Chapter 3: Episode 2: Elizabeth's Leap of Faith: Embracing the Miraculous

0:00 Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast. We are now in Chapter 3, Episode 2 of Embracing the Miraculous and Believing the Impossible. This time we're talking about Elizabeth, Elizabeth's belief in the impossible. So, we are a podcast dedicated to exploring profound biblical stories and their practical applications in our lives. I am your host, Connie Morris, and I am so glad that you are back with me. In this series, we will dive into the lives of the key biblical features.

0:45 Oh, I am stuttering. Let's start over. in this series, we will dive into the lives of key biblical features, uncovering the depth of their faith and the lessons we can apply to our own spiritual journeys. In today's episode, we will explore the story of Elizabeth, focusing on her belief in the impossible, as depicted in Luke 1, chapter 1, 39 through 45. Elizabeth's story is compelling because she. She was advancing years when she conceived John the Baptist.

1:27 So believing in the impossible, embracing the miraculous. We will discuss the role of her husband, Zachariah. Of course, it takes two. And how his faith journey intertwines with Elizabeth, her wife. It takes two. Stay tuned as we uncover the incredible journey of Elizabeth and how her story can inspire us to believe in the impossible in our lives. And so our foundational scripture takes place in Luke chapter 1, verses 39 through 45. And I want to read the whole story from the message translation, and then we will take it verse by verse.

2:12 So let's go. I'm going to read it from the message. And it reads, Mary didn't waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit and sang out exuberantly. You're so blessed among women and the babe in your womb also blessed. And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me?

2:56 The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears, the babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for cheer joy. Blessed woman who believe what God said, believe every word will come true. Amen. Blessed woman who believe what God said, believe every word will come true. Wouldn't that be you? Wouldn't that be me? That if we believed every word that God said, that it will come true in our lives. So our main points, it will be the divine encounter, Elizabeth initial reaction, Elizabeth blessing, Elizabeth faithful declaration, and the role of Zachariah.

3:43 We will also cover, you know, Elizabeth thoughts and feelings, and then we will go over those practical applications, and we will end this lesson with declarations and decrees. So let's just kind of just walk through just a little background about Elizabeth. We know Elizabeth was advanced in age. She was married to Zechariah. Zechariah was a priest, and so we know they were married, she was barren. And so when we remember from the last episode that Mary had an encounter with the angels and the angel confirmed that Elizabeth was with child.

4:25 And so the first time, once the angel has completed his encounter with Mary, Mary just ran off to confirm her encounter with the angel. And so now in this episode, Mary and Elizabeth, they are meeting. So let they have this encounter. So let's go back to verse 39 and 40. And I'm going to read from the NLT translation. We're just going to take it verse by verse and just take our time with it. And let's enjoy this story because we have a young lady who's pregnant by the Holy Spirit. And then we We have an older lady who's also pregnant, but she's pregnant with by her husband, but she's advanced in age.

5:13 And so both has a miraculous experience and an impossible experience. How fun. God is up to something right now in the lives of these two women. So let's go to Luke chapter one. I'm in chapter two, verse thirty nine. And let's just see, let's read it and let's take our time and let's walk through the excitement that's happening with these two women. 39 and verses 39 and 40. A few days later, Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea to the town where Zechariah lived.

5:55 She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's child leaped within her. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave, that's verse 40. Okay. Oh, I went too far. Let's start over. A few days later, Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea to the town, Judea to the town where Zachariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. So this is a greeting. Mary visits Elizabeth, who is now pregnant in her old age. This encounter highlights the joy and mutual support between Mary and Elizabeth, despite her old age.

6:39 Elizabeth's faith in God's promise is unwavering. We see here that that relationship just confirms how God was working in the both of them. And think about that. You have a miraculous birth, then you have an an impossible birth and they meet in the Holy Spirit, just the baby in both of their wombs, just kind of springing life, especially in Elizabeth's womb saying, yes, you're pregnant. She was probably six months pregnant. And then you have Mary who was just probably just a couple weeks pregnant or so. And she walked that journey, probably meditating on what's just just happened in her life. So let's go to Genesis.

7:26 Did this happen before in the Bible? So we see, I want to put up a scripture here, Genesis 21 verses one and two. It says, now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age. And at the very time God had promised him, So another lady that was of old age was Sarah. I think she was 99 and 90. I think she was 90. And she gave birth to Isaac at an old age.

8:07 So when we say we're too old for something, God says, I'm just getting started. And so they both had a divine encounter, Elizabeth, Mary, and now we have Sarah. And they both have children. In their womb. They were born by, you know, scripture, but they were both given something that made them happy, a baby, right? How powerful is that? So Mary Elizabeth, who is now pregnant, Elizabeth was now pregnant in her old age. So this encounter highlights the joy and mutual support between Mary and Elizabeth. Despite her old age, Elizabeth's faith in God's promise is unwavering.

8:51 And so even as Elizabeth was growing older, because this story is not about Mary, not about Sarah, it's about Elizabeth's story. As she continued to trust in God, as she grew older, God has never, never failed her. She wanted a baby and it was never too late for God to show up. Let's talk about Elizabeth's initial reaction. Let's read verses 41 and 42. too. Right here it says, at the sound of Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's child leaped within her and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. So Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

9:32 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, God has blessed you above all women and your child is blessed. When Elizabeth hears Mary's greeting, the baby leaps in her womb and she is filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth's reaction is one of joy and recognition of the miraculous. She is filled with the Holy Spirit, affirming the divine nature of both her pregnancy and Mary. So the Holy Spirit is at work in this family here. Mary was conceived by the the Holy Spirit.

10:12 Mary's presence shows up. Elizabeth is now filled with the Holy Spirit. And the baby in Elizabeth's womb, John the Baptist, is now filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth's reaction is one of joy and recognition of miraculous. She is filled with the Holy Spirit, affirming the divine nature of both her pregnancies and Mary's. Let's look at Psalms 113.9. And it says, he settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of child. Praise the Lord. So nothing is too hard for the Lord.

10:53 Nothing is too hard for the Lord. You know, we, a lot of times we, you know, in the Bible time, they lived for a long time. So they said Mary was old, but at that time, I don't think that was too old to have a child because we know what it takes to have children. But we see here, the reaction was with joy. The reaction was with joy that it was a confirmation because, you know, Mary, Mary just had an experience, but the confirmation was when she walked into that room and everybody was filled with the Holy Spirit. That was her confirmation that she too was pregnant. Even though she knew something happened, that just confirms it.

11:36 Let's talk about Elizabeth's blessing. Let's go to verses 43 and 44. It says here, this is 43. Why am I so honored that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. Elizabeth acknowledged Mary's blessedness and significance of her child. The person that said that she was blessed and honored was the angel Gabriel said it first. And then now we hear it a second time through Elizabeth.

12:19 So that does something in Mary's heart to hear that twice. So Elizabeth's recognition of Mary's blessed state and her own miraculous Reckless pregnancy exemplifies the joy and faith in God's power to do the impossible. Romans 4, 19 to 20 reads, Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body, this Abraham, was good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and that Sarai womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but he was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he has promised.

13:11 I love that, that Abraham, even though he was old and Sarah was old and God promised, said that you will have a child. He said, I'm going to believe the promise. And so he did what the male and female do to have children. And guess what? They had a child. He said he was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he has promised. How many of us have us believe that God has the power to do what he has promised? Let's go on. Elizabeth Faith Declaration. Let's read verse 45.

13:53 Verse 45 reads, you are blessed because you believe that the Lord would do what he said. Oh my goodness. in this. We see here that Abraham believed. We saw that Mary believed. We see that Elizabeth believed. What does it take to have a miraculous and an impossible in your life? Belief plus faith equals miraculous plus equals the impossible. We see here that Elizabeth declares Mary is blessed because she believed that the Lord would fulfill his promise to her.

14:38 Mary's Elizabeth, sorry, Elizabeth's faith is profound. She believed in the fulfillment of God's promises, despite her old age and past barrenness. Her faith encouraged us to believe in God's promises, no matter how impossible they may seem. Let's go to Hebrews 11, 11. We're still talking about Sarah in the Hebrews. Hebrews is the Hall of Fame book, right? And by faith, even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had the promise. Wow.

15:30 My faith is being built up. It's like if God said it, he will do it. Elizabeth declared Mary's blessed. Elizabeth's faith is profound because she believed that God promised. We see Abraham believed and Sarah believed because they both married. They have to believe together. And then they both bear a child. What was the role of Zechariah? Let's go to, I'm not going to read all of that, Luke 5. You get a chance to read Luke 1, chapter 1, 5 through 25. That's a great story about Zechariah's encounter with Gabriel while he was serving the Lord.

16:14 So Zechariah, Elizabeth's husband, also played a crucial role in this story. As a priest, he received a vision from the angel Gabriel announcing Elizabeth's pregnancy. Initially, he doubted the promise and is rendered mute until John's birth. So when you read that story, I mean, it was so much for him to handle that, you know, those words are so powerful that the angel says, don't you say anything until that baby is born. Cause I don't need you to mess up this whole process, you know?

16:55 So he, he had a moment, he was serving the Lord in the temple. The angel said, you will have a child because you have this lady, Elizabeth praying to her God saying, I want a baby. And he wasn't going to go send Gabriel and do the Holy Ghost inception thing. He said, no, you got a husband. And so we're going to work it through your husband. And so Zachariah was rendered mute. Mute mean he couldn't say a word. That didn't mean he couldn't do anything. He just couldn't talk about it. He says, okay, you're going to have a child, but all you got to do is just do your due and let's get this thing done.

17:42 Think about this. So Zachariah had to go from the temple, knowing what the angel of the Lord had told him that you're gonna have a child, but you gotta go do what husband and wives do to make this thing happen. You got the wife at home going, I'm ready to do what husband and wives do to make this happen. And so here we go. So Zachariah journey from doubt to faith is essential. His initial disbelief contrasts with Elizabeth's unwavering faith. Yet this eventual acceptance and obedience demonstrated the transformative power of God's promise.

18:23 God can do the impossible, but he needs that husband and wife to join together on what God said to make it happen. So what happened? they had a baby, John the Baptist, not just a baby, John the Baptist paved the way for Jesus. Wow. Wow. You had the angel intercepting this thing. This is going to happen. I need you to do one, two, three. You do one, two, three. This is all in the play of how God works. Amen. And then Luke 1.13 reads, but the angel said to him, do not be afraid, Zachariah, your prayers have been heard.

19:08 Oh, your wife, Elizabeth, will bear a son and you are to call him John. How powerful is that? When you have prayed, you and your wife have prayed. You and your husband have prayed, and then you get an answer, a direct answer from the Lord that he has heard your prayers. Now, now you, your body doesn't look like it's going to bear a child, but we're in chapter three, embracing the miraculous and believing the impossible. Impossible, that means things are going to have to work for this promise of God to come to pass.

19:51 And remember, it's never too late for what God has for you. It's never too late. And so this message is really for my husbands and my wives. What has God told you as a couple? It doesn't really have to be a child, but it starts out as a baby. Every new beginning is a seed, right? And you baby that seed and that seed begins to walk and talk, whatever it is. It can be a new business. It starts small and it works up, but it takes two. It takes a husband. It takes a wife. What has God said to the wife? That the husband's not listening. What he said to the husband? That the wife is not listening, right?

20:34 Come on now. Yep. And so it says here that in Luke 1, 13, it says, but the angel said to him, do not be afraid. Put your name here. Your prayers have been heard. Your wife, put your name here. Will bear a blank and you are to call him blank or you call this business name blank. Fill it in, fill in the blank because it takes two in a marriage that you have to believe. But the story's about Elizabeth. And so Elizabeth and Zachariah was focused on what God, Elizabeth was praying, Zachariah was believing with his wife and what happened?

21:19 They had a child. I'm going to read this again. Zachariah journey from doubt to faith is essential. His initial disbelief, it was disbelief because he was looking at what he can see. He says, this body, we're going to do what? And have a baby? Elizabeth like this body, we're going to have a baby? Yet, when they actually accepted it and obeyed what God said, God began to transform that old body into a body that can actually birth a child. Hmm. Birth it, a child.

22:00 So let's talk about, I think we did that, but let's go again. Let's explore how Elizabeth was feeling. Joy and gratitude. Elizabeth likely felt immense joy and gratitude for her pregnancy, a long awaited blessing that came despite her age. So think about what the, you know, we always worry about this, what the people say. I'm like, They're like, wait a minute, Elizabeth pregnant. So her name changed, you know, people saying like, wait a minute, she's pregnant in her old age. So they know that only God could have did that. So now God gets to glory. God gets to praise faith and perseverance.

22:40 Her story is a Testament to faith and perseverance showing that God's timing is perfect and his promises are true. So no matter how long it took, that God showed up and God gave them not just a baby. He gave them John the Baptist. A recognition and affirmation. Elizabeth's recognition of Mary's blessing and her own miraculous experience provided mutual affirmation and support, strengthening both women's faith. So they both probably sat there. Think about it. Mary had an individual experience.

23:23 Elizabeth had an individual experience. They came together. And I guarantee you, the Bible kind of kept it kind of, you know, like they just jumped in the spirit and the spirit of God showed up. I bet there was, it said that Elizabeth cried. There was a lot of crying going You know, us women, we're crying and holding on to each other, you know, and Mary stayed there for about three months until the baby was born. So they was cooking and storytelling and, you know, we stand up late and just talking about the experience of God and we just having this, you know, the Holy Spirit is there. So we're having some Holy Spirit moments and we're just having this recognition and affirmation of who God is.

24:06 The story just keep going on and on, affirming and affirming and affirming, affirming, just sharpening iron with each other, building each other's faith up. And we need that. And that age difference, it matters because it just prepared us. You know, Mary for the birth. Mary's birth was in a barn. And so she was there for the birth of John. So she learned a lot just watching the birth of John be born. I mean, we've got to understand there was some practicality in this process too. And then what Elizabeth learned, the trust in her husband.

24:48 Elizabeth had to trust Zachariah's experience and support him through his period of muteness. Yes, because he couldn't talk. It was probably quiet in the home, right? Illustrating the importance of mutual faith and support in a marriage. And so that probably made that marriage a little bit more closer because he couldn't speak. So he had to probably write some things down and learn how to communicate with maybe sign language. And husbands and wives, they've been married a while. So probably learned how to communicate just some non-verbals, right? Just made that relationship closer. God knows how to work some things out. And so they had a baby boy, John the Baptist.

25:33 So how do we apply this experience between Elizabeth and Zachariah to our lives? Number one, we believe in God's promises. When faced with seemingly impossible possible situations, remember Elizabeth's example of unwavering faith. Action step, identify areas in your life where you need to believe God and God's promises. Pray for the faith to trust in his timing and power. You know, faith comes from hearing and hearing the word of God. And so you can pray for faith, but God's going to tell you faith comes from what?

26:14 Hearing and hearing the word of God, get into your Bible and see how God works. How does God work? And so how did God work in Elizabeth's life? How does he work in Mary's life? And there's other characters throughout the Bible. And, you know, even the past characters that we have read in chapter one and in chapter two, how does he work in their life? Faith comes from hearing and hearing the word of God. Put the word of God in you and see how God works. Practical tips, I'm always telling you to write down what God's promises from the Bible and apply situations and meditate on them daily.

26:59 What do you believe in God for in your life? So believing on God's promises. What do you believe on God's? How do you believe on God's promises? One, you find them in the Bible. Two, you write them down. Three, what is it that you're believing? and write down if it's, what is it, sickness, disease, you know, would you be leaving for finances? Find out what God says about those promises in his Bible, because he says it's just an amen, right? Find out what he says and then begin to write them down. And like I said, set up appointment with God and ask him, how can we work this out?

27:39 Believe and get your believer, believer in order, you know, so identify area where you need to believe God. Believing, I mean, you got to do something, like you got to write it down, you got to do something, you know. Let's do number two, finding joy in God's work. Understanding that God's miracles bring joy and fulfillment, even if they take time to manifest. And the way you do that is reflect on past instances when God God has worked miraculously in your life and expressed gratitude. Gratitude and attitude always bring more miracles, right?

28:20 So like I said before, keep a gratitude journey. It's always hard to see what the gratitude is when you're in the middle of the fight. But like I said, there's always a glory light that shows. Even when you can't see it, it's a light that shines. So keep a gratitude journal noting daily blessings and miraculous event, big or small. God is always at work. Sometimes he's behind the scenes. Sometimes he goes before you, but doesn't matter. He's always working things out for you. Even when you don't see it could be the littlest things you know like i almost got an accident you go oh that was miraculous because do you have the money to pay for that car damage you mean that saved you time you know just little things be gratitude be thankful for all things amen let's go to the next one supporting others in faith you know you get caught up in yours look at us like elizabeth and mary support and affirm others in their faith journeys.

29:26 You're not the Holy Spirit. You can't tell them what to believe. Just support them. So action, you want to reach out to someone who needs encouragement and share your faith story with them. You know, like share your whole journey with them. Sometimes it takes a little longer, but you want to just be supportive of them. Maybe be an ear. And maybe if you can be a part of their story, that would be helpful. Join or form a faith support group where members can share and pray with each other over their prayer needs. You know, that can be helpful. Have a prayer group. Last one is trusting in marriage. Like Elizabeth and Zachariah, mutual trust and support in their marriage are crucial when facing divine promises and challenges.

30:16 You know, communicate openly with your spouse about your faith journeys and support each other in prayer and action. Like in a marriage, you have your faith journey. He has his, but then you should have some together. Like, what are we believing for on our, what's our big picture, our big picture plan in our marriage, you know, and then pray for that together. And you have your, your individuals, right? Cause we are individuals, but yet you have a joint thing that you can believe for. And that's something that you can celebrate both individuals and then actually as a couple. And then be supportive of each other, you know, faith journeys, support each other in prayer and action. So how can I support?

31:01 You know, you can look at each other's prayers, right? How can I help her out? How can I help him out? Bring that prayer into manifestation, right? That's what we're together. We're together to help each other, you know. Establish regular times for prayer and reflection together, focusing on God's promise for your family, you know. So you have your individual prayer time, and then you have your together prayer time. All right, let's do our decrees together. You know, I decree that like Elizabeth, I will believe in God's promises, trusting that he is faithful to fulfill them, no matter how impossible they may seem.

31:46 I decree that I will find joy and gratitude in God's miraculous work, celebrating his power and love in my life. I decree that I will support and affirm others in their faith journeys, encouraging them to trust in God's promises. I decree that I will support and trust my spouse in our mutual faith journey, recognizing the power of shared belief and prayer. So good. So thank you. Thank you again for joining Diary of a Black Woman podcast on this exploration of Elizabeth's belief in the impossible.

32:32 Her story reminds us that God, with God, nothing is impossible and his promises are always fulfilled. So as we conclude this episode, remember that believing in the impossible requires faith, trust, and a willingness to embrace God's timing and power. Stay tuned for our next episode as we dive into Daniel's commitment to adversity and persistence in prayer. If you enjoyed this episode of Embracing the Miraculous and Believing in the Impossible, please subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform.

33:22 Your feedback helps us to reach more people with these inspiring stories of faith. Share this podcast with friends and families, family who might also be encouraged by these powerful biblical narrative. For more resources, like I said, there are free resources on my website, DiaryofBlackWomen, LLC.com. And always get a copy of whatever is being played on the podcast. Follow us on social media. And I want to thank you for listening. And remember to embrace the miraculous, believe in the impossible. Until next time, may your faith be strong and your spirit be unlifted. Bye-bye.