Believing the Impossible: Stand Your Ground!

Lyn Alderson • January 31, 2024

Lessons from Elizabeth, Mother of John the Baptist

God has done some miraculous things over the centuries.

Mary conceived Jesus even though she was a virgin.

Her cousin, Elizabeth, gave birth to John the Baptist, many years after she had been through the menopause.

These babies contradicted the established laws of biological science.

Both women knew their own bodies and what was possible naturally, but God invited them to believe for the impossible. They accepted this invitation by faith and received their miracle babies. They moved into their destinies through agreement with the word of God.

A promise from God often seems flies in the face of human logic. God wants us to break through the limitations of our circumstances and what we believe about ourselves, to enter the realm of supernatural faith.

Just like these godly women from long ago, we may receive an invitation to believe what seems to be impossible. It could be that Jesus wants to give you something to exceed your expectations if you will believe his promise: “With God nothing is impossible” (Luke 1:37).

I have already covered the Annunciation in my earlier post Face-To-Face With a Towering Angel so let’s take a quick look at Elizabeth’s life.


Elizabeth was married to a priest, Zachariah and they were both faithful servants of the Lord and belonged to the Levitical family of Aaron. They were childless and “very old” when an angel appeared in the temple and told them that their prayers had been heard- they were going to have a son and they must name him John (read the full story in Luke chapter 1). John would be a great prophet, the Forerunner of Jesus Christ.

Blessed is she who believes

Elizabeth’s experience shows us that age is no barrier to conceiving something wonderful and God-ordained. This won’t necessarily be a literal baby, but it might be a ministry or a creative project that will bless many other people. It might be seeing God at work in your family after many years of prayer, or the fulfilment of a personal promise from many years ago. Whatever your age, you can keep believing for that miracle!

Elizabeth spent the first five months of her pregnancy in seclusion, in a time of prayer and contemplation. She reminds us to meditate on God's promises and cover them in prayer.

After this period of quiet and seclusion, Elizabeth invited her cousin Mary to stay as a guest. She felt the baby in her womb jump for joy when Mary arrived, and she recognised that her cousin was carrying the long-awaited Messiah. Full of the Holy Spirit, she spoke out a prophetic blessing over Mary which is really a universal message of encouragement to all Christians : “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her”.

This is an inspired truth for every era and every nation: when we hold on in faith to God’s promises, we see them materialise in accordance with his perfect timing. Our faith is the substance of what is yet unseen (Hebrews 11:1). It is a real substance which gets real results!

Stand firm in faith

We may have to wait patiently for a long time, even for a lifetime, to see God's promises fulfilled but we should not allow others to deter us if they don't share our personal vision or conviction. Elizabeth had to stand firm when her family put her under pressure to name her baby after his father, Zachariah. She knew that God wanted her to name her child John so she dug her heels in. The name John means "God is gracious" and it was a fitting name for the man who would prepare the way for Jesus, who was grace and truth himself.

We can admire Elizabeth as a great role model of a strong, Spirit-led believer, and we see that she found her strength in the stillness and quietness of God's presence. We can do the same!


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