special to Him. The bible says that “both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly” (Luke 1:6 NIV).They decided to love and honor the Lord despite the “not right now” that looked like a “no”. Even though God may tell us” no” or “not right now”, that does not mean that He loves us any less or that He has forgotten about us. I believe that Elizabeth decided to not be depressed despite her heart’s desire. If there ever was a time that her heart was broken, she decided to not sit in that sad place and be depressed. We have to do the same and know that God still wants to use us. Elizabeth was being prepped for a testimony that would be told to the world many times over. It would have been easy for her to have a baby in her youth and blend in, but God had something better planned for her. God gave her the joy of all joys in His timing. We have to remember, in His timing. God’s timing is perfect. I believe that Elizabeth trusted God because she and her husband followed God’s decrees blamelessly. When we want something so bad, it can be easy to leave God. I don’t know what God showed Elizabeth in her youth, but she held on tight to the Lord. She was blameless. I believe that she was blameless in her love and devotion to God. I can imagine her as a woman who praised God as she cleaned her house. She probably helped in her community, and poured into others. Her community was happy with her when she had a baby, so I don’t believe that she showed any signs of bitterness. We should not treat the world bad just because we are going through something personally. It is not their fault.
God has to always be welcomed to show up in our lives. Elizabeth and Zechariah didn’t shut God out. Zechariah was a priest who just so happened to be burning incense in the temple while worshippers were outside praying. Don’t stop worshipping and don’t stop praying. On that day there was an atmosphere created that welcomed God to come in and do something amazing. The presence of God was in the midst of prayer and worship. Zechariah did not leave God’s presence because of bitterness. He was blameless. Many of us leave the presence of God because we are mad about something. We don’t consider His heart or His timing. We don’t consider His love and we don’t consider what He has already done. Elizabeth and Zechariah were blameless.
God’s timing is perfect. At the right time, the angel of the Lord visited Zechariah and said, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard” (Luke 1:13 NIV). Stop being worried and anxious about everything. Stop looking at your circumstance and your age. Trust that God’s timing is perfect. Stop thinking about what you should have or could have done. It will work out for you. Your prayer has been heard.
God does not create chaos. The angel of the Lord told Zechariah that his son would “be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth (Luke 1:14 NIV).” There will be a ministry and a testimony when the Lord visits you. I can just imagine Elizabeth and Zechariah telling everyone that would listen what the Lord had done for them. Elizabeth might have even started a support group, lol.
Don’t doubt God. He is faithful to do what He said He would do. Don’t allow yourself to trip up in life because of what your life calendar looks like. God cares about the desires of your heart and He will fulfill them in His way when it is time. Look at your life and ask God what it is that you should be doing. Should you be praying, should you be preparing. Who’s to say that Elizabeth didn’t in some way spend time with children? Maybe she baby sat, maybe she had a daycare, and maybe she threw other woman baby showers and celebrated with them instead of being jealous. Don’t stop pouring into people. Be happy when they are happy. Rejoice with them. Pour into the very thing that you desire with gladness.
Teach others what you have learned about waiting on the Lord. Someone needs your testimony. Elizabeth probably helped a lot of women. I don’t believe that she was a selfish woman. I believe that she always gave of herself and treated people with respect because others rejoiced with her. This woman had friends that were happy when she was happy. I believe that in some way she gave of herself to those very people. Elizabeth was blameless. God did not count her out. He still saw her. I believe that perhaps He took note of how she spent her time. Just because her request seemed like a “no”, that did not mean that God stopped watching her. God is present in the midst of the “no” or the “not right now”. Elizabeth still had a job to do before she became a mom. She related to other women who were in the same place that she was in and she could show them how to still trust and love God. Are you bitter or are you still trusting and loving God? Elizabeth was blameless!
How do you become blameless and still keep the commandments and the degrees of the Lord when you are broken hearted and want something so bad that it hurts. Elizabeth may have shed many tears, but I believe that they were shed in God’s presence. Elizabeth did not leave God’s presence.
I pray over every broken and wanting heart. I pray that God will comfort you with His peace and I pray that you do not leave His presence. I pray against bitterness, anger, jealousy, and brokenness. God loves you so much and He sees you. God still saw Elizabeth and He still sees you too. I pray that you trust God and the plans that He has for your life. I pray for your joy in the Lord. If you have lost your smile, I pray that God gives you His. I pray blessings, fulfillment, and contentment in your life. NEVER forget that God loves you. In Jesus name, Amen.

Be blameless. Still serve God. Push past the hurt and allow yourself to enter into the peace of God.

“The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22 NLT).

Recommended Listening: Deitrick Haddon- He’s able
Recommended Reading: Luke 1

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Turn Aside and See

  “And Moses said, ‘I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.’ When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush.” (Exodus 3:3-4a)   Moses was born into both chaos and love. The chaos was Pharaoh demanding that growth be hindered by killing all the male babies, and the love was from God and his parents.   Moses was consecrated in a hiding place and then in a dangerous river. He was found by faith and given the perspective of the slave and of royalty.   Moses’ heart was never to be above, but to be at eye level with those he loved. Moses was already accepted by God, chosen, and loved. He was consecrated before he could understand purpose.   Moses, in his passion, did something that no one accepted. He killed a man when he tried to protect another one. He went on the run, broken, but not alone.   Moses didn’t cry. He adjusted. Pain was there, but so was provision and more lessons.   ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Process of Faithing It: Trusting Jesus with Your Faith

  “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction” (Mark 5:34 NKJV). Can you imagine Jesus in a crowd? Everyone has a need, but His target in that moment is to go and build the faith of a little girl’s family at the request of her father because they think that she will die. The father is scared, but Jesus was on the way until He felt something. This feeling was different, but powerful. Jesus turns around looking, asking questions, but finds his answer in the form of a woman, standing and looking amazed at what just happened to her. After 13 years of anemia, tiredness, dizzy spells, soiled clothing, and impacted relationships, she is healed.  This woman with an issue of blood had spent all of her money, but decided to trust Jesus with her faith, which was all that she had left. Jesus was not too busy to stop and ask, “Who touched me?”. The disciples reminded Jesus of all the people that were around them, but this touch was different. Some...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why I Won't Date: Second Wind and Fresh Fire pt2

Some people think that waiting on God for your husband or wife is " to saved". They say that you don't know a person until you live with them or that you have to test them out sexually before you commit, but those things are not true when you really decide to wait on God. God knows your heart and knows what will keep your attention. The most important thing to keep in mind is that marriage is ministry. God is not going to send you someone that does not know how to listen to Him or take care of his or her home/ family. I see so many wome n who complain about being a good woman but their man is dogging them out. He prefers the drama over a home that is a sanc t uary . Don't be offended by that particular man's vice because now you have a way of e scape if you choose to take it.      "The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it" (Proverbs 10:22 ) .     My heart was broken all over again when someone from my pa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Keep Your Lamp Filled

  “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept” (Matthew 25:1–5). Everyone had the same mindset to go to the same place for the same reason. Everyone was on their way, but partial action was taken by five of the virgins. The bridegroom had the capacity to care for all ten. Everyone had a lamp, but everyone did not have oil to see Who they were waiting for. The oil was available, but five virgins did not take the initiative to get more oil. What they had was not enough for the journey they were on. Five of the virgins were wise; they did what was needed to obtain more oil. The other five virgins were foolish, thinking that what they had was enough and that getting...
1 comment
Read more

Fear Can Not Exist Where Healing is Needed: The Authority of Jesus within Mental Health

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”  ( John 10:10 KJV). The people of Gadarenes gave the enemy access to their region, not just a man at a tomb. As a bystander within Mark 5, I’ve seen many parts of this scenario played out in real time. I know the broken heart that Jesus had at seeing this man, and I also know the love and compassion that He had for him as well. The people may have feared the man because of his strength, but Jesus understood and displayed that  fear could not exist where healing is needed . Working within the mental health field, I’ve seen what was depicted by the man at the tomb. It’s not easy, but Jesus removed the cover of what was happening. The Legion of demons  (composed of thousands of demons) thought that they could continue to reign and rule, but the King stepped onto the ground and caused atmospheric shift to happen.  “T...
Post a Comment
Read more

Peace Be Still

“ One day he got into a boat with his disciples,  and he said  to them,  “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.”  So they set out,   and  as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake,  and they were filling  with water and were in danger.   And they went and woke him, saying,  “Master, Master,  we are perishing!”  And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.   He said to them,  “Where  is your faith?”  And they were afraid,  and they marv...
Post a Comment
Read more

Can You Praise the Lord in Prison?

“Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening” (Acts 16:25 NLT). Paul and Silas were some bad boys! Can you imagine doing the right thing and being locked up because of it? These men had a freedom that the people they encountered needed to see because they were not bound although others could visibly see the chains that had been placed on them. They did not misrepresent Christ because of their circumstances and they did not try to give up serving Him because of the predicament that they had found themselves in. ~~~~~ Stop being mad at God because things do not go the way that you expect them to. ~~~~~ “ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Paul and Silas knew who their God was and they knew that He was going to come through for them no matter what their situation looked like. They knew enough about God...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kairos:God’s Opportune Time Table

There are moments and seasons that are not defined by man or their opinions. In those moments “their” opinions don’t matter, your background does not matter, and your last name does not matter. Those moments are the ones that define your destiny and triumph over your past. Those seasons are the ones that you are born to walk in and nothing can steal them away from you. That moment and that season is specified as being your kairos moment. Your life, your destiny, your ministry, and your purpose are all in your kairos moment. Everything that you are and ever will be, boils down to that moment. Your kairos moment cannot be defined, manipulated, or determined by man because it is a moment that is determined by God alone.   King David was the underdog. He was the youngest and most different when compared to his brothers. Even the prophet Samuel could not identify God’s chosen vessel in the flesh because God had to reveal to him who the next king would be. Being alone and being the u...
Post a Comment
Read more

Growing Weary in Well Doing: Acknowledging and Recovering From Burnout and Compassion Fatigue

  Realistically, you can grow tired of doing well. You can get sick of showing up when no one else appears to be willing to do so and you can feel stopped up from all of the complaints that you hold in. Your own silence can become to loud and you can feel lonely because of a lack of available avenues to authentically express your emotions about everything that appears to be going well for you in the eye sight of others.     It’s easy to feel alone in a wilderness that is filled with flowers because you have not carved out the space that you need to enjoy them. I understand this place. I am in it with you, and I want to encourage you as I encourage myself.   “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up”.  (Galatians 6:9 NLT).   It is important for me to acknowledge the feeling of desiring to isolate myself because of weariness, compassion fatigue, and burnout as a Christian becau...
1 comment
Read more

He Broke Me, He Wreaked Me, and He Crushed Me!

As I was reading a devotional today I saw the word crushed. I love this word! I also love the words broken and wrecked. To most people these words are destructive and may even evoke an emotion of pain, but to me, these words are beautiful. There is beauty in the crushing. There is beauty in brokenness. There is beauty in being wreaked. Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what and who have you allowed to dictate what you consider to be beautiful? To be very honest, just because I stated that I love the before mentioned words, that does not mean that I love the process that comes with them. Life hurts. We have ups and we have downs, but what have you allowed your perspective to be in the midst of every painful experience that you have endured? I have had so many things attempt to take me out, but the beauty that I have found is that God always seems to hold me together. I have had my heart completely wreaked by people and by life over and over again, but the trials h...
Post a Comment
Read more