Thursday of Third Week of Advent
We often like to believe that we are in control; that we make the plans and call the shots. Today’s reading and gospel are a good reminder to me that this is simply not true. The Lord is in control. Even when we cannot see where God is taking our lives or how He is using us to bring about his kingdom, God has a plan.
When I think about both Zorah and Elizabeth, both women who had yearned for and longed for children but were found to be barren, I sense a feeling of failure and of sadness. I imagine that these women each had a vision of how their lives would unfold, a vision that included children and a family. I also imagine a deep sadness and mourning when they discovered this was not how life would unfold. It is hard when life does not meet our expectations to be joyful, thankful and gracious to God. Often in those moments we despair and are filled with sadness, doubt and mourning
It is sometimes when we are in these lowest moments that God can most intimately reveal Himself and His plan to us. For both of these women, the Lord sent an angel to reveal to them their conception. They had given up hope on being mothers and living the life they expected to lead, when their prayers were answered. Similarly for us, it is in those moments when we surrender our humanly desires and expectations that God will reveal his plan, in his perfect timing.
God knew the children he was giving to these women and had a plan for each of them. This is true of all us. God knows each child in the womb. God has a plan for every human life, even before we enter this world. As we read in Jeremiah, God tells us, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart” (Jer. 1:5). God had a plan for Samson and a plan for John the Baptist, a plan that would unfold in God’s timing. Zorah and Elizabeth had waited for a child. The Lord answered their prayers but the timing was not what they had expected.
It is our job to cooperate in the miracle of creation, but that often takes patience and humility as we wait for God to reveal his plan to us. While we are not all called to bear physical children, we are called to cooperate with God in bringing about his kingdom, a call that can often leave us wondering why our lives are not going according to plan. We must trust that the Lord will use this life to bring about the kingdom, even when it seems to be happening in ways we would not expect or predict. Often times God’s will for our lives can be surprising enough to leave us speechless, just as it did for Zechariah. It is when we see the Lord’s promises revealed that our speech is restored, and that we can sing the words of our responsorial psalm, “My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory!” Our challenge comes in patiently trusting in the Lord as we wait for him to reveal his plan, even when it does not meet our expectations.
- Amanda Grimm