As He Sees Fit

“So has the Lord done for me at a time when he sees fit…”  (Luke 1:25)

These are the words that Elizabeth speaks after she conceives a child in her womb. A woman who was barren and advanced in years bears a child who is destined for great things. We hear of a similar story in today’s first reading from the Book of Judges. An angel appears to the wife of Manoah and tells her, “Though you are barren and have had no children, yet you will conceive and bear a son…this boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb. It is he who will begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines.” (Judges 13:3, 5)

God allows things to happen according to His plan, not ours.  Even though we know this it is often hard to wait. Sometimes we pray for something for so long and it seems that our prayer goes unanswered or that God’s answer is “No”. I am sure both of these women longed to have a baby and prayed for it to happen. Elizabeth even saw her inability to have children a “disgrace before others.” I am sure that once they reached the age at which they were no longer able to have children that they quit even praying for that. Yet, both conceived after the time that it was humanly possible. But we know that divine intervention is not bound by time or space. My husband and I had no trouble conceiving our first child but we longed to have more children. It took a couple of years to conceive another child only to miscarry the baby two months later and then a couple years to conceive again only to miscarry at 5 months. This was a very difficult time for us and while I wanted to conceive another child, I wasn’t sure that I could bear another miscarriage. My pregnancy with my second son was filled with much anxiety and fear. Years later when I began to read scripture I came across what would become one of my favorite passages, “I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.” (1 Samuel 1:27-28)

God heard my plea just as he did Samuel’s mother, Hannah; Manoah’s wife and Elizabeth. He hears all of our prayers. He is aware of every tear that we shed. God knows us more intimately than we know ourselves yet sometimes we feel that he is so far away. So I continue to pray for God to increase my faith, to remind myself that when things seem impossible, nothing is impossible for God. I pray for a faith like Elizabeth who knew that God allows things to happen when he sees fit and according to his purpose.