Where God Meets Us: Faithful, Responsive Everyday Life

An excerpt from Our Work, God's World: Daily Devotions at Advent

This devotional guide looks at the faithful, responsive lives of Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, and John the Baptizer. Each day’s devotional includes a Scripture passage, a reflection, questions to ponder, and a prayer for individual use or sharing with a friend or small group.

After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.” —Luke 1:24–25

Reflection

Like Zechariah, Elizabeth is aging. Unlike him, her life is lived out more privately. Honoring home responsibilities, she shows a lively and vital faith and finds herself inspired by the Holy Spirit. This short passage indicates several aspects of how that culture then differs from our settings. For one thing, Elizabeth is in seclusion, hiding her pregnancy. When my mother was a child (she was the eldest) she was not even aware when her mother was pregnant. Now we are more open about pregnancies. Elizabeth’s previous inability to have a child is for her a matter of disgrace. While we no longer consider lack of children a stigma, many people feel great sadness when they are unable to be fertile in this way.

Elizabeth is a believer in her own right. She does not just follow religious rules and rituals because her husband is a minister. Rather she interprets her life in terms of God’s goodness and purposes. She is able to see God working in her circumstances.

Questions to Ponder

  • Name places where you have seen God working this past week.
  • Where in your life would you like to see God’s intervention?

Prayer

Advent Savior,
who comes to be with us,
we marvel at the faithfulness of your servant Elizabeth.
Help us to pay attention to where you are at work in our lives,
so that we might give you the credit that you deserve
and we might live in ways that bring you glory.
Amen.

Excerpt from Our Work, God’s World: Daily Devotions at Advent by Arthur Boers

Learn more about Our Work, God’s World here and purchase a copy for yourself or multiple copies for small group study during this Advent season.

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