Christmas Ep. 4: “Barren”
Barren.
Every once in a while, a particular word will “pounce” on you as you read the Word of God. It will leap off the page or roam around in your mind for a few days or a few hours. Such has just occurred.
Last night in New Member Class, Andrew taught on Fruit, and while he taught, 1 Peter 1:8 kept popping into my head: “For if these things (faith, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, patient endurance, godliness, brotherly affection, and love) be in you and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren or unfruitful.” That was last night.
On to this morning…
I was reading Luke 1, and noticed the beautiful compliments spoken of Zechariah and Elizabeth in v. 6: “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments of the Lord blameless.” Wow…what at amazing testimony of their lives, but, then, v. 7…the very next words state, “And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were now will stricken in years.”
Wait! What? They live blameless before God until old age, and are forced to face the pain and heartbreak of a barren womb? It is very easy to rush past things in Scripture, but if you stop for a moment, the line, “and they had no child because that Elizabeth was barren” is jam-crammed with human experience and emotion. It was not “just” a sentence for her. It was, more than likely longing and aching. It was probably pain, loneliness, and emptiness of the highest degree. That simple sentence possibly represented 1000’s of tears. Barren: empty arms and a hollow heart. That sentence which is just a line for me, was years of heartbreak and questions for her. But…
It was against that dim and painful backdrop that God lifted the sentence that had been placed on her life and gave her a child. Not just any child, but John the Baptist who would herald the way for Jesus. Not only was her personal pain relieved, but she played an integral role in the unfolding of the greatest miracle of all time: The Creator becoming a Savior. When Gabriel appears to Mary with news that she will be the birthplace of Redemption, it is Elizabeth’s miracle that the angel offers as proof of the impossible. “And, behold your Cousin Elizabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the 6th month with her, who was called barren. For with God, nothing shall be impossible.” The angel uses a situation that Mary was probably personally aware of – Elizabeth’s barrenness, and a miracle she was not yet aware of – Elizabeth’s “babyness” – as evidence of God’s ability to orchestrate the unimaginable. Elizabeth’s barren condition became the background for a story so unexpected that it became the confirmation and final bolster of faith that Mary needed before she spoke the words, “behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word.”
Elizabeth had been defined by the word barren. The angel states: “who WAS called barren.” After she conceived John, her own words show the depth of heartache she had endured: “Thus the Lord has done for me in the day when He has been gracious unto me to take away my disgrace among people.” (Luke 1:25 NET)
The years of a barren womb had left scars on her heart. She had been defined by the word, and, in her old age, had probably drawn the conclusion that barren would be the epitaph on her life. No legacy. No posterity. Unmet expectations. Unfulfilled dreams. Shattered hopes. Yet, just as stars shine more brightly against a dark sky, miracles shine more brightly against a bleak scene, a black backdrop. The power of God reversed the definition she had lived under for years. Barren was no match for the Creator. Since the 2nd verse in the Bible, He has been working with formlessness and emptiness: “and the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” (Genesis 1:2) His creative force knows no limits. Dark definitions and circumstantial limits will never stop God from working when He’s ready to work. The pain she endured and the thing, the word, “barren,” that had defined her became just the sort of setting He needed and desired to work in.
As a result of her faithful walking through years of pain and shame, beautiful things happened:
She received her miracle.
God reversed what had defined her.
Mary was offered proof of the impossible and journeyed to stay with Elizabeth during her pregnancy.
She is the 1st person that has the words “filled with the Holy Ghost” proclaimed over her life. (Luke 1:41)
Through the power of God, she speaks a prophetic proclamation over Mary, which undoubtedly soothed many of the questions the young mother of the Messiah was contemplating.
There are undoubtedly many other conclusions to draw out of Elizabeth’s story, but as I thought of her story, it occurred to me that EVERY woman in the Bible who had known the definition “barren” placed on their lives (with the exception of one—Michal), had ultimately given birth to a person of great destiny and impact. Each woman who had dealt with the pain of empty arms and a hollow heart, had ultimately seen the miraculous unfold and felt joy overshadow suffering.
Sarah was finally given Isaac.
Rebekah held twins: Esau & Jacob.
Rachel ushered in Joseph & Benjamin.
The wife of Zorah gave birth to Sampson.
Hannah offered Samuel back to God and
Elizabeth’s once locked womb nurtured John…the forerunner of Jesus Himself.
Barren: literal in these cases. Each story is proof that sometimes God withholds for the purpose of birthing something or someone at exactly the right moment. He allowed barren so that “fruitful” would be a miracle.
Sometimes, barren is literal, and sometimes it is not. We can walk in barren seasons. Dark, lonely places where God is not performing to our expectations. He can withhold many things. Maybe a child. Maybe a spouse. Maybe a home or a job. Maybe friendship. Maybe love and security in marriage. Maybe a ministry for which the door has not seemed to open. Maybe a family. “Maybe” could be followed by a million things, but whatever that barren place is in a heart, a life; whatever has defined your existence, is simply the place where God is wanting to work His best and brightest miracle. Don’t etch the epitaph in your gravestone just yet. Barren may be just the backdrop that He’s looking for to work your greatest healing and make room for kingdom impact. Barren is beautiful when you see it as the black backdrop for a miracle.
All that from a little word that “pounced” on me. I sort of like pounce-y words!