Situation Hopeless?

Luke 1:6-7 - “Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.”   

Luke 1:11-17 – “Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.  And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

“But…they had no children”…  Luke 1:7

Zechariah and Elisabeth were “well along in years.”  They were old, and the implication was that she was beyond child-bearing years.  Their situation in the eyes of the world seemed hopeless.  Have you been there?  Does it seem as if God does not care or hear your prayers?  Yet haven’t we, like Elisabeth and Zechariah (verse 6) wondered what have we done wrong?  “Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly.”  Have you asked yourself, this does not seem fair—we don’t have any children?  What’s God’s trying to tell us?

In Luke 1:11-13, the angel of the Lord appears to Zechariah and says in part…”Zechariah, your prayer has been heard…the bottom line is you are going to have a son.”

Wow!  They are old, the world may have given up on them having a baby but obviously, Zechariah did not.  He was still praying!

Have you ever felt hopeless about a situation in your life?  Have you quit praying believing nothing is going to change?   Instead, remember God recognizes faithful payers.  He does things that in the eyes of men seem impossible.

Whatever your hopeless situation is, keep praying with expectation.  It was not their sin that held them childless; it was God’s sovereign will.  I don’t understand it but God has His purposes in how He unfolds our life.  The lesson learned, no matter what, keep praying.  We don’t need to understand God’s moving in our life no matter how hopeless we feel.  We must pray and hang on.  What God has in store for us will come true at its proper time.  (Luke 1:20 - And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."

Praise be to the God of ages.  Keep praying; keep praying.