We live in a world that is a little bit like a fishbowl, there are eyes on everyone at all times. With social media being center stage, our lives can become so public that we forget what it’s like to live life in the hidden. Elizabeth found solace even in her seclusion. God had answered their prayer for a child in a miraculous way, but Elizabeth chose to stay hidden during the first few months of her pregnancy.
Remember: Luke 1:24-25
After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” - Luke 1:24-25
It’s interesting to think about and wonder why she chose seclusion. Perhaps her seclusion mimicked the silence Zechariah experienced in being unable to speak for nine months. Her choice to seclude herself is matched by other biblical hero’s examples of seclusion like Moses, Joseph, Jacob, David, Elijah, Jonah, Paul, John the Baptist and even Jesus himself. Sometimes we need to separate ourselves as we wait for the visible. Sometimes, we need to pull away to process and praise God in hiddenness. She used this time of hiddenness to praise God in private for taking away her public disgrace.
Reflect
Seclusion can sometimes have a positive effect, but during seasons of waiting seclusion can have a negative effect on our hearts. We can sometimes hide away because we’re tired of being in the same position or we’re afraid our friends and family are exhausted with the same story being replayed over and over again. Because we don’t experience relief, we hide.
Elizabeth’s hiding was probably for a very different reason. She says that God had “taken away her reproach among people”. Just like today, barrenness and being unable to have children has such a stigma attached to it. There’s so much shame that comes with this type of waiting. Even though Elizabeth’s reproach had been lifted, she chose to give herself time to process and meditate on her situation.
In the same way, our situation before Christ was barren and hopeless. We were sinners, dead in our sins, unable to fix our separation from God. Our reproach was our sin, but thanks be to God, Christ came to take away our reproach!
Reflect on your situation right now. Ask Jesus what you need most. Maybe you need a time of separation to process and meditate on his truth, getting your heart posture in the right place. Or, you might need people to surround you right now and help pull you out of a dark place as you wait. Sometimes God does his greatest work while we are hidden.
Respond
Carry this breath prayer in your heart today:
Breathe In:
Jesus, I hide myself in you
Breathe Out:
You work in the hidden.
The Journey
This journey will take us through December 25th. My hope is that it would bring you encouragement in whatever waiting room you find yourself in during this Advent season. Each daily podcast will be short and sweet, leaving you with something to carry in your heart as you wait. You can also subscribe to my newsletter here.
