Gift of Heaven: A Christmas Devotional SeriesSample

DAY 3: God With Us in the Waiting – Mary & Elizabeth

In Luke 1, we encounter two women at opposite ends of life’s timeline, Mary and Elizabeth, brought together by miraculous pregnancies and a shared history of waiting.

Mary represents generations of longing. A young woman living under Roman occupation, in a time when her people were dispersed, dispossessed, and desperate for deliverance. Into her life, an angel arrives with news: The Redeemer is coming and He’s coming through you. After 400 years of silence, the Word becomes flesh in her womb.

Mary’s response? “Let it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

Faith without all the answers. Willingness without a roadmap.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, carries a different kind of waiting. Hers is long and personal. A lifetime of disappointment, shame, and societal scorn for being childless. Yet now, in her old age, her waiting is met with fulfilment. “The Lord has done this for me,” she says. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” (Luke 1:25)

These two women meet. Mary, carrying promise; Elizabeth, carrying restoration, and their moment together is sacred. They speak life to one another. They marvel at God’s kindness. They wait together, not in fear, but in faith.

This is the beauty of God with us in the waiting: He meets us whether we’re at the beginning, carrying hope, or after a long, hard season, holding on, awaiting answers.

Reflection Questions

1. What kind of waiting season are you in—like Mary’s hope-filled beginning, or Elizabeth’s long-awaited breakthrough?
2. Who are the people God has placed in your life to wait with, encouraging and speaking life into your season?
3. What promise are you holding onto today, and can you say like Mary, “Let it be according to your word”?