“And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.” Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Luke tells us something remarkable about Zechariah and Elizabeth before he tells us anything about their miracle. He says they were righteous before God, faithfully walking in His commandments, yet they carried a long, painful disappointment: they had no child. Their obedience did not spare them from unanswered prayers or deep sorrow.

This passage gently confronts a common assumption—that righteousness guarantees immediate fulfillment. Zechariah and Elizabeth remind us that faithfulness and fulfillment are not always synchronized.

You can be fully devoted to God and still be waiting. You can be obedient and still aching. Their barrenness was not evidence of God’s displeasure, nor was it proof of forgotten promises.

Notice the tension Luke holds without resolving it too quickly: righteous… but barren. Faithful… but unfulfilled. This is often where real faith lives—not in the absence of longing, but in obedience that continues despite it.

They kept walking with God even when the outcome they desired seemed impossible, especially as time worked against them.

God’s silence did not negate His sovereignty. In fact, the delay was part of a larger story they could not yet see. What felt like denial was actually divine timing.

Their long years of waiting became the very setting in which God would display His glory, not only by giving them a child, but by weaving their obedience into His redemptive plan for the world.

This passage invites us to examine our own walk with God in seasons of delay. Are we faithful only when prayers are answered quickly, or do we continue to walk blamelessly when hope feels thin? Zechariah and Elizabeth show us that righteousness is not transactional—it is relational. They trusted God’s character even when they could not trace His plan.

If you find yourself waiting today—faithful, prayerful, yet unfulfilled—take heart. God sees your obedience. He honors faith that endures. And even when the years advance and the promise feels out of reach, God is still working, still remembering, and still able to bring life where there has been none.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to walk faithfully with You even in seasons of waiting. Teach me to trust Your timing and Your purposes when my prayers feel unanswered. Strengthen my heart to believe that You are at work, even when I cannot see it in Jesus’ name. Amen.