Keep living for Him faithfully and waiting patiently for His plan.

忠心为主而活，耐心等候祂的计划。

[The Lord] has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people. Luke 1:25

主在眷顾我的日子，这样看待我，要把我在人间的羞耻除掉。-路加福音1章25节

It’s that time of the year again, when families gather to celebrate the festive season together. Some of us, however, dread meeting certain “concerned” relatives whose questions can make those who are still single or childless feel that there’s something wrong with them.

又到了每年家人团聚、欢度佳节的日子了。但有些人却很怕遇到特别“关心”他们的亲友，因这些亲友所问的问题，会让那些依旧单身或还没有小孩的人感到尴尬。

Imagine the plight of Elizabeth, who was childless despite being married for many years. In her culture, that was seen as a sign of God’s disfavor (see 1 Samuel 1:5–6) and could actually be considered shameful. So while Elizabeth had been living righteously (Luke 1:6), her neighbors and relatives may have suspected otherwise.

想像一下，伊利沙伯的困境，结婚多年仍无子嗣。按照当时的文化，伊利沙伯的不孕是她不讨上帝喜悦的征兆（参阅撒母耳记上1章5-6节） ，被视为羞耻的事。虽然伊利沙伯是个义人（路加福音1章6节），但她的邻舍和亲友难免会猜疑揣测。

Nonetheless, Elizabeth and her husband continued to serve the Lord faithfully. Then, when both were well advanced in years, a miracle occurred. God heard her prayer (v. 13). He loves to show us His favor (v. 25). And though He may seem to delay, His timing is always right and His wisdom always perfect. For Elizabeth and her husband, God had a special gift: a child who would become the Messiah’s forerunner (Isaiah 40:3–5).

尽管如此，伊利沙伯和她丈夫撒迦利亚仍继续忠心服事上帝。就在他们年纪老迈的时候，奇迹竟然发生了。上帝听见了撒迦利亚的祈祷（13节），乐意施恩眷顾他们（25节）。虽然看似延迟了，但上帝安排的时间永远是最好的，祂的智慧也最完备。对伊利沙伯和她丈夫来说，这是上帝赐下的特别礼物，因这孩子要作弥赛亚的先驱（以赛亚书40章3-5节） 。

Do you feel inadequate because you seem to lack something—a university degree, a spouse, a child, a job, a house? Keep living for Him faithfully and waiting patiently for Him and His plan, just as Elizabeth did. No matter our circumstances, God is working in and through us. He knows your heart. He hears your prayers.

你是否因为缺少大学文凭、配偶、孩子、工作或房子，而觉得自己比别人差呢？盼望我们也能像伊利沙伯一样，继续忠心地为上帝而活，且耐心地等候祂和祂的计划。不论环境如何，上帝都在我们里面，也会藉著我们动工。祂知道你的心意，祂听见你的祈祷。

God, You are forever faithful and good. Help us to keep trusting in You, even when we experience heartache.

上帝，祢永远信实、美善。求祢帮助我们，在经历伤痛时仍然信靠祢。

Luke 1:18-25    NIV

1 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” 19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” 21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

路加福音 1:18-25

1 撒迦利亚对天使说：“我凭着什么可知道这事呢？我已经老了，我的妻子也年纪老迈了。” 19 天使回答说：“我是站在神面前的加百列，奉差而来对你说话，将这好信息报给你。 20 到了时候，这话必然应验。只因你不信，你必哑巴，不能说话，直到这事成就的日子。” 21 百姓等候撒迦利亚，诧异他许久在殿里。 22 及至他出来，不能和他们说话，他们就知道他在殿里见了异象，因为他直向他们打手势，竟成了哑巴。 23 他供职的日子已满，就回家去了。24 这些日子以后，他的妻子伊利莎白怀了孕，就隐藏了五个月， 25 说：“主在眷顾我的日子这样看待我，要把我在人间的羞耻除掉。”

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

Zechariah and Elizabeth were descendants of Aaron (Luke 1:5). God had designated that only Aaron’s descendants could serve as priests (1 Chronicles 23:13). Israel’s priesthood was divided into twenty-four divisions, with each division rotating to serve in the temple for just two weeks every year (24:1–19). With so many priests, lots were cast to determine which specific priest would have the once-in-a-lifetime privilege to burn incense in the Holy Place. Coupled with the angel announcing the birth of a son despite their old age, this would have been the highest point of Zechariah’s life (Luke 1:8–13, 18). The same archangel Gabriel, who told Daniel the meaning of the vision that concerns “the appointed time of the end” (Daniel 8:19), now appears to Zechariah, whose name means “the Lord has remembered.” God remembered His promise to send the Messiah and now sets in motion the events of the end times.

撒迦利亚和伊利沙伯是亚伦的后裔（路加福音1章5节）。上帝早已指定，只有亚伦的后裔才可以作祭司（历代志下23章13节）。以色列的众祭司分为二十四班，每班每年轮流在圣殿服事两周（24章1-19节）。因为祭司众多，常需要以抽签来决定谁进入至圣所烧香，这可能是一生只有一次的特权。因此当撒迦利亚在至圣所烧香，又加上天使宣告他们夫妇要在年老的日子生一个儿子，撒迦利亚这次进入至圣所的经历，成了他人生的最高点（路加福音1章8-13、18节）。这位向撒迦利亚显现的天使长加百列，曾向但以理启示“末后的定期”之异象（但以理书8章19节），而撒迦利亚这个名字的意思是“上帝记念”，表明上帝记得祂要差遣弥赛亚的应许，且末世时代的救赎如今已开始了。

整理：于姊妹