In this sermon, we looked at the story of Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth. Both were considered righteous before God, yet they lived with deep sadness at never having the child they longed for. The sadness they felt wasn’t a result of personal sin, but the overarching brokenness of this world. It reminds us that even those who are in Christ still have hopes and desires that may never be realized in this life. We see Elizabeth take her sadness and burden to the Lord in prayer while faithfully serving. The Lord answers her prayer with a son, who would become John the Baptist. God didn’t owe her this response, yet chose to answer her prayer for her good and in order to provide a prophet pointing us to Jesus, who meets us in our sadness and disappointment. We are provided comfort through the Holy Spirit and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, who shifts our sadness into gladness. Because of Jesus, we can experience hope and connectedness in the midst of our sadness and truly know what it means to be glad!
